I noticed that lots of cars had their alarm activated during the ferry ride.
What causes this?
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Waves, pressure changes in the car deck.
The time you want to worry is when they chain the cars to the deck floor. Get out the sick bag,
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Vibration from the vessels diesel engines? What was the sea state (waves and swell)?
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Sea was quite calm.
Mostly it were BMWs (and some VWs) which had their alarms going off.
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>> Mostly it were BMWs (and some VWs) which had their alarms going off.
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Some deeply embedded code - warning of an impending landing on the French coast? :)
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Most cars have a facility to disable the alarm. Our Volvo requires a complicated series of button-holds and key turns, but it seems to do the job; with the Verso, you pull the little metal key out of the buttons and use it to lock the door.
I guess some on ferries just don't know or don't bother.
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I guess its a lot to do with the tilt protection in many cars - some of the decks are angled + the movement of the ferry
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Yes it's the tilt protection being activated. On my Golf V you have a double tilt switch that allows either the tilt or interior alarms to be deactivated depending on what is going on, my handbook actually mentions about turning the tilt alarm off when onboard a ferry. Once you open and re-lock the doors then both alarms are reactivated together. I think the later Golf V's had the two-way switch merged into just a single one that turns off both at the same time.
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"Most cars have a facility to disable the alarm."
I used to do this with the Audi until one time the disabling process caused the central locking to fail. The independent chap I use couldn't reset it so that meant a trip to the main dealer.
Fortunately it didn't cost a lot and was very reasonable which makes a change.
Since then I just don't risk it and leave the disabling well alone. I do maybe six channel crossings a year and the alarm goes off maybe once a year- good enough for me.
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I was reminded of the tilt alarm recently when I had two new tyres fitted by a mobile fitter on my driveway, as soon as I went inside after meeting the guy I heard this very loud alarm going off, then suddenly realised that it was mine! at least it shows that it works, the poor fitter must get this a lot in his job.
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It may be good enough for you, DE but the cumulative effect is a bit hard on those of us on the lower decks who are trying to sleep.
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I don't think its tilt, its vibration.
Get the same effect if you are driving a truck past parked cars, if the revs are low the vibrations set up can often set car alarms off as you pass, same if the trailer hits a pot hole beside them.
Best example of this was alongside Heathrow runway after a Concorde take off, when your ears and senses returned to something approaching normality, you would gradually start to hear the dozens of alarms.
I tried to time my then evening deliveries to the rental yards alongside the runway to coincide with the flight, grandstand view from top of the truck the full power take off was simply wondrous.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Sun 8 Apr 12 at 08:25
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Lock the car with the key, rather than pressing the plipper.
Doesn't set the alarm in most cars I've owned.
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Mike,
I only ever do Dover - Calais, so you can continue to sleep soundly. Anyway, the "environmentally aware" factory standard alarm on the Audi is so feeble and quiet it's next to useless anyway.
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I'd go with vibration as well.
Coming off the bow in linkspan at Tarbert Harris and turning towards the Minch always gets them going.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sun 8 Apr 12 at 12:40
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Well all I can say is that because I have the option of disabling either alarm separately I know that when I turned off the tilt alarm and kept the ultrasonics on (in case of a break-in) I had no problems with the alarm going off on a rough Channel crossing last year. I would say that the standard fit alarm on the Golf is ear piercingly loud when close up to it.
Maybe the way that the 'tilt' alarm is made these days means it's sensitive to a certain resonance of vibration as well as the bigger movements when the car is jacked-up.
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Alarms usually have three triggers
Anti-Tilt, Usually nothing more a mercury tilt switch or mechanical plum bob, if an old one, or some form of accelerometer or position switch, akin to the ones fitted to modern phones.
Volumetric, checks for changes in air pressure within the passenger compartment of the car.
Door/boot/bonnet opening. Used to be nothing more than using the door switch, but now incorporates voltage drops.
It was usually the vibration of concorde on the windows of cars, causing pressure changes within he car that fired that one off!
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"Lock the car with the key, rather than pressing the plipper."
That's what I do too. I'm not sure if there's a way round the problem if you have keyless entry: let's hope there will always be cars where this answer to a question that was never asked isn't a compulsory fitment.
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Car alarm in ferry - Zero
