Clifford Cyber 3 repair/replacement

[Galcobar]

Have a Clifford Cyber 3 alarm installed -- had it since 1998 -- and it's acting up.

Symptoms include insisting a door is open when it's not, not allowing the car to start when it's showing the door open, and clicking so rapidly it sounds like it's buzzing.

I'm still trying to decide if the fault lies in a connection or in the brain of the unit itself. Waggling the wires connected to the brain can get it to stop faulting, but that might be because it's moving the brain a little bit.

The click/buzz emanates from the removable chip inside the unit. Pull that chip and the unit acts as if it's disconnected. Similarly, I can pull the entire brain and the car's problems cease.

Theoretically I have a lifetime warranty with the unit, though getting it honoured might be a trick if they insist on the original installation invoice. The chain which installed it went out of business some years ago.

Searching for a replacement chip has proven futile -- I imagine because it's so utterly out of date.

So:
1) Any thoughts on how to test if it's a connection issue or one within the brains of the unit? Visual inspections don't reveal any breaks or fraying.

2) If I have to replace it, what alarms are compatible with the Cyber 3 connectors, which would save me having to rewire? It uses two connectors, 8 and 14 points.

[acidice333]

What is this "chip"?

[Galcobar]

It's the biggest one on the board, labelled with S9806AD and 16-044-E, 28 connectors on it.

[Galcobar]

Bah, after a whole lot of tracing and poking and prodding, it turns out to be a loose wire all right -- just one on the circuit board.

I was tricked twice by this thing. First was the piezo sensor -- whenever I jarred the dash or waggled the wires leading to it, which were bundled with the rest of the alarm wiring, it would try to buzz. This caused the alarm brain to react, leading me to think the problem was with a wire connection. Ended up tracing all the way to the pizeo sensor and disconnecting it, which was a real chore given it's nestled against the ignition on the upper side of the steering column.

Second was the wire on the board. It had popped loose from the solder, which explains why it was a inconsistent fault. When I released the brain and had it hanging down from the wiring the connection held, until I poked the wiring. Jiggling the brain didn't produce the same response, I guess because in that position gravity was holding it well enough. I didn't see it because there's two resistors soldered to the same point, on different wires. The two wires were stacked, and it was the one next to the circuit board which was loose -- so when I looked at the connection, it looked solid because the upper piece was still attached.

http://www.celicatech.com/gallery/files/5/0/7/cyber_3_circuit_board.jpg%22%20alt=%22Clifford%20C yber%203%20circuit%20boardhttp://www.celicatech.com/gallery/files/5/0/7/cyber_3_circuit_board.jpg

I only found it when I was grabbing the circuit board to hold it steady while I applied a multi-meter -- and the problem disappeared.

Yeesh, now it's pitch dark, freezing cold, and I get to reassemble my interior while laying upside down in the footwell.

Meh, better than having done all this and then finding out I'd have to replace the thing.