ignoring the alarm system service required message

[Leto Atreides II]

I've got the "alarm system service required" message popping up. Until I get around to replacing it do I need to worry about the car hopelessly trying to recharge the siren battery and draining itself? Will simply pulling the siren's fuse solve that issue? Would pulling the fuse affect anything else?

[Willy]

Pulling the fuse (11C/38) only affects the siren module. However, this does not solve all power drain possibilities.
There is a CAN-bus data connection between the siren module and the upper electronic module (UEM).
This module has a direct connection to the battery, it receives power even when the car is shut-down.
Depending on the precise nature of the failing siren module, it is possible that the UEM will try to establish a
communication with the module, thereby draining the battery. The best way to avoid this risk is to remove the
siren module entirely from the CAN-bus network by disconnecting it.
Willy
7758

[Cooper1]

So, just removing the alarm module will solve the battery drain problem? I found my battery dead this morning after the car sat for a week

[Leto Atreides II]

So I got a used alarm from Erie. Took out the old one (it had started chirping non-stop -- thankfully the battery was so low I thought it was a far off bird until I realized the sound was coming from the car).

When I put in the new (used) one from Erie the car still says "alarm system service required" in the dash. Am I missing something? Is it not just plug and play? I can return it to Erie for a replacement of course but am I missing something? Maybe something else is also causing the the message to appear? For now I don't have any alarm module plugged in. The only negatives seem to be the message that appears on the dash, and if the alarm is triggered it will use the car's horn instead of the siren.

[billr99]

So I got a used alarm from Erie. Took out the old one (it had started chirping non-stop -- thankfully the battery was so low I thought it was a far off bird until I realized the sound was coming from the car).

When I put in the new (used) one from Erie the car still says "alarm system service required" in the dash. Am I missing something? Is it not just plug and play? I can return it to Erie for a replacement of course but am I missing something? Maybe something else is also causing the the message to appear? For now I don't have any alarm module plugged in. The only negatives seem to be the message that appears on the dash, and if the alarm is triggered it will use the car's horn instead of the siren.

I've done two of these so far on my XCs and in both cases the messages went away as soon as the new module was powered up. I suspect that you might have gotten a bad one from Eire. Note that the date of manufacture is on the case of the module. If you get one that is at or beyond about 7 years old, it probably isn't going to be much better than your bad one. In my cases, I've noticed that both went out in the 7-8 year range which must be pretty much the life expectancy of the on-board battery.

Good Luck,

Bill

[Xfingers]

Those alarm modules have a NiCd rechargeable battery in them. When the battery gets old and can no longer hold a charge, I think that's when you get the ALARM SERVICE REQD message and the alarm starts acting up, making noises, going off unexpectedly. Also, it's likely at this point that the old battery has started leaking acid and damaged the computer board in the alarm module. There are threads explaining how to replace the battery and clean up the computer board. My experience was that when I took out the alarm module and the related fuse the message stayed on but I wasn't getting significant drain off the car battery. When I replaced the NiCd battery and reinstalled my original alarm module, the message on the dash went away but now my alarm no longer works! I'm guessing either my computer board was too damaged by the leaking battery or maybe I did an amateur job of connecting the new battery to the old wires. At any rate, I don't feel like I really need the alarm and I ain't going back in there to try to diagnose.

In your case, it's possible that the used alarm module from Erie may have an original NiCd battery that has passed its usable life, leaked acid...The only way to know for sure is to crack open the plastic alarm module housing and see what you got inside. Rechargeable batts don't last forever so it could be possible that the Erie module was just as dead as the original module you pulled out. I haven't read of any way to test the functionality of an alarm module when it's out of the car. What year car was the used Erie alarm module pulled from? Even if it was pulled from a MY2007, you're still talking about a NiCd battery that's about 10 years old which could be pushing it for rechargeables?

[AKAMick]

Always check the fuse after replacing the alarm module, having done two, both fuses for some reason had blown after installing rebatteried modules

[vtl]

Crack both alarm sirens you have and choose the one which has the least damage. Clean the PCB, restore dissolved traces, put 7.2v NiMH battery.

I did two alarm sirens, the repair cost me around $12 each for new battery pack.

[JRL]

If you don't need the system you can have the dealer download software that disables the entire system, everything else will now work again.
So for $100 or so you're done with no nasty work to do.
If you want the software PN I have it

[Leto Atreides II]

Everything else as far as I can tell works anyway, just shows a warning on the dash. I already bought the part from Erie so I might as well make it work rather than give the dealer $100 for 10 minutes of their time. Too bad it's not something I can just turn on/off myself with VIDA. When I've got some free time again I'll double check the fuses and play with the sirens some more.

[JRL]

If you change your mind, let me know

[Leto Atreides II]

Thanks, will do.

[JRL]

While I still have it at hand and before it gets buried somewhere in cyber space...
Here is the Volvo software P/N for the alarm removal from the system. [thumbup]

(This is for a 2002 but I believe it's the same for all years. If not, I can get the P/N for the correct year, if necessary, Dealer can check first)

P/N 9438408