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I had a problem with a neighbor who had a van where the alarm kept going off at random times. They were generally good about hearing it and coming out with the fob to turn it off. But still, even 20 or 30 seconds multiple times a night is a drag. Especially in the summer with the windows open. Eventually, I caught them outside one day and talked to them about it. They apologized but also said they didn't know what they could do about it. I said I'd be willing to give it a try (doing something), even tho I had no clue. I told them to give me a few minutes. Went inside, looked up the make/model, found it was a common problem with a bad (hood) sensor, found some videos online on how to fix, went back over and fixed on second try. It was easy. Can't even describe how nice it is not to have that thing going off at random all the time.
Back in the day, this car alarm was going off all night long. It kept me up, driving me insane. The next morn it's still going off and I go out looking for some vengeance...and it's my fuckin car.
We were having issues with our car alarm and I was immediately like we need to disconnect the battery NOW or someone will do it for us. I also wouldn't blame them. It really sucks to have a car alarm going off all night in a crowded neighborhood.
The duality of /r/Chicago
Top comment “I had this happen. Talked to my neighbors. Managed to help them fix it”
Second comment “throw a fucking brick through it”
Yah, but it's like when your dad says "I'll give you something to cry about, you little shit!"
Except, you know, without the decades of therapy afterwards.
I dealt with this for months. After market car alarm would go off any time a large vehicle or one with a shitty exhaust pipe drove by. Drove me crazy.
I left a nice, neighborly note at first, with a printout of suggested mechanical things to check out to fix it. Happened to see the owner out the window when he found the note - he didn’t even read it, just pulled it off the windshield and tossed it on the ground.
Second note, after it went unfixed, was a bit less nice, asked him to fix it or park on a different street.
Third note was on bright tabloid size paper and was pretty rude. He must’ve seen me put it on because he came up to me when I was shoveling a month later and threatened to vandalize or damage my home.
Cops never did a damn thing about the alarm when I called, except drive by and set it off themselves.
I think they eventually moved away. I dunno what to tell you but just wanted to commiserate. It sucks. Maybe cops in your neighborhood will do more than ours.
Sounds bad, but I remember back in 2010 this exact situation happened and someone smashed the drivers side window one night after three nights straight of it going off. After that never heard the alarm ever again 😶
On Beacon St in the late 1990s there was a situation like this, except whoever smashed the window also set the car’s interior on fire. My roommate heard the car owner find it in the morning and exclaim, “Aw, man!”
Great way to get shot to be honest. There are some crazy fuckers out there...
But if you disconnect the battery there's no real damage other than some cut cords. Problem from there is finding where the battery is though because in newer cars they can be in some weird spots.
Try contacting your alderman. This happened in my Near South Side neighborhood a couple years ago, we contacted our alderman (Pat Dowell) on facebook, cops came out to check on it, and the city sent someone to tow the car. The owner must have been warned because they had moved it before it could be towed.
1) Get to know your neighbors. No doubt this is disturbing some.
2) Agree with your neighbors that they will all call 911 (the correct number for crimes in progress -- noise is a crime, small, but still a crime).
3) Many calls at the same time for the same reason and from different addresses will show a neighborhood concern, not a beef from one crank who may be making up the excuse to call.
4) You may hit a lucky night when there's so little going on that a squad is willing to respond, but it is low priority, obviously.
5) If you want to go fancier, consider circulating a paper and get neighbors to sign it with their address. Walk in to the Aldercreature's office with it. DON'T email it! They have to see & hear you so they know you are not a nut. Ask the staff to help with the police precinct response next time the noise happens. Plan B, take your signed list to the police precincts neighbor relations officer. That's why that position exists.
6) Continue with your neighborly organizing over this problem. It will pay off in other ways than just noise responses. And one of these times cops will arrive, hear the noise, trace the owner and talk with the offender.
7) Just FYI sometimes old, cheap or corroded car alarms will go off by themselves, especially in damp weather. Sometimes it is a failing sensor that reacts to minor vibration of a passing car. Sometimes it is chemically altered A-Holes sitting on the car keys.
thanks for this! super actionable so I appreciate that. I'm friendly with a few neighbors so we'll just have to actually talk about the rogue van
on point 7, I'm pretty sure their alarm is just busted like you said and they need to remove it. I know it's not malicious but of course that doesn't make it any less annoying. One day it was parked directly in front of my building so I just sat there and watched it, contemplating how to get a brick through the window without getting caught on cam...... tragically that one was in broad daylight
You are welcome. The big hurdle for you is to get people willing to call 911 or actually put their name and address on a paper. *Enlist others to get even more names*
Assure them that either way, the aldercreature and police are fully aware of the need to keep the lists confidential.
On the plus side, any group effort is far more likely to yield a response than a single complaint because it shows not only annoyance, but a continuing problem brewing that involves many people and neither the police nor the aldercreature want that. Especially when it is documented. And it comes from someone who not only articulate but clearly not a nut.
Call 911 and say you’re concerned about your neighbor and want a wellness check. “The car alarm keeps going off, I’m not sure if they fell inside and are trying to get attention or what.” The cops actually showed up that night, I was shocked.
Well according to another post in here today, folks are apparently calling 911 for cars parked incorrectly and claim they get results.
With your case, I’d try repeatedly noticed 911. If that doesn’t work, I’d be on the horn with any and all tow companies until one shows up
Do you know who the owner of the vehicle is? Or along the lines of do they live nearby? Have you seen said person? Trying to get at that I can’t think of a reason why a good neighbor or even a person with a pulse, upon hearing their alarm go off, wouldn’t waddle out. Several times I’ve heard a car alarm outside my building go off, and after several minutes I’m like, “I need to check if it’s mine. One for burglary, but also not to be that guy.”
I’m really not an advocate for harming personal property, one because it’s wrong and two because people have lost their lives over far less, but I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be tempted.
I guess I was lucky. I called 311 on a car alarm in the alley, and they transferred me to 911, and the beat cops swung by within 10 minutes. The alarm performed for them and they slapped a ticket on the car. We didn’t hear the alarm again after that day.
Put a piece of paper under the windshield wiper that reads "glass is expensive, rocks are cheap" and atop the wiper with just the paper between it and the glass - a throwable rock.
A note is just a note, paper. Feeling the weight of the rock does the trick. The heft of the rock, the transgression into their space. The thickness of one sheet of paper between stone and glass. They know the alarm is going off and do not care, you need to be asshole +1, a bigger dick. There are all the rules and procedures and what not, that person operates in the realm of not caring about their imposition. You need to push past all that press into their space.
Have done this a dozen times and it ALWAYS works. 10/10 - every time. Never had to actually break any windows.
Car alarms in a city are a good example for vibe-ology. A bad vibe dominates, sound pollution shouldn't be tolerated. If it gets to property destruction time maybe start by writing a very clear note and thoroughly duct taping it to the window
Personally, I think car alarms should be banned. They are useless. If somebody really wants your car badly enough, they're going to get it. The noisiest alarm in the world isn't going to deter anything.
I feel like all they do is annoy everyone.
The alarm sounds need to be going off after 10 or 11 PM for them to ticket the vehicle because then it's a public disturbance or something.
Headphones? Ear plugs? Go stay at a friend's house and hope the vehicle is gone the next day?
Sorry you're going through a rough time.
noise ordinance doesn't typically apply to car alarms. I think they fall into the category of public nuisance when running continuously so technically they should be getting ticketed if anybody ever bothered to show up 😭
There is a separate ordinance from car alarms that has nothing to do with the time.
9-76-150
[https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago\_il/0-0-0-2646988](https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2646988)
Depending on the make and model, you could find a way to pop the hood and just disconnect the battery. Should be able to do it with out damaging it depending on the car.
FWIW, I’ve called 911 various times when people parked directly behind my lots exit in the alley, preventing me from leaving. I’ve mainly called around 7-11PM on weekdays (it’s happened at random times throughout many weeks) and I’ve never seen a squad car even roll by. A window punch took and pocket knife can be had for less than $10, so what you will with that info. As always, talking it out with neighbors will probably yield better results, though I can imagine this will be difficult if the “problem” property is a 5 floor apartment building like it was in my case.
A few years ago I was in Manhattan and there was a car alarm going off for an extended period of time. Tires had already been deflated/slashed by the time I was vaguely annoyed by it. It didn't happen again.
This happened on my block a couple months ago. The car alarm was going off from 2am until I left for work at 8am. The cops came and gave the person a ticket but they couldn't shut off the alarm. Thankfully, they must have gotten it fixed or something because it was just that one night.
1. Nice friendly heads-up note and make sure it’s received
2. Tire valve stem core removal tool ($7 at your local auto parts store). It’s the best way to inflict time and money cost on carbrained sociopaths without doing permanent or wasteful property damage.
Really? A few years ago this happened overnight and kept the whole neighborhood up. In the morning the asshole's windshield was covered with rude notes from everyone and two tickets.
My neighbor’s alarm wakes me numerous times at night. The other day someone egged his car and he was asking around if anybody saw who did it. I mentioned to him that I didn’t see anything, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was someone who got woke by your horn.
I don't know if this is help, but my idea is to get a megaphone and announce to the neighborhood that a car is being stolen. If you have the chops for it, keep an ongoing monologue going until it stops. Bonus if you have a PA speaker that allows you to stay somewhat anonymous as you do The Car Alarm Show. As long as it's waking everyone, already, you might as well add to the cacophony.
Lmaoo this sub is ridiculous and goofy. Yall saying destroy the persons car but are against guns being used on someone breaking into a car. Yeah time to leave this sub. Bunch of dumbasses
seems kind of self-evident that if you want to destroy someone's car for being a nuisance, you might also not want to be shot doing so. Not sure where you see a contradiction lol
That’s nice tell that to families with babies or homes who need to sleep with their windows open
3 million people doesn’t excuse allowing a car to be a huge disruption to an entire neighborhood
Walgreens sells a jar of ear protectors which when cut in half are comfortable to sleep in. Mariano's sells pomade which does clog your ears like beeswax does. Insert a time flip of pomade, jam the ear plug in, enjoy the silence.
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I had a problem with a neighbor who had a van where the alarm kept going off at random times. They were generally good about hearing it and coming out with the fob to turn it off. But still, even 20 or 30 seconds multiple times a night is a drag. Especially in the summer with the windows open. Eventually, I caught them outside one day and talked to them about it. They apologized but also said they didn't know what they could do about it. I said I'd be willing to give it a try (doing something), even tho I had no clue. I told them to give me a few minutes. Went inside, looked up the make/model, found it was a common problem with a bad (hood) sensor, found some videos online on how to fix, went back over and fixed on second try. It was easy. Can't even describe how nice it is not to have that thing going off at random all the time.
MVP move right here
DIY move…
You're a good neighbor
Suddenly I’m thinking about insurance…..
Happened to me too. If you ever think advertising doesn’t work…
Back in the day, this car alarm was going off all night long. It kept me up, driving me insane. The next morn it's still going off and I go out looking for some vengeance...and it's my fuckin car.
Let’s see who this douchebag is… oh
Happened right out in front of my place at like 2am once. It didn't take long for someone to break a window, pop the hood, and disconnect the battery.
lol ironic that the alarm caused the break in
Wasn’t me.
Perfect username
Thanks. It was inspired by my 10-year stint in Chicago 😆
What a way to honor your time in this fine city!
We were having issues with our car alarm and I was immediately like we need to disconnect the battery NOW or someone will do it for us. I also wouldn't blame them. It really sucks to have a car alarm going off all night in a crowded neighborhood.
This is terrible advice but… if cops aren’t coming for the alarm they probably won’t come for a thrown brick 😬
The duality of /r/Chicago Top comment “I had this happen. Talked to my neighbors. Managed to help them fix it” Second comment “throw a fucking brick through it”
Yah, but it's like when your dad says "I'll give you something to cry about, you little shit!" Except, you know, without the decades of therapy afterwards.
I dealt with this for months. After market car alarm would go off any time a large vehicle or one with a shitty exhaust pipe drove by. Drove me crazy. I left a nice, neighborly note at first, with a printout of suggested mechanical things to check out to fix it. Happened to see the owner out the window when he found the note - he didn’t even read it, just pulled it off the windshield and tossed it on the ground. Second note, after it went unfixed, was a bit less nice, asked him to fix it or park on a different street. Third note was on bright tabloid size paper and was pretty rude. He must’ve seen me put it on because he came up to me when I was shoveling a month later and threatened to vandalize or damage my home. Cops never did a damn thing about the alarm when I called, except drive by and set it off themselves. I think they eventually moved away. I dunno what to tell you but just wanted to commiserate. It sucks. Maybe cops in your neighborhood will do more than ours.
This happened once on my st the car ended up on fire.
r/passivevoice
Leave a note on the window saying “this time it’s a note, next time it’s a brick”
Sounds bad, but I remember back in 2010 this exact situation happened and someone smashed the drivers side window one night after three nights straight of it going off. After that never heard the alarm ever again 😶
On Beacon St in the late 1990s there was a situation like this, except whoever smashed the window also set the car’s interior on fire. My roommate heard the car owner find it in the morning and exclaim, “Aw, man!”
a brick will prolly not get the alarm to turn off tho.
but it *will* make me feel better....
Sure, but at that point it's pretty easy to yank fuses out or disconnect the battery
If you pop the hood and disconnect the battery (black/negative side), the car alarm should stop. Don’t worry about getting shocked. It’s low voltage.
If it’s their fault, honestly do it. 911 is way too busy for this.
You need to set the car on fire.
Great way to get shot to be honest. There are some crazy fuckers out there... But if you disconnect the battery there's no real damage other than some cut cords. Problem from there is finding where the battery is though because in newer cars they can be in some weird spots.
Try contacting your alderman. This happened in my Near South Side neighborhood a couple years ago, we contacted our alderman (Pat Dowell) on facebook, cops came out to check on it, and the city sent someone to tow the car. The owner must have been warned because they had moved it before it could be towed.
1) Get to know your neighbors. No doubt this is disturbing some. 2) Agree with your neighbors that they will all call 911 (the correct number for crimes in progress -- noise is a crime, small, but still a crime). 3) Many calls at the same time for the same reason and from different addresses will show a neighborhood concern, not a beef from one crank who may be making up the excuse to call. 4) You may hit a lucky night when there's so little going on that a squad is willing to respond, but it is low priority, obviously. 5) If you want to go fancier, consider circulating a paper and get neighbors to sign it with their address. Walk in to the Aldercreature's office with it. DON'T email it! They have to see & hear you so they know you are not a nut. Ask the staff to help with the police precinct response next time the noise happens. Plan B, take your signed list to the police precincts neighbor relations officer. That's why that position exists. 6) Continue with your neighborly organizing over this problem. It will pay off in other ways than just noise responses. And one of these times cops will arrive, hear the noise, trace the owner and talk with the offender. 7) Just FYI sometimes old, cheap or corroded car alarms will go off by themselves, especially in damp weather. Sometimes it is a failing sensor that reacts to minor vibration of a passing car. Sometimes it is chemically altered A-Holes sitting on the car keys.
thanks for this! super actionable so I appreciate that. I'm friendly with a few neighbors so we'll just have to actually talk about the rogue van on point 7, I'm pretty sure their alarm is just busted like you said and they need to remove it. I know it's not malicious but of course that doesn't make it any less annoying. One day it was parked directly in front of my building so I just sat there and watched it, contemplating how to get a brick through the window without getting caught on cam...... tragically that one was in broad daylight
You are welcome. The big hurdle for you is to get people willing to call 911 or actually put their name and address on a paper. *Enlist others to get even more names* Assure them that either way, the aldercreature and police are fully aware of the need to keep the lists confidential. On the plus side, any group effort is far more likely to yield a response than a single complaint because it shows not only annoyance, but a continuing problem brewing that involves many people and neither the police nor the aldercreature want that. Especially when it is documented. And it comes from someone who not only articulate but clearly not a nut.
You must live in my street. It’s been going on for weeks.
Hypothetically Break the driver side window, pop the hood then disconnect the battery. I work for a living and need to sleep
Call 911 and say you’re concerned about your neighbor and want a wellness check. “The car alarm keeps going off, I’m not sure if they fell inside and are trying to get attention or what.” The cops actually showed up that night, I was shocked.
Well according to another post in here today, folks are apparently calling 911 for cars parked incorrectly and claim they get results. With your case, I’d try repeatedly noticed 911. If that doesn’t work, I’d be on the horn with any and all tow companies until one shows up
I gave 911 another go. we'll give it some time and see if anyone shows up this time
OP we need an update!
Updated!
Do you know who the owner of the vehicle is? Or along the lines of do they live nearby? Have you seen said person? Trying to get at that I can’t think of a reason why a good neighbor or even a person with a pulse, upon hearing their alarm go off, wouldn’t waddle out. Several times I’ve heard a car alarm outside my building go off, and after several minutes I’m like, “I need to check if it’s mine. One for burglary, but also not to be that guy.” I’m really not an advocate for harming personal property, one because it’s wrong and two because people have lost their lives over far less, but I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be tempted.
Break their windows
I guess I was lucky. I called 311 on a car alarm in the alley, and they transferred me to 911, and the beat cops swung by within 10 minutes. The alarm performed for them and they slapped a ticket on the car. We didn’t hear the alarm again after that day.
Put a piece of paper under the windshield wiper that reads "glass is expensive, rocks are cheap" and atop the wiper with just the paper between it and the glass - a throwable rock. A note is just a note, paper. Feeling the weight of the rock does the trick. The heft of the rock, the transgression into their space. The thickness of one sheet of paper between stone and glass. They know the alarm is going off and do not care, you need to be asshole +1, a bigger dick. There are all the rules and procedures and what not, that person operates in the realm of not caring about their imposition. You need to push past all that press into their space. Have done this a dozen times and it ALWAYS works. 10/10 - every time. Never had to actually break any windows.
Car alarms in a city are a good example for vibe-ology. A bad vibe dominates, sound pollution shouldn't be tolerated. If it gets to property destruction time maybe start by writing a very clear note and thoroughly duct taping it to the window
Smash the van's windows when this happens. Owner sees vandalism the next day and thinks to check car alarm to prevent vandalism. Problem solved?
You need el’rocko alarm silencing! 🪨
Personally, I think car alarms should be banned. They are useless. If somebody really wants your car badly enough, they're going to get it. The noisiest alarm in the world isn't going to deter anything. I feel like all they do is annoy everyone.
The alarm sounds need to be going off after 10 or 11 PM for them to ticket the vehicle because then it's a public disturbance or something. Headphones? Ear plugs? Go stay at a friend's house and hope the vehicle is gone the next day? Sorry you're going through a rough time.
noise ordinance doesn't typically apply to car alarms. I think they fall into the category of public nuisance when running continuously so technically they should be getting ticketed if anybody ever bothered to show up 😭
There is a separate ordinance from car alarms that has nothing to do with the time. 9-76-150 [https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago\_il/0-0-0-2646988](https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2646988)
You have to call 911. I had to do this myself many times and they will come out and ticket but that's about all they can do.
Depending on the make and model, you could find a way to pop the hood and just disconnect the battery. Should be able to do it with out damaging it depending on the car.
Break the window, open the hood, and disconnect the battery
FWIW, I’ve called 911 various times when people parked directly behind my lots exit in the alley, preventing me from leaving. I’ve mainly called around 7-11PM on weekdays (it’s happened at random times throughout many weeks) and I’ve never seen a squad car even roll by. A window punch took and pocket knife can be had for less than $10, so what you will with that info. As always, talking it out with neighbors will probably yield better results, though I can imagine this will be difficult if the “problem” property is a 5 floor apartment building like it was in my case.
personally I'm seconding destroying property, take the horn
Do you live in Logan? If so I think I know the silver van your talking about
not Logan, it's a dark blue(?) van for meeeee
I just saw this happening at Damen and Cornelia like an hour ago. Is that where you're at?
A few years ago I was in Manhattan and there was a car alarm going off for an extended period of time. Tires had already been deflated/slashed by the time I was vaguely annoyed by it. It didn't happen again.
r/unethicallifeprotips
This happened on my block a couple months ago. The car alarm was going off from 2am until I left for work at 8am. The cops came and gave the person a ticket but they couldn't shut off the alarm. Thankfully, they must have gotten it fixed or something because it was just that one night.
1. Nice friendly heads-up note and make sure it’s received 2. Tire valve stem core removal tool ($7 at your local auto parts store). It’s the best way to inflict time and money cost on carbrained sociopaths without doing permanent or wasteful property damage.
Coffee can full of thermite.. lit over the engine.
Really? A few years ago this happened overnight and kept the whole neighborhood up. In the morning the asshole's windshield was covered with rude notes from everyone and two tickets.
I’ve called the police, they came by and turned it off, they must have some universal fob, it went off constantly for hours….
My neighbor’s alarm wakes me numerous times at night. The other day someone egged his car and he was asking around if anybody saw who did it. I mentioned to him that I didn’t see anything, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was someone who got woke by your horn.
Cut the cable to the horn - problem solved
I don't know if this is help, but my idea is to get a megaphone and announce to the neighborhood that a car is being stolen. If you have the chops for it, keep an ongoing monologue going until it stops. Bonus if you have a PA speaker that allows you to stay somewhat anonymous as you do The Car Alarm Show. As long as it's waking everyone, already, you might as well add to the cacophony.
So wake up the people who are sleeping through the alarm on the off chance the owner of the car will hear you, if they're even home?
Noise cancelling headphones and Spotify
Lmaoo this sub is ridiculous and goofy. Yall saying destroy the persons car but are against guns being used on someone breaking into a car. Yeah time to leave this sub. Bunch of dumbasses
seems kind of self-evident that if you want to destroy someone's car for being a nuisance, you might also not want to be shot doing so. Not sure where you see a contradiction lol
What would I do? I’d loosen all the lug nuts on one wheel so they’re only on by one thread. Hypothetically.
Of course. Putting their lives at risk is a totally reasonable response. s/
I usually remember that I live in a city of 3 million people and do my best to move on
That’s nice tell that to families with babies or homes who need to sleep with their windows open 3 million people doesn’t excuse allowing a car to be a huge disruption to an entire neighborhood
Walgreens sells a jar of ear protectors which when cut in half are comfortable to sleep in. Mariano's sells pomade which does clog your ears like beeswax does. Insert a time flip of pomade, jam the ear plug in, enjoy the silence.