New owner-problems with alarm

Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Ford SportTrac Forum

Help Support Ford SportTrac Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
K

Keepon Truckin

Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2007
Messages
24
Reaction score
0
Location
, FL
Hello all, I just bought a blue 2004 XLT 4X2 with 39k on the clock two weeks ago. Found your site browsing for accessories for the truck on the web.



I have a question regarding the factory alarm system. When I unlock the truck on the first push of the remote the drivers door unlocks and the others stay locked. That part is normal, but the problem is when I put the key in the ignition and turn it the horn starts blaring and the lights flash. If I hit the unlock button on the remote twice before I get in the truck it does not do that. When I hit the button twice as mentioned before the horn gives an audible alert (2 quick blasts I think) as if it is telling me the alarm went off while I was away. I know this is not possible as the truck sits in the garage and the alarm does not go off or I would have heard it.



On another occasion I hit the unlock button once and the horn started sounding. I thought it was a fluke and I may have hit the panic button by mistake, but it happened a second time.



I am not able to contact the previous owner since I bought the truck from a car lot, and the manual was not in the truck. The dealership is supposed to get me one that I will pick up when I go back for the permanent metal tag soon, but right now I don't have any means to fix this except Google and you folks.



Can you help me figure out why I have to hit the unlock twice and essentially unlock all 4 doors to get the truck to start up without setting off the alarm?



I don't have any knowledge of any after market alarm pieces in the car, but I will add that there is an odd looking black piece of plastic under the dash directly below the steering wheel. The piece has a plug in of some sort (almost looks like small earphone or ipod plug in) and it has a flashing red LED next to the plug. Is this factory? or is this possibly after market (and potentially my problem).



Thanks in advance!
 
Keep,



WELCOME TO THE SITE !!!!



and Best of luck with the truck..



What your truck is doing is Not normal for a Stock key less system..



It sounds to me like the previous owners had some sort of aftermarket alarm installed...



IT could be a bad theft module, But i think there is something that was added to the system..



Are you handy with tools ???



The 2 most common areas for the alarm to be mounted is Under the steering wheel on the left or right side...



You can look in the fuse panel on the left side of the dash for some not normal wires and remove the panel under the steering wheel and look for a little black box that would indicate an aftermarket alarm...



Hope this helps

Todd Z
 
Don't most aftermarket alarm systems have a different keychain transponder? I would think the factory ones would say "ford" and the aftermarket would have the name of the alarm.
 
If there is a flashing LED on the box. It is aftermarket. Fords teft light is in the dash cluster.
 
Keep - your profile does not say where you are from but you may have a weak battery. Are you in a cold region of the country? My 2001 started doing some weird things when it got cold about a month ago. It would open OK but when i went to start it the doors would lock. Really strange . . . . I had been tailgating in December in Miami and after playing my radio for about three hours I could not start the trac. I replaced the battery when I returned to Phily and the weird symptoms went away. Just something to think about should all the other suggestions not work out.
 
Ironbar- The key fob is definitely Ford, not after market, but that doesn't mean the previous owner failed to give the car lot the after market key fob if there was one.



Fast Eddie-The flashing light can be seen while you are sitting upright in the drivers seat. The black piece of plastic is visible from this position but it is mounted at the bottom of the dash under the steering wheel. I will take a picture of it and post it here if I can figure that out.



Chris27- Would the bad key only affect the alarm when I unlock it once vs unlocking it twice before I put the key in the ignition?



ScoTt- Thankfully I'm in the warm south east US. I have had temps near freezing the past few days but prior to that we were in 75-80 degree weather and the problem has been the same in both weather conditions. I would have to look at the battery to see if it needed replaced but the truck starts right up without any hesitation (and if you mean the key fob battery it unlocks the doors without any apparent hesitation).



Thanks for the responses guys. I will try to get a pic of that LED light I spoke about posted here, and if we come to a dead end I will take it to an alarm shop around here. A buddy works at one so maybe I can avoid the "Stealership" fees of "Hey we couldn't figure out what was wrong, but we charge a minimum of 3 hrs labor, so here's your bill anyway".... ggrrr
 
At least if you take it to a stereo/alarm shop they will tell you what needs to be done and generally not charge you anything for the estimate. If you could post a picture it would help.
 
Alright,,, AUUGHH now its sounding off on its own. I locked it and was exiting the garage and it went off. I thought I couldn't have hit the panic button, so I disarmed it and re armed it. As I was leaving it went off a second time! I know I didn't hit the button that time!



I will go to the alarm installer I know and see if he can help me, if he can't then I will seek counseling for the ST and it's abandonment issues....LOL:rolleyes:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Is there another button located anywhere under the dash? The VIPER system uses a red LED, and on mine, is located near the computer hookup(under the steering wheel). It also has another pushbutton under the dash for programming it. I just have the remote start, but the theft and remote start systems of VIPER are about the same.



It does sound like it's an aftermarket, as the only thing flashing by Ford is IN the dash, not under it.
 
Like ScoTt said have your battery checked. I had the same gremlins he did. It turned out to be my battery was going bad.
 
Here's the picture of the plastic piece with the flashing red LED light that you can see from the drivers seat while sitting upright. My thought is it may be some sort of starter kill, but if it is then it's disconnected because the truck has been starting alright.



My other thought was some sort of ipod plug in, but it's in a very weird spot if it is. The plug is about the size of a small stereo jack like for a portable radio/cd/ipod player.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
It's an immobilizer. It has likely been partially disconnected. Go to a stereo/alarm shop (NOT Best Buy, Circuit City, etc...) and ask them to uninstall it for you. Shouldn't be more than about $50.
 
It's an immobilizer. It has likely been partially disconnected.
Click to expand...



Like a starter kill?



I have an appt tomorrow to get an after market alarm put in and the factory alarm bypassed now that it caused me to worry. I can't trust it if I can't lock the doors and walk away from it without the horn sounding randomly. I also will like having a shock sensor for window breakage protection and the ability to upgrade. I also think I will be able to arm the bed cover and hood as well with the new system.
 
That happen to me and I had the alarm ripped out and then a fellow on my block came over and listened the trac and it turn out the battery was bad. So I replaced it rehooked up the alarm and all was well... The alarm was hook up yo the factory key fob so if nothing else works test the battery...



good luck



Keith
 

Latest posts

Top