Alarm Issues Solved... [alarm keeps going off at night]

[Jeepmonster]

I couldn't find threads with same symptoms I had, so I thought I would post this here in case others have experienced issues I had with the alarm going off. A couple months after purchasing, my alarm kept going off at night. It appeared to be random. First, it was around 10pm. Then a few days later, it happened again but maybe just a little bit later. I got the Uconnect notification that the theft alarm went off. This happened sporadically for the next several days/weeks. Here are the things I did to try and isolate:

1. Removed Tazer - no change
2. Removed Pedal Commander - no change
3. Checked both batteries - no change
4. Disconnected Aux switches (disconnected power) - no change
5. Checked for stored codes - none

When I took my JT in for the steering TSB, I explained the alarm issue to my service advisor. He said if it is alarm related, I would have to go to the original dealer where I made the purchase, as alarm systems vary by dealer. However, he did assure me that if it is a factory electrical issue, they would cover it under warranty.

Eventually, I had to just not lock the doors at night because the alarm was just not reliable (and didn’t want my nice neighbors to get mad at me). I planned to have it addressed by the original dealer at the first oil change or service.

One day, I was downtown, and the darn alarm went off about every five minutes - I kept getting Uconnect notifications. No evidence that anyone had tampered with the truck.

I read somewhere to check/adjust the alarm sensitivity. I looked for the alarm module and how it was connected. Starting from the blinking LED on the driver side knee panel, I traced the wires. The wires led to a “black box” zip tied to the frame of the center console (on passenger side), and some wires were tapped into a harness behind the kick panel on the passenger side. As I was taking the kick panel off, I kept hearing the alarm box clicking - like a relay switching on and off. I kept wiggling panels and wires to see what was triggering the alarm.

Alas, it was the alarm system wire taps! One of the two wires didn’t make full contact. Any slight movement caused the alarm to trigger. Also, I would get a door ajar (passenger side) light on the dash (when doors were completely shut).

Looking back, I occasionally got a door ajar light and chime going off randomly (while driving). I used to pull over and closed the passenger side doors - grumbling that the wife and kids didn’t close the door all the way on previous rides.

The loose wire taps explains why it would go off at night (thermal expansion/contraction) and busy street (vibration). The quick fix was to pinch the tap to make a more secure connection. I know these aren’t the most reliable types of taps, but it seems to be perfectly fine now. I haven’t researched to see if the alarm is tapped into a door switch, dome light, etc.

Looking at the Karr alarm, I didn’t see any type of external adjustments. Perhaps it’s pre-set at the factory.

If anyone else has had random alarm issues, you may want to check how it is wired to the truck.

Here is where the alarm module was located:

Not great picture, but the wire taps from alarm module to trucks wiring:
Red (alarm) to red (truck), yellow (alarm) to brown/green (truck)

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[mike921921]

Dealer installed alarm? Did you request it?

 

[Jeepmonster]

Dealer installed alarm? Did you request it?

Yes, it was dealer installed. I didn't request it. It was already on. I did pay to have it "activated".

 

[Mr._Bill]

Yes, it was dealer installed. I didn't request it. It was already on. I did pay to have it "activated".

Is it an actual alarm, or just the GPS/Cellular tracker the dealer installed causing issues with the factory alarm due to the bad tap?

I have one of the trackers in my truck, installed by the dealer. It came with a paid three year subscription for the tracking service. I can log into the website or use the KARR S.W.A.T. phone app to track it.

 

[Jeepmonster]

Is it an actual alarm, or just the GPS/Cellular tracker the dealer installed causing issues with the factory alarm due to the bad tap?

I have one of the trackers in my truck, installed by the dealer. It came with a paid three year subscription for the tracking service. I can log into the website or use the KARR S.W.A.T. phone app to track it.

I'm not sure exactly what the little black box is, but I don't have the tracking service. The sales paperwork just has it listed as "KARR ALARM 2". This is what it looks like:

I think it is the brain. There's a harness with wires that tap into several other wires in the truck.

 

[Mr._Bill]

I'm not sure exactly what the little black box is, but I don't have the tracking service. The sales paperwork just has it listed as "KARR ALARM 2". This is what it looks like:

I think it is the brain. There's a harness with wires that tap into several other wires in the truck.

That's big enough to be an alarm. Maybe your model didn't include the factory alarm. My KARR device is about a fourth of that size.

 

[Jeepmonster]

That's big enough to be an alarm. Maybe your model didn't include the factory alarm. My KARR device is about a fourth of that size.

It's about the size of a pager. Despite looking for it on Google, I can't tell what model it is. I'll ask the dealer when I get around to it.

 

[cecaa850]

Wire taps are junk and normally used by techs that don't know how to solder.

 

[Ghostwave]

wire Taps, no surprise.

Had a similar issue with the Factory alarm. Started going off in the driveway. Found the spare fob, went out shut it off, then almost immediately went off again. Got in, started/stopped and again, damn thing starts honking. Then it occurred to me, where is my normal key fob? Was in my pants pocket, which was apparently in the washing machine going through the spin cycle.

so there is that lesson....

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