I got a 550M: When you have the constant red eye led light on your dash it means that your alarm siren box battery is dead. We all know this and there are several awesome threads on how to repair this and sub in a cheap battery for a permenant solution. I wondered what would happen if you just unplugged the siren. Well this appears to be another option. We all know that a blaring siren gets no attention. I have personally had cops go right past me trying to cut the wires on a blaring siren in my 308 only to hassle a homeless bum on the street! Sirens are useless IMO. But the factory engine kill feature is pretty nice because it is wired into the ECU's which is also why I hate it but that's another discussion. Anyway if you unplug the siren box 1) the car works fine, 2) the alarm function is back to normal with no red eye except you hear no siren. So if the red eye shows and you really do not need/want the noise box just unplug it and the rest of your alarm will work fine quietly and the siren box will never bother you again. Try it out yourself.
FBB- That also means you no longer know whether your remote is working or not because you get no beeps when arming or disarming the system. Not a big deal, but worth considering. Taz Terry Phillips
Not really...something still makes noise when I click the fob. I get the door locks for noise then the head lights go on and off for visual and the relays for the lights when they go on/off are really loud. I can easily hear all that even with my old plugged up ears.
FBB- Then you are set. New alarm siren is $319 for the latest version applicable to your car from Ricambi, much cheaper to take it out. Is your 550 CAN equipped? Taz TErry Phillips
Well they seem to be easy to put new batteries in and I'd rather have a reworked version with batteries I could get at radio shack vs. buying a new unit. My post was just another alternative to those who feel they don't need the actual siren box. We are still stuck with the alarm unless some smart guy can figure out how to get rid of that. CAN???? I think they all are. I think the ECU talks to the suspension ecu and the alarm ecu and the door ecus , etc all though a CAN line right?
FBB- Only the late 550s have the CAN, if I remember correctly. Brian said the battery option is not great because half the time or more, it is the charging circuit that is shot. He did a bunch of battery swaps and ended up buying most of them back when they failed. Taz Terry Phillips
Well gee I have no clue unless its in the manual which I have read but do not remember all the details. Mine's a 2000MY I could see how Brian could have a problem trying to use ferrari parts but that would be an easy fix just make a charger and use a nicad in the siren. Done. personally...not worht the trouble I'm glad I can just unplug it. I really want to find a way to defeat the factory alarm. I've got the 550 manuals for parts and workshop manual but neither have a factory wiring diagram. That's what I really need.
Many European cars don't beep, they flash lights. Like Billybob points out, you can hear the locks as well.
