hi guys can anyone recomend a good cat 1 alarm for my mk2 please as getting some money chucked at it now id hate for the car to go walkies lol my price range is about 250-300 quid
Last year i fitted or rather i arranged for an Autowatch 457 RLI/t Thatcham Cat 1 to be fitted to my MK2 at my home address (see alarm link below), the fitter arrived on time as promised and took great care in removing all the necessary trim/dash undertray etc, i have a pristine leather interior/door cards and was initially worried about damage to fragile panel clips/torn door membranes but the fitter turned up with new panel clips/replacement door membranes and suchlike along with seat coverings to protect the leather, the alarm fitting took approximately 3hrs and all wires and ultrasonic sensors were fitted to a standard i was very happy with, quite an achievement as i'm fussy to the point of being anally retentive. The alarm system is fitted as standard to VW's & Fords in South Africa and various other makes in Israel so i'm more than confident that it will stop any thieving scrotes from driving off with my car. Total cost was 320, well worth it my opinion. http://www.autosecuritysystems.co.uk/www.autosecuritysystems.co.uk/info.php?p=4 I was originally going to get the Toad Ai606 Thatcham Cat 1 alarm system fitted but on advice from the installation company i decided to go for the slightly dearer Autowatch system.
thanks for that guys i will be looking into both of those systems does anyone know of any to stay away from?
I have a Clifford Concept 600 with full enclosure. Very happy with it and been installed in the car 12 years with only siren being replaced due to a faulty backup battery. However I would agree with dragonfly has to be fitted properly. I fitted myself and took two whole days in stripping the interior and soldering all the wires and using heat shrink!!
I argee, when i uninstalled a concept 300 from a mk3 and reinstalled it into another mk3 it took me all week looking back this was in november 2006 6 years ago. And that was my first attempt at real soldering but it's easy enough with the flux cored stuff. And that never gave any problems with regards to my installation. However the proximity sensor 3 started playing up, can be replaced with a new one but never got the chance to buy one, and i think the ''fact'' option was playing up, because that was turned on and the internal radar kept setting the alarm off, despite me letting the alarm runs it's full siren cycle. Other than that it was faultless, but it was 3 years old when i uninstalled it so not exactly new. Sigma is also a favorite to the pro alarm installers on vw forums... The newer vw's already have cat 1's on as standard on most higher model ranges.
The proximity sensor is a common problem for them to fail on cliffords and just keep beaping. I wasn't impressed with a clifford relailer in Bromley many years ago, won't mention any names incase I get duffed over. Anyway they said when my battery backup siren failed it wasn't under warrenty becuase it's was classed as an external part of the alarm system and not the brain (immobiliser) Anyway had to buy a new one and wire it in. Since then it has failed again and bought some rechargable batteries off ebay for peanuts and wired them in to the alarm siren!! Sorted!! Oh and the only other thing is I needed was the security screwdriver to disconnect wiring loom plug from immobiliser.
Even though cliffords have problems, it doesnt help when the installers don't wire them correctly! Vw should have put alarms on them back in the 1980's, they would have prevented many thefts!
I totally agree. When I installed my Clifford, I twisted wires together, soldered all wires, used heat shrink, then put black tape over the heat shrink afterwards. I also secured the Clifford “brain” somewhere secure and very hard to access with out removing a lot of trim, plugs and wires. I like the fact I am now using a chipped ECU on my ABF MK2 and is wired same as MK3 16V with transponder loop over ignition barrel as per Rubjonny’s suggestion. Got a blank key from EBay, got it cut to my ignition barrel and swapped the chip over into my new key. I feel a lot happier I have this installed as makes it a lot harder for thief to start my engine. (Unless they have an abf ECU with matching chip on them or VAG com) then got to disarm the alarm, break the steering lock and also remove my steering wheel dislok. Maybe a wheel clamp could be a very good preventer for thieves?
thanks for the advise but im swaying towards the clifford concept 600 as one of my mates has had one in his car for years he now tells me, and has never had a problem with it. hearing some one else having no probs with one sounds like good news but im taking everyones advise and getting it fitted properly if anyone knows of anywhere round nottinghamshire that deliver a good siervice please let me know
Either phone up Clifford direct and ask for a good installer near you or check out the yellow pages. Even better is word of mouth, but it's finding someone good and trustworthy. If you want to install yourself I have the installation manual if you want a copy. I suggest you get black jax working, you wire to one of the injectors, also window roll up and alloy wheel sensors are good features. Proxy sensor can go wrong which beeps constantly if faulty and cost around 50 new. Other than that, the alarm is very good, had two theft attempts for my car thankfully my Clifford kept it safe and secure. Sadly can't stop a thief drilling out your rear lock or wedging your front door plates!!
You can't go wrong with the proximity sensor, you can sleep better knowing if a thief is near your car it will beep away!
I would have thought a proximity sensor would prevent that from happening. At the present time i havent got a proxy sensor yet and i've just been outside and looking around and theres nothing stopping a thief from trying to get in my car quietly. My first car 13 years ago had the locks forced on it at 2 am, lucky i had a cheap 2 wire alarm which had ultrasonics and that scared them off. If i'd have had a proximity sensor they wouldnt have forced the locks in the first place, it would have beeped once and they'd have walked off, knowing full well it was alarmed! Theres a video on youtube of a mx5 in ireland which had a clifford on it warning stickers and led on show, a cctv camera captures 2 thieves hanging around it and they try a few times to break into it and despite the clifford being on it they cut the roof and open the door the alarm goes off and they run, they then come back and try it again same night i think as the door was still open and the alarm goes off, they start to run when the owner comes out and gives chase, a getaway car is nearby. If they want it they will try to get it, the harder you make it the less likely it is they will get it.
My badminton friend has a Merc AMG the brand new one 12 reg and looks like a maffia car like on Grand Theft Auto game with all the blank tint windows. He doesn't live in a bad aera but he worries so much that he has a camera installed into his car and also in his house. Crazy!!! I think those cars come with a tracker as standard.
