alpine alarm chirp not working

Hi guys, been looking for a solution to my problem on these forums and decided to create a thread because I couldn't find the solution. I just recently purchased a 2000 Honda Prelude and it had an Alpine alarm system already installed. The problem is that the siren doesn't work. I have had the car for about a month now and this is driving me crazy. I don't think it is in valet mode, because when I press the 'tx' button, it locks and unlocks the car, and the lights flash, and the led bulb on the steering column lights the way it should. The only thing that doesn't work is the siren. The weird thing is about a week and a half ago, after driving the car and parking it, I armed it and I heard a chirp! I did it a couple more times and the chirp worked. It was a sweet sounding chirp too as opposed to other car alarms I have heard. I tried it again a few hours later and the same problem with no chirp has come back. It has never worked apart from that one time. Sorry for the long post, and hopefully you guys can help me solve this!

Completely forgot to add: Since I did not install this system myself, I had to do a little digging up as to what model the alarm system was. Based on what I found, I believe it is either a SEC-8028 or SEC-8058. The remote is similar to a SEC-100/150, but the valet switch (I think that is what it is referred to) is like a toggle switch (metal up/down) as opposed to a push button switch.

Bump! Hope someone can help me out!

hi, try googling sec-8028 alpine....maybe you'll find something like this... http://vault.alpine-usa.com/products/documents/OM_SEC-8028.PDF check to see if the system is in valet mode? mark

Thanks for the reply...Yeah, I got a hold of that manual and an install manual. It is not in valet mode. I am not electrically inclined, but the siren randomly working has me thinking it could be the wiring of the actual siren. I just don't know how to check it. The siren has it's own ground, but it's attached to the bracket that attaches the siren to the car. I am wondering if that is the problem or the positive wire. How do I test it out? Thanks again

I would closely inspect the ground on the siren to make sure it hasn't corroded. Over time, under the hood the copper wire will start to break down and will no longer be conductive.Kevin Pierson

if the ground connection is suspect as mentioned by Kevin, repair using a different spot for ground (non-oxide screw, lock washer, grease on terminal). if you have the same results with siren then remove siren and inspect for damage...water? cracked housing? leave ground connected, disconnect power lead of siren, and temporarily connect to battery power. if siren sounds, then the output of the alarm might be suspect. mark