Buddhastic

My '97 Prelude has been working great since I bought it about a month and a half ago.

Yesterday, I went to pick up my girlfriend. It drove fine as normal. I got to her house, turned the car off, went inside, etc. We came back out, got in my car, I turn the ignition and......... nothing. The car wouldn't turn on, the engine wouldn't turn over, nothing. Finally, after about 4 more tries, the car works. We head to the post office two minutes away, I turn the car off, get out, check my mail, and come back. We get back in the car and I try to turn it on and........... NOTHING! Same thing was happening.

The electricity would turn on (AC / lights / etc.), however, the engine would not turn over. I keep trying again and again, noticing that the battery light is on. Finally, after trying a good dozen times, I discover that my car has an after market alarm installed on it. It goes beserk, wailing and screaming. The only way to get it to turn off is to turn the electricity on.

I keep trying to turn the car on and nothing happens. Finally, after about a good 20 or 30 attempts, the electricity doesn't even turn on. I'm guessing the battery is entirely drained, but I'm not sure.

I call a friend and we try to jump my car. The annoying thing is that every time I do anything with the car (open the door, put the keys in the ignition, etc), the alarm will start blaring until it decides to quit. This is a bit of a problem as we were in the middle of a crowded parking lot. Our jump attempts didn't work. The electricity would turn back on, but the engine wouldn't turn over.

I'm guessing this is due to the alarm, but I'm not positive. I never even knew this car had an alarm system, the person I bought it from never mentioned one, and I never asked. Is the alarm system preventing the engine from turning over, and if it is, how can I disable it? Do you think I can still jump the battery and continue to use it, or should I go ahead and buy a new one?

del_parker

look around underneath the dash and driver's seat and see if there's a switch to kill the alarm. on some of them you have to hold the button down and turn the key to start the car to disarm it.

btw, this is probably what is keeping the car from starting.

Kal

bring your car to an aftermarket alarm place and have them take it off once you get your car started. boy, it must be a pain lol. but yeah do what del_parker said to do. I know my alarm has a kill switch buried in the mass of wires under my dash.

M-unit

same hting happened to me, i had to disconnect battery for somethin and when i reconnected the alarm reactivated and started going off. so i just uninstalled the whole thing where i was at and got it out asap. works great now not having it

Buddhastic

Alright, I got my battery checked and it's fine, so it must be the alarm. I checked under the dash and was unable to find the kill switch. What am I looking for when I look for the alarm system/kill switch?

Kal

Small box with lots of wires running into it.

del_parker

also, you can probably push start your car if you can't find the switch. that's what a shop had to do while they were doing body work and couldn't get ahold of me. but doing this WILL NOT disable the alarm.

PetroGuyX

just remove the alarm yourself, it's VERY easy... there are only 5 wires going in to the brain and the brain should be relatively easy to find, it's just a black box with wires going into it.

inflatin