I’m having problems with my WildAx Constellation alarm. The van won’t start and seems to be immobilised.

[Malcolm Duff]

My WildAx Constellation will not start. We had this problem the day we bought the van and somehow an AA man got it started, but said don’t use the Gemini alarm system. We followed his advice and had no problems. Yesterday I asked my mechanic to have a look at the alarm system. He said it seemed to be working fine, so I started using it again, and today I have the exact problem as before. The engine is not firing. There is no ignition.

 

[Tigger-Tim]

Do you just have the Gemini 931 alarm, or do you have Outsmart The Thief (OTT)?

Wildax offered them both on the official options list.

There is no immobiliser on the Gemini. But OTT has a remote immobiliser.

Either way, they're installed by the team at https://www.606060.com/ I'd suggest giving them a ring in the first instance.

 

[Malcolm Duff]

Thanks that’s interesting. It’s from OTT. I phoned them and spoke to Carl, who says he designed the alarm, and says it doesn’t have an immobiliser. He explained that if it had an immobiliser the yellow immobile light on the dash would stay on but as it goes of a few seconds after turning on ignition there is no immobiliser. He says it is pure coincidence that the problem occurred the only times we’ve tried to use the Gemini system. However the van has always run perfectly and was serviced yesterday, so I’m not so sure.

 

[Tigger-Tim]

If you have the Gemini alarm fitted (rather than Carl's Lockdown product), there is no link to the immobiliser. The immobiliser being the standard Citroen one.

I wonder if your starter battery is on it's last legs, and the alarm is flattening it?

Or a bad connection - maybe an earth lead failing?

 

[Malcolm Duff]

Thanks for these suggestions. The alarm is a Gemini but Carl has adapted it for WildAx. He says there is no immobiliser. Anyway the AA man got it started and it does seem to be a mechanical issue, though very weird that the only times couldn’t start the van were the only times I had locked it with the Gemini key fob. Carl says the Gemini instructions are not right for his alarm, and I’m still having problems getting it to work properly, so I’m thinking of getting another alarm, possibly with a tracker included. My insurance company are not covering me for theft without a tracker.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Tigger-Tim]

Interesting. I wonder what he's changed.

 

[Malcolm Duff]

I’m afraid he was not very sympathetic, probably because it’s no longer under warranty and I’m not registered for back up support. When I asked him for instructions for the system he told me to speak to WildAx, and said if I tried to follow the online manual I would completely mess it up! So I won’t be going back to OTT.

 

[Tigger-Tim]

That's disappointing. I too have a gemini. If it gives me any troubles I'll probably get a fitter to put in something else.

 

[mapman55]

Hopefully you get sorted quickly with a new system

 

[Donald W.]

I’m afraid he was not very sympathetic, probably because it’s no longer under warranty and I’m not registered for back up support. When I asked him for instructions for the system he told me to speak to WildAx, and said if I tried to follow the online manual I would completely mess it up! So I won’t be going back to OTT.

I had constant problems with an OTT system fitted to a van I bought with it already installed. It even went off in the middle of the night one night when we were asleep and it had not even been set. Got so fed up with it and being spoken to in an arrogant and dismissive manner that I had it removed and replaced with a vanbitz system. No problems since.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Malcolm Duff]

I bought the van 2nd hand and it’s in goon Nick. The previous owners had no problem with it. It’s hard to work out what has happened, but rather than try and fix/understand something that has been altered by OTT I think I might have to get a new one I can rely on, and probably get a tracker fitted at the same time.

Hopefully you get sorted quickly with a new system

thanks.

I had constant problems with an OTT system fitted to a van I bought with it already installed. It even went off in the middle of the night one night when we were asleep and it had not even been set. Got so fed up with it and being spoken to in an arrogant and dismissive manner that I had it removed and replaced with a vanbitz system. No problems since.

Donald, thanks for sharing this. I have never been spoken to in such an arrogant and dismissive manner as I got today. I would like to report them to WildAx, and I will be following you in getting a new system installed.

 

[Langtoftlad]

I don't think any system is perfect.
I've had one unexpected glitch with Meta Trak's Non Start... luckily solved by a reboot.

 

[Tigger-Tim]

Wildax no longer fit alarms - that's now for the dealer to do.