Dear All,


I Have removed and recovered my headlining and plan to refit it this weekend once I have cleaned all the trim items, as everything got soot soiled due to a welding fire a few years ago.
My question is do I need to re-fit the interior alarm sensors as they are grubby and the roof looks neater without them? (not cut out the holes yet)
I have operated the car without them with no apparent issues from the alarm so guess I have answered my own question, I am just worried that I could be storing up trouble.


Any idea how they work and if their omission will have any long term consequence?


Regards,


John

 

The alarm has switches on the doors, boot, bonnet to provide exterior protection if any of these are opened. The roof sensors provide interior protection by detecting movement inside the vehicle that may occur if a window was broken and access gained without opening a door. You would probably have some insurance issues in this case if you did not install them as I am sure your insurer expects that the vehicle has the manufacturer's alarm system fitted and it is fully operational.

 

V126man makes an interesting point about insurance, and is correct in describing how the sensors work. As you surmised, you may have already have answered your own question about whether the system will work without them connected. I suspect more modern systems would throw a fault code if sensors are not connected, but I dont believe the X300 will. In the event that it does, you could connect the sensors, but mount them somewhere else so as not to spoil the aesthetic. They "learn" the internal "capacity" of the vehicle each time they are activated, and respond to changes in it by triggering the alarm. They are most effective when they can "see" as much of the interior as possible, hence their original location in the roof. If you fitted them out of sight, they would be less effective, but you might be able to dodge any bullet from your insurance company, were one ever to be fired.

 

Thanks Gents,
Good point re insurance in the event of a theft, perhaps I should refit them. I routed the wires into the original housings, so it should be a case of finding some new 'fir tree' rivets and cutting the cloth.


Cheers, John