Mongoose alarm in Mkv Jetta

[spiff]

Hi all,

I am thinking of getting an aftermarket alarm fitted to my Jetta 1.4 tsi with the 7spd dsg gearbox.

Reading various forums and recommendations, I'm considering the Mongoose M80S or the newer M80G upgrades.

Does anyone know where to get Mongoose alarms in Perth?
Has anyone had any problems with installing category 5 aftermarket alarms in mkv's with the dsg gearbox? We don't need things like turbo timers on the twincharged tsi, do we?

ANy other recommendations for category 5 alarms (for insurance discount), in case Mongoose is not available in Perth?

thanks!

[Maverick]

What are you trying to achieve? Do you want something that will make a noise if someone breaks in? Something that will alert you if someone breaks in?

You can buy a module that allows you to interface to the CAN bus on the car that can make wiring a LOT easier and this works with all car alarms, from memory around USD$199 but all you need to supply is power and the connections for indicators, lights, disarm, arm and so forth are all supplied by this box and you use the factory remote control.

The car has deadlocked doors and there is no way to start the car without the key so theft of the car isn't an issue and I doubt you will see any car insurance premium reductions for fitting an alarm.

I'd be very wary about letting anyone loose on the wiring of the car unless I knew that they know exactly what they're doing, too many "auto electricians" don't understand how CAN bus operates and can make a real mess of the wiring, introduce reliability issues or cause damage to modules.

[spiff]

To be honest, it was to gain a discount on insurance premium. But, after ringing Mongoose australia and finding out who their resellers were in WA (Alberts is one), and going to Alberts Osborne Park, I was told it would cost AUD$600 to have the Mongoose *MAP80s installed. They have the *M80s too, which costs the same to install. They also have the *MAP80g which also costs the same.

The savings on my premium would have been 10%, so around $70? $600 to save $70/year would take me close to 9 years to recoup. Not worth it, imo.

But, for peace of mind, and also looking further into the modules available. I read that they had one which you could add on that allows the system to send you a txt message if the alarm goes off. (You need a sim card, but there're some places I found with $0 sim cards and no monthly fee, so you just pay whenever the txt msg is sent. Around 15 cents - 20 cents per txt).

I asked the guy at Alberts and he said this was the Vehicle GPS tracker module. I wasn't sure at the time, so I said I think I read they were different modules. He agreed he wasn't too sure, so he's going to look into it.

All in, when I finally went back to my insurer (and they were bloody hopeless at getting past conversation history/agreements right), I finally got a supervisor and after going through heaps of numbers and discussions, he offered me a good price and said "How about I give you a price and you don't need to install the alarm?" (the frustration at that point!)

So, now, I'm deciding whether it's a good thing to get the alarm for the glass breakage, peace of mind, and the additional 'send u a txt' or vehicle gps module. Got to know how much extra it'll add.

One other thing. The guy said it's a CANBUS system you'll need, and the CANBUS portion alone is $500. (??) But Mav, you're saying, the VW system already has a CANBUS? Funny thing is, as I was also inquiring about audio setup and told the guy I had the **RNS510 which I paid extra to get as an option, he said we can hook this/that/and the other (audio bits and pieces) to the CANBUS, I stopped him and asked "So, I already have a CANBUS? Why then do i need another CANBUS for the alarm?". He stopped and seemed unsure. I'm not really clued in on this whole CANBUS thing apart from what it is (reducing wires, letting all the fancy electronics in modern cars commuicate). How many CANBUSes do you need? Does one serve the needs of all - existing vehicle electronics including aftermarket alarm and audio setups?

* M80s and MAP80s are rated 4-star. Not sure if this is equivalent to Category (Cat) 4. M80g and MAP80g are rated 5-star. The difference between M and MAP is that the MAP hooks up to the manufacturer remote whereas the M uses the Mongoose remote.

** If I'd known, from what the audio electricians told me, that the RNS510 was a lousy headunit to get in terms of premium audio quality and that aftermarket parts were available which would give me the same functionality (media, dvd, hdd, bluetooth, navigation, tv, phone, connects to steering buttons etc), I would probably not have gotten the RNS and gone aftermarket. No point, I'm told, changing the speakers, adding an amp and sub because the headunit is the problem. I'm sitting on this thought now - uninstall the RNS510 and sell it (3 days old!) and pay $2000 for an eclipse headunit.

[Fred Nurk]

CANBus is a communications network between different devices installed in your car, manufacturers love it as there are less wires and more options with the equipment (its easier to tell which door is open with CANBus as an example, as all door switches have an address that tells the system what's open).

The CANbus alarms don't require separate wiring for things, rather they pull information off the bus to see what is happening (i.e. door open, key in ignition and so on). This is why a CANBus alarm would be considered if your car already has a CANBus fitted, but not if your car doesn't (as opposed to 'why does my car need another CANBus').

There's a whole heap more detail regarding CAN (Controller Area Network) that I've skipped over, but for what a free opinion on the internet is worth, if I was fitting an alarm to my VW, I'd be looking specifically at the CANBus ones.

[piper26]

Sounds like the supplier of the alarms doesnt actually understand the car or how the alarm integrates into the car and has just read a catalogue and sales blurb