Volvo alarm siren module issue

[ionianp2]

Hi Everyone,

I hope all is well. I wanted to talk about the infamous Volvo alarm siren module problem. I've followed the many well written tutorials about hacking it open, cleaning the board and attaching a new 7.2V battery.

I even rotated it 180 degrees in case the new battery fails and leaks, to leak against the plastic and not the board.

It worked fine for over a year but recently has been triggering the alarm randomly again.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to find one with a good board? I would still put a new battery to it. It seems to be a catch-22 because you have to hack it open to determine if the board has suffered acid corrosion.

Has anyone thought of any creative ways to solve this issue?

I would love to hear people's thoughts; I don't want to pony up $250 for a brand new one that will end up eventually failing.

[oragex]

It's actually not difficult to hack it open - but you'll need to be very careful and use thick leather gloves - I opened mine quickly using a quality cutter - makes for a very clean and quick job. Of course, the blade must not go inside too much. For the battery, some people use chinese batteries, I've heard these last about 1 year because the actual amps is much lower than what's advertised (what a surprise for a chinese battery), so the battery goes bad quite fast. So I guess it's only the battery on yours, the board should still be fine.

[ionianp2]

Thanks for the tip Oragex (Peppermint). I will check the battery. This is the third siren module in the car. I already opened it and installed a new battery prior to replacing it.

I may extend the battery wires and see if I can put the battery in a container somewhere along the engine bay for easier access.

Any battery brands that people swear by? The one I purchased was an Exell...