Tips for removing a car alarm system
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Published 2016-01-26
www.lesscoesales.com
There are few things more embarrassing (or more annoying, if it’s a neighbor’s car) than a car alarm that won’t shut off. There are a number of reasons that a car alarm won’t turn off, and a few different methods you can use to silence the shrieking – and end the embarrassment.
Part 1 of 1: Turning off a car alarm
Materials Needed
Needle nose pliers (or a fuse-pulling tool)
Owner’s manual
Step 1: Familiarize yourself with the alarm. While it may not seem to be the ideal time to be reading your owner’s manual, in many cases user error is the problem. Verify you are following the correct procedure to shut the alarm off.
Step 2: Start the car. Put the key in the ignition and try to start the car. Almost all alarms, both factory installed and aftermarket systems, will shut off and reset when the car is started.
person putting key into drivers side door
Step 3: Use your key to unlock the driver’s door. This will usually turn off and reset the alarm. In the event that the driver’s side door is already unlocked, lock the door and then unlock it again.
person pulling fuse out of fuse box
Step 4: Pull the fuse. A factory-installed alarm will have a fuse in the fuse box; pull the fuse to cut the circuit and shut down the alarm.
Look for the fuse box on the left hand side of the steering column. Fuse boxes usually have a fuse diagram on the lid of the fuse box.
Most alarm fuses have an alarm label on them. If the fuse is not labeled, consult your owner’s manual for the location of the alarm fuse.
Tip: Some vehicles have multiple fuse boxes - check your owner’s manual for the location of the various fuse boxes.
Remove the fuse. If the alarm shuts off, you have pulled the correct fuse. If the alarm doesn’t shut off, re-install the fuse and try another one until you find the correct fuse.
Once the alarm has shut down, reinstall the fuse and see if this resets the system. If the alarm starts up again, it is time to bring in a pro to repair it.
If the alarm system is an aftermarket item, look for the fuse in the engine compartment. Consult the owner’s manual if you cannot locate the fuse.
person disconnecting black negative terminal
Step 5: Disconnect the battery. This is a last resort, as it will reset all of the electrical systems in the vehicle and your vehicle will not start until the battery is reconnected.
Disconnect the negative terminal (the black one) from your battery. The alarm should shut off immediately.
Wait a minute or two and reconnect the battery. Hopefully, the alarm has reset and will not start up again. If it does, try removing the battery cable again.
Tip: If this does not work, leave the battery cable disconnected and contact a mechanic or alarm installer to repair the system.
Step 6: Maintain your key fob. Most modern cars use a key fob to lock and unlock the doors and shut off your alarm. Unfortunately, the fob will not work if the batteries are dead, or it is simply not working.
If you need to press the unlock or lock button of your fob a number of times before it works the battery is probably going dead and should be replaced. A malfunctioning fob should be replaced as soon as possible.
Hopefully, if you’ve tried the above steps, the alarm has stopped shrieking and all of the dirty looks from the neighbors have stopped. If it was necessary to unhook the battery to stop the alarm, a professional mechanic, such as one from YourMechanic, should inspect the entire system to make sure everything works normally.
All Comments (21)
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I'm demo'ing a circa 1999 Viper 800 ESP alarm that has strarted going bonkers after 23 years. I suppose now we know how long it takes. When he said, there were NO mods to the factory wiring harness, I was thinking , that's IMPOSSIBLE! There has to be an ignition wire that they cut and wired to the alarm to interrupt the starting procedure ! Sure enough, at the end of the video, he says you have to REPAIR the ignition wires and possibly a starter wire that got cut. Then he spent really no time on that, the MOST important part of the procedure. Anyone can just go ripping stuff out. It's the repair that is the most important aspect of the process.
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oh my god, i had been battling a shitty alarm on a 1991 CRX si for days. I replaced the starter, and the car never started after that. It ended up being that starter relay killer. Immediately after watching the video i went out and cut the red and black wire that had been spliced to the ignition hot wire..connected that back and boom, car fired up no problem..thanks so much
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Thank you! My Vitara alarm went crazy today, beeping and locking and unlocking the doors continuously while driving. 3:50 into your video, my problem was solved. Removed the module and that was it.
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This guy knows his stuff. Watched a lot of other videos wasting my time.
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Thanks for the video. You helped me remove the garbage from my car.
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This was less technical help than I was expecting but you did make it seem less scary. So I opened a beer and pulled out my meter and rebooted my mindset. Got my finicky alarm to at least stop and got my truck back on the road. I think I'll take it to a pro soon enough to remove it and get it close as possible to oem, but I figured I should thank you
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After doing all that, the hardest part is getting up off the ground, knees lock up!
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excellent video, i was worried that the car wouldnt start, but you have made it less complicated, thanks
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You rock brother i was stuck with my key fob activating the alarm and i could not start my Dakota and with this video i was able to remove the module and drive my truck Thank you for your detail video.
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Thank you !! I wanted to remove an old alarm system. This video exactly showed me how to do it.
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Thank you so much, with your explanation I could do it even though it was a different system.Bravo 👏👏👏
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Thank you so much for the video!! I've finally taken out those car alarm boxes in my 4runner.
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This was the most helpful video on the entire internet!!! I've had issues with my alarm ever since I disconnected the battery cable. This video helped me resolve that!
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This is the first video on car alarms I've seen that actually gave me the information I needed, thank you.
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Thank you for taking your time and doing videos
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this worked so well! thank you!!!
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I used what I saw in this video to remove a prestige alarm that was installed in 1998 in a 98 Corolla. The prestige alarm wasn't allowing my 98 Corolla to start...so with this video and another explaining those alarms I was able to remove the shock sensor and problem was solved.
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Great video. Well instructed and great info.
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Thanks for the very informative video. I successfully remove my alarm from a 2006 Honda CRV after watching this.
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Nothing i hate more than buying a used car with an aftermarket alarm, dreading for the day it stops working, today that happened on my honda, so annoying 😁 this video helps a ton tho! ps. if i remove any wire from the alarm box, the car wont crank over, so i guess in some alarms removing the wires from the mainbox does equal a non-start / non-crank condition
