Car Alarms: accidentally pushed lock botton before ignition, toyota camry, dash area

Question
QUESTION: I have a 2001 Toyota Camry. I accidentally pushed the lock botton on the remote before I turned the key to ignition. This messed up the alarm system. Initially I was able to ignite te car by pushing the unlock botton and open the door then close. But when I turned off the engine and pulled out the key the alarm went off. The following was all different tries and it seemed the alarm was always tied with the ignition. I had to keep the key on ignition position for a while to get the engine turned on. I drove the car with the alarm going off every once a while until I got home. Now I can't even turn on the engine. Every time after I try to ignite then take out the key, the alarm goes off, either keep horning or flash the yellow front light. How can I disable this thing? Is there any way to reset everything? Or is the alarm system just went mad? I also noticed the clock and radio channels lost memory too.

ANSWER: At first,
I'm guessing the alarm malfunctions are a symptom of a bad electical charging system. Please go to the local Toyota
mechanic and have him inspect the alternator.

But to be fair,
if it's simply malfunctioning,
or, needs resetting, you can try valet overide
first.
Look under the dash area for a button or, a toggle
switch. When you locate it, turn on the ignition
key, press and hold in the button (little
spring loaded micro button, red or black possibly)
until the alarm chirps 1 time. This should over ride
the system, and only the keyless entry part,
if installed, would still be operating.
The LED (light emiting diode) light in the dash
should also go on solid.

This is overide. The only thing that would work now
is the keyless entry if installed.

Then if you want to remove it, take it to a local
after market alarm dealer and have it done there.

Good luck with it.
Let me know what you discover.

ALARMTEK
CARALARMSTORE.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for responding quickly. I followed your instruction but there was no chirp no matter how long I hold in the botton. I found now the problem is, no matter which position I put the valet botton, trying to ignite the car arms the alarm and resets the clock, and engine won't start. And when I take out the key the alarm starts to sound and flash. I can push the unlock botton on the remote to stop the alarm (LED still flashes), and push again to disarm it(LED turns off). So, I can't start the engine anyways, and every time I try, the alarm gets armed, and when I take out key afterwards, alarm is triggered :-(  

It seems to be alarm logic problem. I wonder if charging system problem can affect the circuit logic?

Answer
Sure, anythings possible.
It brings me back to having a pro look at
this. Best suggestion here is to contact a local
car alarm shop and have them either inspect and
repair the alarm, or pull it and repair the
starter wire so you can get going.

I am still wondering about the charging system hpwever.
(the resetting clock tells me that
this is not an alarm issue, but a power distrubution
problem!)

I'd have it all inspected to determine the cause,
and only repair what's malfunctioning.

A.