Safe Speed Forums

The campaign for genuine road safety
It is currently Sun Oct 26, 2025 12:42

All times are UTC [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 16 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: My car wouldn't start
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 11:09 
Offline
User

Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2005 15:30
Posts: 643
A strange thing happened to my Citroen C5 yesterday. I was staying in a hotel and two cars got broken into during the night so in the morning a Police woman arrived to see the owners and parked her car next to mine. When I tried to start my car it turned over but would not fire. We tried for a few minutes and then gave up and called the AA. The AA man couldn't find any obvious reason why it would not run and no faults were logged in the computer. While we were talking the Police woman returned and drove off. The next time I turned the key the car started instantly and has been fine every time since. I can only assume that the Police radio jammed the immobilser. Have any of you had anything like this happen?


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 11:31 
Offline
Member
Member
User avatar

Joined: Tue Nov 29, 2005 22:47
Posts: 1511
Location: West Midlands
Similar(ish)...

One of my bikes (Pan) has an immobiliser. After I'd filled up with petrol I went to start my bike and it wouldn't even turn over.

I phoned the garage who I bought it from and they asked me where I was. They suggested I wheel my bike off and away from the forecourt of the petrol station, which I did.

My bike started fine!

_________________
Pecunia Prius Equitas et Salus


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 12:16 
Offline
Gold Member
Gold Member

Joined: Sun Apr 18, 2004 21:39
Posts: 140
Location: St Annes
There was a newspaper article posted on here or maybe PH a few weeks back about problems with car alarms,immobilizer and central locking systems at a car park. Problem was finally tracked down to a faulty alarm system on a car that was giving out a strong signal that was interfering with other cars.


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 12:16 
Offline
Member
Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2004 09:16
Posts: 3655
It depends on the immobiliser. Some also crank inhibit in which case the engine would not turn over. It is possible if the RFID system uses a popular amplitude modulated rf system (cheap!) as this can easily get interferred with by high power radios. High end systems use a digital signal which is bullet proof.

Your diagnostics would probably not pick up a fault caused by this failure.

BTW Ducati used to use an AM system...its crap.

_________________
Speed camera policy Kills


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 12:22 
Offline
Member
Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2004 09:16
Posts: 3655
cerberus wrote:
There was a newspaper article posted on here or maybe PH a few weeks back about problems with car alarms,immobilizer and central locking systems at a car park. Problem was finally tracked down to a faulty alarm system on a car that was giving out a strong signal that was interfering with other cars.


The worst car parks are at airports. Heathrow is very bad. The field strength of the radar is enough to trigger an alert in the security system on the car. This can cause it to secure the central door locking and keep the body system awake giving you a flat battery. If you notice on the long stay car park they offer free jump starting...for a reason!

There are strict guidlines regarding the use of radio frequency emissions and suseptability. Its one of the hardest homologation tests a car has to pass. Unfortunatly many aftermarket systems are brought in "illegaly" and they can seriously screw things up in the digital RF world we all live in.

_________________
Speed camera policy Kills


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 14:17 
Offline
Friend of Safe Speed
Friend of Safe Speed
User avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 10:16
Posts: 7986
Location: Moved to London
Gizmo wrote:
The worst car parks are at airports. Heathrow is very bad. The field strength of the radar is enough to trigger an alert in the security system on the car. This can cause it to secure the central door locking and keep the body system awake giving you a flat battery. If you notice on the long stay car park they offer free jump starting...for a reason!

I discovered that the hard way :mad:


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 14:22 
Offline
User

Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 16:04
Posts: 816
BottyBurp wrote:
Similar(ish)...

One of my bikes (Pan) has an immobiliser. After I'd filled up with petrol I went to start my bike and it wouldn't even turn over.

I phoned the garage who I bought it from and they asked me where I was. They suggested I wheel my bike off and away from the forecourt of the petrol station, which I did.

My bike started fine!


Had the same problem with my bike at a petrol station near me. I think it was something to do with the massive multi-arieled mobile phone mast down the road. I've had to tell a few puzzled bikers why their bikes won't disarm.

Needless to say, I don't go there any more.

_________________
Prepare to be Judged


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 14:29 
Offline
User
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2007 17:25
Posts: 183
Location: Diesel City
Great...

Sowhat do you do about your radio PIN ?

Y'know the one.. that bit of paper you thought "This is important, I better put it somewhere safe"..... So safe you can never find it again !!

_________________
The Box said "Windows XP or better" ... So I installed Ubuntu


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 14:48 
Offline
User
User avatar

Joined: Sat Apr 23, 2005 08:22
Posts: 2618
Had a similar one in the petrol station at our local Tescos (as did the guy in the CRV behind me...)

Filled up, went to lock the car and the fob wouldn't work. I locked the car on the key (which also arms the alarm and imobiliser) and went off to pay thinking that maybe it was a duff battery. Returned to the car and it wouln't unlock on the fob, so I unlocked it on the key and THANKFULLY the fob would disarm the imobiliser so the car would start.

It turns out that there is a mobile phone mast INSIDE the garage signboard... :roll:

_________________
Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 15:19 
Offline
User

Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2005 15:30
Posts: 643
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who's had problems. A couple of people have told me they had, but since they are the sort that never open the bonnet until the car won't start their opinions didn't really count for much.


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 18:58 
Offline
User

Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2005 21:10
Posts: 1693
Quote:
If you notice on the long stay car park they offer free jump starting...for a reason!


I understood that always *used* to be because Concorde on takeoff would trigger the vibration sensors. So every "alarmed" car in the long term spent 10 minits/day (or whatever) Flashing and Hooting! a couple of weeks of that and your battery would be well flat :twisted:

_________________
"The road to a police state is paved with public safety legislation"


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 22:26 
Offline
User
User avatar

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 00:01
Posts: 2258
Location: South Wales
Outcast wrote:
Great...

Sowhat do you do about your radio PIN ?

Y'know the one.. that bit of paper you thought "This is important, I better put it somewhere safe"..... So safe you can never find it again !!


You remove your radio, take it to a backstreet car radio shop (ie. not Halfords), give them your radio and 40 quid, then come back in an hour.


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 23:07 
Offline
Gold Member
Gold Member

Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 23:26
Posts: 9268
Location: Treacletown ( just north of M6 J3),A MILE OR TWO PAST BEDROCK
Lum wrote:

You remove your radio, take it to a backstreet car radio shop (ie. not Halfords), give them your radio and 40 quid, then come back in an hour.


Back street shops are up in arms after that slur:lol:
Have heard (whether or not it's true today ) that radios in some very expensive cars used to have the code on the rear end of the radio.
Also heard that freezing worked a treat.

On the other hand few years ago was told that the last place to park a fully kitted out BMW/Merc was under a pylon - apparently scrambled the security system. [list=][/list]

_________________
lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 23:18 
Offline
User
User avatar

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 00:01
Posts: 2258
Location: South Wales
botach wrote:
Have heard (whether or not it's true today ) that radios in some very expensive cars used to have the code on the rear end of the radio.


Not exactly, but some can have the code calculated from the serial number on the radio. There used to be an excel spreadsheet you could download that did it for you.

Seriously though, most shops offer this service, they may want some proof that you own the radio, so it may be best to leave it in the car and turn up with your logbook, but it's really not that difficult a job. They'll probably also unlock your mobile phone for you if you ask :)

It's not like it's illegal either.


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 23:30 
Offline
Gold Member
Gold Member

Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 23:26
Posts: 9268
Location: Treacletown ( just north of M6 J3),A MILE OR TWO PAST BEDROCK
Lum - should have put some more smilies in - raised this as an example - sort of thing you mention quite common - had it done on a works van recently -but the one on high end cars ( won't mention makes ) was told to me by someone was in a position to know ,albeit a few years ago - I would trust that those makers use a code based on the serial number now.

_________________
lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 10:16 
Offline
Member
Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2004 09:16
Posts: 3655
Dusty wrote:
I understood that always *used* to be because Concorde on takeoff would trigger the vibration sensors. So every "alarmed" car in the long term spent 10 minits/day (or whatever) Flashing and Hooting! a couple of weeks of that and your battery would be well flat :twisted:


No i think that that's thats a myth. Alarms only sound for a minute or so then they reset. They do not use enough juce to flatten a battery.

Far more sinister is that any car that uses remote central locking is always scanning for a "wake up" signal. Anything that comes close causes the body system to come alive, check for an "open" signal, then after a second or so goes back to sleep again. At this time the current drain goes up dramatically. An airport radar comes saround every 2 seconds so keeps the car "alive". If the signal is considered to be a "threat" as if some one is trying to break in it can disabled the central door locking as well. That’s why cars with no door locks have a discrete lock somewhere as an emergency.

_________________
Speed camera policy Kills


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 16 posts ] 

All times are UTC [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 37 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You can post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
[ Time : 0.017s | 11 Queries | GZIP : Off ]