Anyone Heard of This (Electric)

94GTLaserRC · Nov 6, 2005

My car basically sits for a week or so at a time...
Today, I went to take it out for a drive to church (for real)

It made the draining sound like the battery was dying. The odd thing though was that when I took the key out and opened the door, the door chime was still going "ding, ding, ding," etc. and the dash lights were lit.. When I closed the door, the doors locked ( a feature with my alarm)

Now, my car alarm hasnt worked for some time, but it IS still in the car.

A friend of mine at church, an old-time car enthousiast (mainly Chevy) said that there is a control module for electronics which can "freak out" when the Battery Voltage gets too low. When I put the charger on, it read around 11v.

While I was watching the Crappy Dolphin game, I let the battery charge. Later, I went to start the car, and the electric freaked out again. I pushed the alarm overried button (under dash) a couple of times, and after a couple more tries, the car finally started.

The main questions really are is what my friend said accurate, and is my alarm somehow tied into this mess? Any other thoughts?

Sorry for the lenght, but I wanted to give as much details as possible.

Thanks
RC

95cobradude · Nov 6, 2005

first, what type of condition is the battery, cables, etc. i would make sure that is good first. if the battery load tests ok then u could have an alarm module problem, is it a good aftermarket alarm?

LoudToy958 · Nov 6, 2005

Sounds like the alarm is the issue. Ford did not start with computer controlled door locks domelight and dashlights until 99 I think. There is a chance it could be the factory keyless module in the trunk if you have one. If not, most alarms are disabled by unplugging the brain from the main harness. Most. Some alarms(very few), won't let the car start if you unplug them. I would first try to unplug the alarm and see if that solves your issue.

As for the cause. Those alarms need to see certain voltages, if they do not, they go into a reset mode, and will continue to try to reset until they see a good voltage, or kill your battery. A few alarms out there have been known to cause a nice dash light, domelight, parking light show during these problems.

Hope you get it figured out.

Zero Signal · Nov 6, 2005

An alarm can be sensitive to the voltage it sees. If you know the car will be sitting for awhile, you might want to disconnect the battery to keep any residual current from draining it. I used to have problems with that when I lived in the dorms. My car would sit two maybe three weeks and I would find my battery dead or close to it.

Still, you'll want to check for corrosion in the wiring. Especially at the distribution box. I had problems with that when I took the car out to San Diego. The air just started corroding things.

94GTLaserRC · Nov 7, 2005

LoudToy958 said:
Sounds like the alarm is the issue. Ford did not start with computer controlled door locks domelight and dashlights until 99 I think. There is a chance it could be the factory keyless module in the trunk if you have one. If not, most alarms are disabled by unplugging the brain from the main harness. Most. Some alarms(very few), won't let the car start if you unplug them. I would first try to unplug the alarm and see if that solves your issue.

As for the cause. Those alarms need to see certain voltages, if they do not, they go into a reset mode, and will continue to try to reset until they see a good voltage, or kill your battery. A few alarms out there have been known to cause a nice dash light, domelight, parking light show during these problems. Hope you get it figured out.

I know for SURE that the doors do NOT look automatically stock from factory.. as for the part I highlighted above in your quote, that's pretty much how I would describe it.

Wires are in good shape...batter is Optima less than 2 years old.

Zero: Car does sit, but I usually start it up once a week or so. Still in all, I should replace the alarm. Now, The car is kept in the garage, so I dont let it sit with the alarm on. Perhaps the car sitting caused the low v on battery, causing alarm troubles.
Thanks
RC

LoudToy958 · Nov 7, 2005

It is possible sitting causes this issue, however, I have an alarm on my car as well, and usually only run her about twice a month in the fall and winter months. I don't have the same issue, and I also have a trunk mounted optima.

The easiest thing to do is try and unplug the alarm and see if you still get the same issues.

slvrbullit302 · Nov 7, 2005

RC, I had a similar problem on my cobra but it does not have an aftermarket alarm. It turned out to be the cable running from the battery to the solenoid on the starter. Some corrosion had built up some distance into the cable. I relpaced the cable and put in an Optima and no problems anymore.

Methodical · Nov 7, 2005

LoudToy958 said:
Sounds like the alarm is the issue. Ford did not start with computer controlled door locks domelight and dashlights until 99 I think. There is a chance it could be the factory keyless module in the trunk if you have one. If not, most alarms are disabled by unplugging the brain from the main harness. Most. Some alarms(very few), won't let the car start if you unplug them. I would first try to unplug the alarm and see if that solves your issue.

As for the cause. Those alarms need to see certain voltages, if they do not, they go into a reset mode, and will continue to try to reset until they see a good voltage, or kill your battery. A few alarms out there have been known to cause a nice dash light, domelight, parking light show during these problems.

Hope you get it figured out.

Ditto. Alarms system probably at fault. My brother had similar problems plus the siren would go off. Remove alarm system. No more problems. Peace

stprorolla49 · Nov 7, 2005

i had the same problem with my Viper alarm...it just wouldnt turn off...i called Viper, and the lady told me to reset it which i did, and it wouldnt shut up....so i took out the fuses to the alarm.....then my battery died a week or so later....now im thinking that the reason why it was flipping out could be an almost dead battery.......

mo_dingo · Nov 7, 2005

I work on RV's and the engine PCM and transmission control module are permenantly wired to the batteries. A RV has disconnect switches that cut power to the coach (one for chassis batteries, one for coach batteries). And the disconnect does not affect the PCM's for this exact reason.

Everything freaks out when it sees low voltage. I am sure you are experiencing this. You need to completely disconnect the alarm's power, then once the car's battery is back up to over 13V, reconnect it and see what happens.

Scott

94GTLaserRC · Nov 7, 2005

Thanks for all the replies. I called the shop that installed the alarm (I know the owner fairly well). They had just put in a new siren for the alarm about 6 months ago, so the owner remembered the system.

He said that it probably IS the alarm "freaking" out. The remote for the alarm hasnt work for some time now but it is still connected. When I get a chance, Im gonna swing by and let him disconnect it the right way until I get a new alarm put in.

When I started the car after a trickle charge yesterday, it was about 13.2 volts.

Thanks again!
RC

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