QuestionHello. We have purchased a 1998 Chrysler Town And Country van a month ago and have had the alarm system leave us stranded 3 times. When it happens we unlock the van with the keyless entry, get in and start it up. It will start and then die seconds later. This will happen about 3 times then it won't start at all and the alarm light is flashing.
The first time this happened, less than 24 hours after we bought it, we took it back to the dealer who had it for a week.
We got it back and it worked fine for about a week and it did the same thing. This was on a Sunday and the dealer was closed. I tried it the next morning and it worked like it should again and did so for 2 weeks.
Today it did the very same thing and this time I was about to make a 600 mile trip when it wacked out again. Boy sure glad it happened at home instead of 300 miles away.
Please help, this this is driving me buggy.
Thank you!
AnswerHi Rob,
The anti-theft system is probably alarming spontaneously without any one attempting to steal it OR the keyfob is not disarming it when you attempt to unlock the door. Another owner, whose van was false alarming, asked me yesterday how to simply disconnect the system, which unfortunately is not very easy to do. So instead I suggested he check all the sensors that can set off an alarm to try and find one that is too sensitive to false alarming, if the former is the problem. Here is my response:
"Aside from only locking the doors with the push buttons I know of no way to kill the alarm feature because it is integrated into the body computer. However, chances are that one of your door ajar switches is maladjusted and is sending a false "ajar" message to the bcm which then causes an alarm. I would suggest that you get into the car and arm the system. Then try pushing on all the doors, the rear of the sliding door, and the tailgate, from inside to see if indeed one of those switches is on the verge of going "off". Then either adjust the switch or the firmness of the door closure latch to give that switch more leeway before it is set off. Also check the hood to see if that switch mounted in the radiator closure panel might be too close to giving a false alarm. Maybe if you can correct such a switch you will stop getting false alarms. The door switches are on the B-pillar and the sliding door is on the rear of body opening, while the lift gate is on latch for the gate.
I haven't seen a way to shut it down completely because it is not a separate module, and there are several different inputs that initiate an arming. I suppose you could cut the wires from the power door locks at the bcm for all those inputs, and somehow disable the remote, but the remote key entry would then not work either, and even then that might open another can of worms.
So maybe you will find a loose door/ajar switch and obviate the false alarming that way."
The above is posited on there being a false alarm situation.
If, on the other hand, you don't have that problem but rather have a key fob that unlocks the door but doesn't cancel the armed situation so that when you start the car it considers you are trying to steal it, then one thing you can always do is put your key in the door and go thru the normal key unlock procedure. That should cancel the armed condition. But then you might just as well use your key to unlock the doors and forget about the fob.
I have a shop manual about problems with these systems that are mediated by the body computer, and the dealer has the manual and the diagnostic readout box to figure out what is the reason you are having this problem. I can't practically go thru all the possibilities in this setting and without a readout box and the van in front of me it is difficult to troubleshoot as you can well imagine.
So if you don't want to spend more money at the dealer the most practical thing for now would be to try the alternative of unlocking the van from an armed condition
by using the door key. Then also check the light on the dash before trying to start the car to make sure that the arming of the system has been cancelled.
When (if) the system becomes too big a hassle you can stop arming the theft system entirely by never securing the vehicle by any means other than pushing down on the mechanical lock buttons.
Personally, after getting so many questions like yours I am thankful that my '89 LeBaron doesn't have an anti-theft system!
Roland
