QuestionThe car alarm in my 97 Catera is the one the car came with. About a year ago the keyless entry stopped working, so I've been using the key (when the car allows me) to enter my vehicle.
Today I unlocked my car and opened the door like usual and the car alarm went off. This has never happened before. I tried turning the car on, putting it in reverse, everything. Nothing would stop this alarm, so I had to wait 5 minutes for it to turn off. It honks loudly while my lights flash and the dashboard lights up. Even the radio console flashed. I was too panicked to see what the console was saying. I left the car unlocked and tried to enter 10 minutes later, but the car alarm still went off when I opened the door and I had to sit there helplessly embarassed for 5 minutes while the alarm wore itself out.
Is there a way to disable the car alarm completely? Please help! I want my car back!
-Taryn
AnswerOk, let's try to get you going. :>)
Normally, you would insert the key in
the drivers door, turn left, then right
to disarm and reset it. If yours is malfunctioning,
you would either need to contact Cadilac to reset it, or
you can disable it for good by doing the following:
The FACTORY ALARM DISARM WIRE IS
brown/purple |- | in th 24 pin plug,
pin A3 @ BCM. The BCM (Body Control Module) is
in the passenger kick panel.
Once Located, splice into this wire with
a simular guage wire, and put it to
a solid chassis ground. This terminates
the alarm functions entirely.
However, at this point, this car would be exceedingly
easy to steel, so I suggest you get an aftermarket
alarm system to protect it from here on in.
Now, if this is an aftermarket system:
try this.
Put the key in the ignition, and turn forward
all the way just before cranking. Then within
5 seconds, locate, press and hold in the
valet/overide button, found under the
dash area, (push button, spring loaded)
until the installed LED (the blinking light)
in your dash area goes on solid,
and the siren chirps once.
(Your valet switch might be the toggle
(on/off) type. in this case, key on,
flip switch in opposite direction,
then turn the key off.)
This should reset the alarm, and reset
the grounded relay on the starter wire,
allowing you to start the engine.
At this point, the only thing working would
be the keyless entry from the alarm,
if it came equipped that way.
Just Repeat these steps to place it
back to usable armed mode.
You may get 2 chirps, confirming it,
and the lights may flash twice as well.
That should do it.
If you want to remove it at this point,
take it to your neighborhood installer
for this, or buy the wiring chart
(Go to: www.vehiclewires.com)
for the vehicle, and reverse engineer it wire
by wire, until safely removed.
If it does not work out this way,
you will have to replace the system
with one you know how to operate
and what to expect. Don't want to
get stuck in another bad situation.
Let me know what happens.
ALARMTEK
CARALARMSTORE.com
