1996 Ford Taurus battery and alarm issue

[CZroe]

My sister's 1996 Ford Taurus barely started this morning. I now think it was the battery but, at the time, I shut it off immediately to check the oil (the car burns oil, my sister never checks it, and I RARELY drive it). It wouldn't start after that, but the kicker is that the alarm started going off every time I opened the door and could not be silenced with my key. I flicked the switch behind the alarm LED but that didn't turn off the alarm. I pulled the fuse to the horns but the hazards keep flashing so I know that the alarm is still active. I usually can't get anything from the ignition but I can get clicking at other times (definitely seems to be the battery now). We tried jump-starting it and I couldn't even get the clicking... perhaps the alarm system was disabling the ignition? Either way, I think the next step is to test/charge the battery. Any other ideas?

Unfortunately, I do not have a battery tester or charger.

[CZroe]

Update: Took battery to Autozone on my motorcycle. An hour later they told me it wasn't holding a charge and sold me a new one. The new one does the same exact thing. Grrr...

The alarm goes off (activates) as soon as I connect the battery. It goes off again as soon as I open a door, even with a key. All the doors unlock when I use my key, so I know that, electrically, the car "knows" I am using a key. It still does not start. I can't even get it to make the clocking sounds it was making before. My sister started messing with her key fob and I heard the doors try to lock/unlock but it seems totally dead now or at least the car doesn't respond in any way.

[kkim]

is this an integrated or aftermarket alarm?

either way, disable the power source for the alarm. if it's factory, there should be a fuse you can pull. if an aftermarket, find the "brain" and disconnect it.

[mrlmd]

Does she have a remote on the key fob to operate the alarm?
Close the car doors and hood and see if it then will deactivate the alarm. And check the battery in the key fob too. Sometimes you have to put the key in the ignition and turn it on and off to shut off the alarm.
If all that fails, disconnect the alarm and drive it to the dealer or an alarm installation company for them to shut it off.

[00NissanNinja]

My aftermarket alarm on my car has a fuse you can pull. Look under your dash and under the steering wheel that is typically where alarms are (you may have to remove the panel under the dash if you can squeeze in there and get it). If it is aftermarket most will go if when reconnecting the battery (the old ones also still go off if armed and you use the key to open the car instead of the fob). Try pulling the alarm or disabling it if you suspect it has an ignition lockout when armed. mrlmd and kkim got ya covered on the rest.

[CZroe]

OK, so I sat in the car with my laptop for about 30 minutes trying to find out if it was something PATS-related (I still wonder if PATS ties in to the traditional alarm system too). After trying about 5-10 more times and flicking the alarm switch repeatedly with the key in different positions, I gave up and just sat there reading the PATS info. I was wondering if "1:3" means "three short flashes and a pause," which is what I was getting from the alarm indicator (it doesn't seem to have a PATS-specific "theft light"). I was also wondering where you find these 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, etc buttons it referenced (I'm assuming, on a code reader device). After having sat there quite a while without trying anything new, the light suddenly went back to normal. I tried the key and it started! The success was short-lived because it will not start today and it's back to setting off the alarm every time I open it. I tried it hours after the success last night and it was still working, so I am completely puzzled. NOTHING I did caused it to suddenly start working, soI suspected that it wasn't really fixed.

OK, so we're back to square one. A Ford-specialist told us that it probably needed to be reprogrammed by Ford if it couldn't be reset by locking and unlocking with the key fob, which isn't doing anything at the moment. I doubt it because it'nt not like it reprogramed itself when it suddenly started working, soit hasn't "lost" the programming.

Originally Posted by kkim

is this an integrated or aftermarket alarm?

either way, disable the power source for the alarm. if it's factory, there should be a fuse you can pull. if an aftermarket, find the "brain" and disconnect it.

I'm pretty sure it's integrated, even though the fob just says "Karr" and the light + wires appear "tacked on," because it seems to be as described in the car's manual. I guess they look like that because this was the first model year it was available.

Originally Posted by mrlmd

Does she have a remote on the key fob to operate the alarm?
Close the car doors and hood and see if it then will deactivate the alarm. And check the battery in the key fob too. Sometimes you have to put the key in the ignition and turn it on and off to shut off the alarm.
If all that fails, disconnect the alarm and drive it to the dealer or an alarm installation company for them to shut it off.

Nothing deactivates the alarm save for timing out, though the ignition still seems disabled. I don't seem to have a disconnect for the alarm and I can't drive it because it will not start, even when the alarm is not sounding.

Originally Posted by 00NissanNinja

My aftermarket alarm on my car has a fuse you can pull. Look under your dash and under the steering wheel that is typically where alarms are (you may have to remove the panel under the dash if you can squeeze in there and get it). If it is aftermarket most will go if when reconnecting the battery (the old ones also still go off if armed and you use the key to open the car instead of the fob). Try pulling the alarm or disabling it if you suspect it has an ignition lockout when armed. mrlmd and kkim got ya covered on the rest.

Before this issue, using the key in the doors or the trunk would silence the alarm (normally activated).

[rockNroll]

First thing to try is another key that has been used to start the car in the past. If nothing there, then you need to get the codes pulled. The PATS system will toss out codes and then your diagnostics begin

What does the "theft" lamp do while holding the key in the start position?


Also... if there actually is an "alarm LED" and a switch behind said LED, then you have an aftermarket system on the car in addition to the factory PATS system which only has a theft light in the instrument cluster. Your issues could be non- factory and total removal of the add-on system would be the easiest route.

[CZroe]

OK, I just went back out there and got it to start again like this:
Open door with key, alarm goes off, get in car, insert Key and attempt to start, will not start, leave in "on" position, flick switch on back alarm indicator LED back and forth a few times, alarm stops sounding, turn ignition key, CAR STARTS! I drove it to a convenience store and risked getting stranded but the same procedure worked again. The only problem with just dealing with it this way is that there is no horn due to pulling the fuse to keep it from sounding with the alarm.

Oh, and I now know that the keyless entry buttons are what the PATS info was referring to with the 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, etc buttons.

Originally Posted by rockNroll

First thing to try is another key that has been used to start the car in the past. If nothing there, then you need to get the codes pulled. The PATS system will toss out codes and then your diagnostics begin

What does the "theft" lamp do while holding the key in the start position?


Also... if there actually is an "alarm LED" and a switch behind said LED, then you have an aftermarket system on the car in addition to the factory PATS system which only has a theft light in the instrument cluster. Your issues could be non- factory and total removal of the add-on system would be the easiest route.

That's what I was doing when I was sitting in there reading the PATS info, but both keys have been used and if it "forgot" one key, it likely would have forgotten the other. At the time, neither would work until the light stopped blinking and then they both started working, so it didn't "forget" either of them. I do not see a "Theft" lamp... only an alarm LED near the e-brake. I do not think it is aftermarket due to it being integrated with the cars doors, trunk, etc exactly as the vehicle's manual describes. I believe that the LED serves as the PATS "Theft" lamp. Perhaps it is this way because it is the earliest model it was ever used in (first gen). Thanks!