Car Alarms: Hyundai Elantra Alarm Problem, hyundai elantra, jumper cables

Question
QUESTION: Last night my wife and I returned home to find our Hyundai Elantra in the driveway with the headlights on ... but very dim.  We immediately assumed that the battery was dead.

When we tried unlocking the car with the keyless entry, it did not work.  We had to unlock it manually.

When I hooked up the jumper cables, a couple sparks flew from the negative post on the Hyundai, and the alarm went off.  I can't hook the cables up without this happening.  Even WITH the alarm going off, I tried to start the car.  It wouldn't take the charge.

Do you think this is an alarm system problem or a battery problem?
ANSWER: Definately a charging system issue. The alarm works, like everything else on a car, using the battery. Start there
to figure this one out.

Good luck.

ALARMTEK

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

QUESTION: I tried boosting it again this morning, and it worked.  Don't ask me why; I have no idea.  NOW the problem is, when I start the car, the alarm goes off.  Remote still does not work.  So now I'm thinking maybe the alarm needs to be reset.  But I don't know how to do that.  Do I have to take it back to the dealer?

Answer
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
DELUXESERVICE.com