Car Alarms
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Car Alarms
Feb 2008
I'm looking for a place that can help me fix my car alarm. The alarm came
with the car when I purchased it. I have no idea who installed it. Last
week the clicky-thing on my key ring broke that lets me turn the alarm on
and off and unlocks the doors. So now I am unable to use the alarm. Not a
big deal since I don't think anyone would steal my car but without the
clicky-thing to unlock all my doors I have to go around to the driver's
side, unlock it, and then push the button to unlock all the other
doors--kind of a pain when I'm balancing a kid on my hip and lugging a
couple of bags around and it's pouring down rain. I guess I don't really
need a new alarm system but I need to replace the thing on my key ring.
Anybody had to do this before? Where did you go?
Thanks!
I hope this doesn't sound insulting, but have you tried
changing the battery in the remote? If it's not the battery,
then I would suggest going to a dealer for help. If it was a
dealer installed system, they can probably help you best. If
it wasn't dealer installed, try Franks of Berkeley on Addison.
kim
Franks of Berkeley, downtown Berkeley on Addison. They do car
stereos and alarms. They fixed my alarm which wanted to go
off at all hours of the night and also replaced the key fob
when it died. They are very knowledgeable and helpful. btw,
you did check to see if the battery needed to be replaced,
right? I usually get my neighborhood family owned and
operated jewelery store to do that for me, they will confirm
that the battery is in fact dead or adjust the contacts, if
that's all it needs.
couldn't live w/o remote entry either
August 2006
I'm getting ready to buy a car stereo and maybe an alarm system
at Best Buy in Emeryville. Anyone had experience with them
Stu
Our Toyota Tacoma was recently broken into and robbed and we
engaged the services of Rocco Lamanna, who is trained and
certified to perform vehicle alarms and stereo installations.
We have been very pleased with his knowledge and the quality of
his work. His phone number is 510-292-9169. He will be
relocating to El Sobrante next month and plans to open his own
shop there
Heike
We had a car alarm installed in our Dodge minivan at Best Buy (in Pinole) about 6 years ago
or so. I wouldn't do it again. After installation (by, what looked like, a high school kid),
certain electrical items didn't work quite right (e.g., the interior lights wouldn't
automatically turn on when you dis-
armed/unlocked the doors). Then, a couple years ago, more serious electrical problems
started happening-- headlights turning on and off by themselves, and, more rarely, the alarm
triggering by itself (without anyone being near it). We put up with it for a while, but
finally decided to look into getting it fixed-- it turned out that we needed to replace the
BCM (body control module- central computer of the car), which was very expensive, since I
had to go to the dealership for that. Noted on the dealership receipt: ''after-market car
alarm poorly installed'', insinuating that it may have caused, in part, the failure of our
BCM, through crossed wires, short, etc. I wouldn't buy American (Dodge) again, and I
wouldn't have Best Buy install an alarm again.
Jim
Sept 2005
After multiple visits to different car mechanics, we've finally
been told that the electrical glitches our minivan has been
experiencing are 'possibly' the result of the after-market car
alarm we had installed 5-6 years ago. (so much for getting a
car alarm from Best Buy) Anyway, we're looking for a reputable
car alarm specialist that might be willing to troubleshoot our
Ungo alarm installation. One mechanic told us that these guys
could charge a lot. Thanks for any advice/recommendations! Jim
Try Franks of Berkeley. They install stereos and alarms
exclusively. I have used them to install and repair stereos
and found them to be quite good. If they don't service the
type of alarm you own, they can probably recommend someone.
Kim
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