Car Alarms: 99 Villager factory alarm disables battery, alarmtek, dash area


Question
QUESTION: The cable between the alarm system and battery corrodes regularly-- I work near the coast, and it disables my car from starting.  The battery on my keyless remote is dead, so I can't turn off the alarm.  The parts store is telling us we have to order a new battery from the dealer a hundred miles away.  My husband charged the car battery last night and disconnected the horn when it started honking after he started the engine.  Is there are way to finally disable the alarm so it won't keep stranding me?  I hate this car because of this problem.  Thanks for your help.
ANSWER: Please tell me what you are experiencing.

I need to determine whether it's a factory alarm
issue or, if it's an aftermarket system you are
dealing with.

Is it: Headlights flashing, car horn honking
and a worded SECURITY" light in the dash flashing?
Or,
Is it: flashing parking lights,
an LED in the dash area, and a siren
"going off"?

Let me know more on this to better
advise you on a course of action.

Best Regards,

Robert Martin
CEO/ALARMTEK
DELUXESERVICE.com

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

QUESTION: The alarm box is clicking, door locks are cycling every couple minutes. There is no LED or SECURITY light in the dash flashing.  The horn honks and parking lights flash.  No siren.  The box says model number 11 on it.

Answer
Not sure what aftermarket system you have
there, but this is what I think is going
on....

The alarm seems to be in long tamper mode.
You will need to reset, and possibly
re program the remotes. That part you will need
your manual for, but the aftermarket alarm
seems to be doing it's job.
At least we know it's installed correctly
which is actually a good thing here.

Ok, 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.

Robert Martin/CEO-ALARMTEK