Alarm started randomly going off?

[David Eccles]

Ok for years Cali parked on drive deadlocked when not in use..last night at 1am alarm went off and hazrds flashing...
burglars? gate still firmly shut, no sign of anything in quiet lit street really clear vision...used key from inside house to turn off / relock ..watched for an hour...nothing...
tonight at 7pm alarm went off again!
definitely no-one about
any ideas?
did a search but nothing quite like this...

 

[Jodalo]

Ok for years Cali parked on drive deadlocked when not in use..last night at 1am alarm went off and hazrds flashing...
burglars? gate still firmly shut, no sign of anything in quiet lit street really clear vision...used key from inside house to turn off / relock ..watched for an hour...nothing...
tonight at 7pm alarm went off again!
definitely no-one about
any ideas?
did a search but nothing quite like this...

Spider/moth near the sensor? It’s happened to me before and like you couldn’t find the cause. Never happened since.

 

[Jester]

Ok for years Cali parked on drive deadlocked when not in use..last night at 1am alarm went off and hazrds flashing...
burglars? gate still firmly shut, no sign of anything in quiet lit street really clear vision...used key from inside house to turn off / relock ..watched for an hour...nothing...
tonight at 7pm alarm went off again!
definitely no-one about
any ideas?
did a search but nothing quite like this...

Low battery, is it original.

 

[Alan Andrews]

Check state of main engine battery. The alarm will sound when the battery condition becomes low.

 

[David Eccles]

not been used for 4 weeks so am going to plug in tomorrow for the day as that makes sense...
thanks!

 

[Jester]

not been used for 4 weeks so am going to plug in tomorrow for the day as that makes sense...
thanks!

No worries, worth investing in a intelligent charger something like a Ctek if you don’t have one. Sure that’s the issue. Good luck.

 

[David Eccles]

12 hour charge yesterday battery now at 60% and back on today..
However last night alarm went off again so looks like not the culprit?
Interestingly the previous night I used a double click on key fob and it did not happen, and last night just single (until reset after it had gone off) ....

 

[andyinluton]

12 hour charge yesterday battery now at 60% and back on today..
However last night alarm went off again so looks like not the culprit?
Interestingly the previous night I used a double click on key fob and it did not happen, and last night just single (until reset after it had gone off) ....

which battery at 60% ?
On that year of van does the double click turn off the interior sensors? if so thats the source of your problem, something moving in the van.

 

[GrannyJen]

Is the interior sensor disabled?

Edit: As Andy said ...

 

[David Eccles]

It's a 2011 SE ... it's on double lock with battery saying charged up at present (no idea which just reading the display)
so I don't know if interior disabled or not ... always just a single click for until this started..
I gave it a good clean out last week and no signs of meeces or similar....and spiders must be big if it's them!!!
and no signs of two legged moochers about .... despite random night time woop woops
weird
I'll use single click tomorrow and see what happens....keys handy by bedside of course!

 

[Jodalo]

It's a 2011 SE ... it's on double lock with battery saying charged up at present (no idea which just reading the display)
so I don't know if interior disabled or not ... always just a single click for until this started..
I gave it a good clean out last week and no signs of meeces or similar....and spiders must be big if it's them!!!
and no signs of two legged moochers about .... despite random night time woop woops
weird
I'll use single click tomorrow and see what happens....keys handy by bedside of course!

Why don’t you set the alarm with the drivers window open and then try to activate by waving your hand at the sensor? That will confirm if it’s set or disabled.

 

[WelshGas]

It's a 2011 SE ... it's on double lock with battery saying charged up at present (no idea which just reading the display)
so I don't know if interior disabled or not ... always just a single click for until this started..
I gave it a good clean out last week and no signs of meeces or similar....and spiders must be big if it's them!!!
and no signs of two legged moochers about .... despite random night time woop woops
weird
I'll use single click tomorrow and see what happens....keys handy by bedside of course!

So you have charged the Engine Battery with a separate Charger?

Plugging the van into the Mains Hookup will Only charge the Leisure Batteries NOT the engine battery.

 

[David Eccles]

now I am feeling like a dumb newbie...
I thought hook up charged all batteries in turn....in 10 years have never ever had to charge engine battery with a charger even in prolonged non use during lockdown 1... I just plug in each month..
does display console only show leisure battery state? How can I check main engine battery? Or shall I just put on trickle charge anyway....

 

[Ch1pbutty]

How can I check main engine battery? Or shall I just put on trickle charge anyway....

Get one of these:

 

[WelshGas]

now I am feeling like a dumb newbie...
I thought hook up charged all batteries in turn....in 10 years have never ever had to charge engine battery with a charger even in prolonged non use during lockdown 1... I just plug in each month..
does display console only show leisure battery state? How can I check main engine battery? Or shall I just put on trickle charge anyway....

Control Panel only shows Leisure Batteries.
Some, more recent Californias, can trickle charge the Engine Battery but this is an unintended quirk by VW. On the T6. 1 it is charged.
On your model it doesn't. You need to charge with a separate charger. Also, if it is the original battery then it could be time for a change.

 

[David Eccles]

every day is a school day .... though Mrs E has just pointed out to me that I knew engine battery does not charge via hook up ... or at least I did a few years ago
anyway it's now on charge (and needed it!) and we shall see if that was cause of alarm over next few days
I love this forum...no-one is made to feel an idiot asking stuff and people always try to offer advice..and search is great for seeing if an issue has been talked about before...unlike FB ...

 

[WelshGas]

every day is a school day .... though Mrs E has just pointed out to me that I knew engine battery does not charge via hook up ... or at least I did a few years ago
anyway it's now on charge (and needed it!) and we shall see if that was cause of alarm over next few days
I love this forum...no-one is made to feel an idiot asking stuff and people always try to offer advice..and search is great for seeing if an issue has been talked about before...unlike FB ...

If your engine battery is original, so 10yrs old, then it is unlikely to last 4 weeks with the alarm on during cold weather unless it has been kept well charged in the past, but even so you are probably looking at having to change it next winter.

 

[David Eccles]

well I don't want to think about the cost of that! Will keep my eye on how it holds charge and maybe at some point in near future get battery tested?

 

[goldsmithatbl]

Hello Welsh Gas, and thanks for all your great advice through this forum. I have a 2010 Cali SE and my Cali Handbook Supplement reads at p10 that the Battery Charger will charge the vehicle battery as well as the additional batteries. I have what I believe is the original 3 batteries and they hold up well to off-grid camping for at least 3 days. With the van hooked up, is there an easy way to check if the vehicle battery is receiving charge? Thanks.

 

[WelshGas]

Hello Welsh Gas, and thanks for all your great advice through this forum. I have a 2010 Cali SE and my Cali Handbook Supplement reads at p10 that the Battery Charger will charge the vehicle battery as well as the additional batteries. I have what I believe is the original 3 batteries and they hold up well to off-grid camping for at least 3 days. With the van hooked up, is there an easy way to check if the vehicle battery is receiving charge? Thanks.

Voltmeter on the engine battery and measure voltage with and without mains charger on?
Dont believe everything you read in the VW manuals. Language translation is not one of VWs strengths.

 

[goldsmithatbl]

Thanks WelshGas. I'll check and report back.

 

[David Eccles]

well thus far no rogue alarm .... have logged that I need to plug in charger for main battery from time to time till I start using it properly again ...

 

[goldsmithatbl]

Welsh Gas. You are right. 12.0v with or without hookup on! I will need to drive more or charge vehicle battery more often. So much for the User Manual. Thanks again!

 

[WelshGas]

Welsh Gas. You are right. 12.0v with or without hookup on! I will need to drive more or charge vehicle battery more often. So much for the User Manual. Thanks again!

If the Engine battery is charged by the Mains Charger, it is not by design, but more a quirk of the VW wiring circuit and is a low powered trickle charge that might maintain a charge but is not powerful enough to re-charge the engine battery.
As @Hotel California says , this quirk of the wiring, only starts when the Leisure Batteries are fully charged. It is not something VW admit to but certain members have found this quirk to be true on certain vehicles.
You could try and leave the Mains Charger on for 24-48 hrs and see if the engine battery voltage increases above base level, once the Leisure Batteries are full.

 

[goldsmithatbl]

Thank you WelshGas and Hotel California. I'll try a longer charge of the Leisure Batteries and see whether the engine battery begins to receive any charge from the "in-van" charger. I'll post the result. Again, thank you both for your wisdom!