Flat battery and alarm system

Hi

My vehicle battery (Symbol 2008) has gone flat, no big problem, tried to recharge but battery us.

My question is that if I fit a new battery will it have an effect on my sigma alarm system? Will I need to get it reprogrammed or will it go off as soon as I connect a charged battery?

Any help will be appreciated

Thanks

Brian,

Firstly welcome to the forum.

Sorry can't advise on your alarm system. However three years life for an (assumed) original fit battery is pretty poor going, even in a motorcaravan where a battery has a pretty rotten life being regularly subject to deep discharge, particulalry if you have an alarm fitted!

Have you tried leaving the battery charger connected for a protracted period just to give it the message that you mean business, or will it just not accept any current at all?

Bartfarst

Not sure if they are all the same but my Sigma alarm didn't 'go off' when reconnecting the battery. Just worked as normal.

IF your battery that you are replacing in not totally dead run 2 wires to the plus and minus of the new an old battery. then change them over. Its a bit aquard at times but stops the internal memory of anything ie radio from loosing the code while changing over.

You can buy a battery powered (PP3?) device which plugs into the cigarette lighter and keeps things like alarm & radio memory "live" while you disconnect the battery.
Ebay Item No. 370567118132

HTH
Frank

Not seen those Frank, seems like a good idea with all the stuff installed nowadays that needs power for the short time of a battery change over - thanks for the info

They work but you need to make sure you have every single thing turned off and that the likes of interior lights wont come on with doors opened.

Hi Frank.
I have never heard of that before either. Such a good idea, thats the benifit of info from forum members. Thank You.
Also thanks Robbie for the tip.

Cheers. whisky.

I replaced the battery on my Symphony two years ago. I have a Sigma alarm fitted. No problems at all replacing the battery as far as the alarm goes but did lose radio settings, just had to re-programme the stations but this is a replacement radio/cd player that did not have a code to worrry about.

Another simple method used is to pop the battery charger or battery conditioner onto the battery leads.... Well basically the positive the ground can go on the chassis. Just need to be careful that the croc clip does not fall off when changing the battery.
Hmm on thinking if you put the positive of the battery conditioner onto the starter that will do the same job but no real chance of it falling off

Hi there,
Does your sigma alarm not have a back up battery someting like a PP3.
Cheers John.

jaybee3946 wrote:Hi there,
Does your sigma alarm not have a back up battery someting like a PP3.
Cheers John.

If it does , it's been in there for the 3 years I've owned it.

Paulmold wrote:

jaybee3946 wrote:Hi there,
Does your sigma alarm not have a back up battery someting like a PP3.
Cheers John.

If it does , it's been in there for the 3 years I've owned it.

Mine has got a PP3 battery. It's a rechargeable so presumably is always charged.
Forgot to mention recoding the radio!
Apart from that no probs.

Hi all

To all who have sent information and tips many thanks, as a novice to the forum I’m not sure if this reply will get back to you all to thank your time and tips. I hope so.
I will put a new battery on the MH and see what happens, as far as it having a backup battery not a clue so I have an alarm company coming to give it a service and give me some tuition.

Many thanks

Brian

I have an ongoing problem with the battery in my Ford Transit Amethyst. I store the van on a secure storage site and find that the battery is flat after 3-4 weeks if the van is not used. I assumed that the Sigma alarm system was draining the battery (the battery is 9 months old) I have had the system checked by two auto-electricians who both confirmed that there is nothing wrong with the charging system and that there is no drain on the battery. Despite this I find it difficult to start if left for any length of time.
I have now taken to disconnecting the positive battery lead when the van's in storage. However I need to reset the radio every time I re-connect the system - but at least the van starts.
This would tend to confirm Brian's misgivings about the Sigma alarm system as I have never had any problems with having to reset the alarm.
I have contacted Autosleepers about this and their suggestion was to make sure the engine was started at least once a week as the alarm will be a constant drain on the battery (if left connected)
Has anyone got any comments or ideas ?
Jim.

All alarm systems will start to drain the battery and left for a month in the winter does run them down well. Also in the colder weather the internal resistance of the battery rise and this also discharges the battery.
If you dont have a solar panel or something that will keep the battery charged during the winter, its best to keep a smart charger connected,

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

something like the one above, they may seem expensive to start with but loosing one decent battery would buy 2 of them :(

I keep them on my classic cars etc. I lost 2 batteries in two years and said never again.

One snag with that device Frank is that the ignition has to be switched on to enable the cigarette/power socket.( On a Boxer chassis at least) With the ignition on all sorts of other things start buzzing in the engine bay. So I imagine there might be too much load for a pp3. I have had my Symbol parked on the drive for about 3 weeks and it spun over fine when I tried. The starter battery is a huge power source compared with the Sigma alarm which can only draw milliamps when armed. If the battery cannot keep a Sigma alarm going for more than a few weeks there's something wrong with it, IMHO.

bertb wrote:One snag with that device Frank is that the ignition has to be switched on to enable the cigarette/power socket.( On a Boxer chassis at least)

That's odd! my faglighter is live all the time, Mine's a 1995 Boxer, your Symbol is obviously wired differently

Frank

We had an alarm fitted to our last van - a Pug-based Pollensa. We weren't warned about the battery drain when we ordered it, nor did the fitter say anything until after he'd finished. Then he said that we'd need to start the engine at least every fortnight or the alarm would flatten the battery.

As an OT aside, the alarm was less than a year old when we traded the van in, and the receiving dealer told us he didn't need the remote control since they would simply disconnect the alarm. He said he wouldn't sell the van as having an alarm fitted because he couldn't guarantee it would work, despite the fact that we were prepared to provide all the relevant paperwork. What a waste of money!!! And what a money-spinner for the alarm companies...

T ny

Thanks for the comments, guys.
Robbie - you raised my hopes! However I don't have a 230v supply where the van is in storage. It looks like the smart charger needs this to maintain the battery ?
I tend to the bertb philosophy that there is something wrong with it. I have a 6W solar panel which seems to work well in summer when the van gets more use, but I think it would need a huge roof mounted panel to keep the system charged for any length of time.
Hence my decision to disconnect the battery when on the secure site and alarm not essential.
I will probably invest in the device to maintain the radio settings as mentioned previously and maybe find a solution in time.
Jim.

A small solar panel left in the windscreen should overcome your problem Jim

As roli says I would try a solar charger and just leave on your dash

Ring do a good range, but I'd get the bigger RSP480 model as the small one wont be much use..

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

You can get them through eBay or Amazon for around £30

I have one of these 4.8w ones from Maplins, often on special offer, I got mine at half price, works a treat never had flat battery.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Frank, both the sockets in our 2003 Symbol turn off with the ignition. Stupid idea. Every time you start the engine the satnav starts up and every time you turn it off the satnav tells you it's going off. What Peugeot should have done is fitted an ignition switch with an accessory position or used the button on the switch for the sockets not the lights. Or even done the same as Ford(and earlier models!) and left 1 of them permanently on. I was told that they were wired the way they are 'cos 'white van man' would leave his phone/laptop plugged in and drain the battery!
And I have a Maplins solar panel which I might connect to the main battery if I can find a way to get the leads to it from inside the MH.

Both our sockets in our Boxer go off with the ignition as well, find this really annoying as the sat nav switches off as soon as you turn the key (think you can change this in the TomTom menu) but also find it a pain when using my tyre compressor as you have to have the key on the first notch of the ignition...