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Car Alarm Goes Off at Random!!

18K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  fordV6cougar 
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#1 ·
Has anyone else had this problem? The car alarm on my 2000 Cougar goes off at random. Sometimes it's when I'm sleeping and I hear it going off in the garage and other times - feel free to laugh - it goes off while I am driving. Nothing I did would turn it off. I checked to make sure none of the buttons on my remote were jammed. I finally removed the fuse for the alarm / auto-locks /etc., and it quit happening. Eventually I'd like these features back, anyone have any ideas?
 
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#3 ·
You are not alone. It's been doing it to me as well and I have a 1999 cougar. It seems as if the wind blows, the alarm goes off. It happened to me again today. I was driving the car and it just kept on going off. It would keep beeping and my hazards would blink as well. Yeah, tell me what fuse you removed....it's driving me crazy and embarassing me because people at work keep telling me about my car going off!
 
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#4 ·
I called the local ford dealership and they said that they have heard of a problem similar to this on Taurus's. He said it had something to do with the hood switch. So, I had my husband check it out and sure enough, when he pushed on the hood switch, the alarm would go off. so, in the mean time, I checked my owner's manual and found a fuse that controls the alarm and locking system. We ended up pulling that so now the alarm is disarmed and the automatic locks don't work. so, now, I will have to manually lock the car instead of doing the automatic lock. I can live with this for now. So, it's not an actual cure as there is something wrong with a sensor but at least it won't go off randomly.
 
#5 ·
The switch on the hood needs to be depressed for the alarm to arm properly...if your hood bumpers are up too high it could keep the alarm from working properly. On on 01 if you hit press and release the sensor enough times it puts the alarm into a super sensitive mode where if you touch the car it gives a warning to back off...try and tape the sensor in the down position and see if that takes care of the problem enough to allow you to use the keyless entry...I think that the sensors if I remember right are like $60...the rubber boot on mine is torn...or find someone that is parting out their car and get it from them.
 
#6 ·
My promlem with my 99 Cougar was that when i would hit the alarm button just for fun...I COULDN'T get it to shut off...it took about 5min of messing with stuff when I finally got it to go off...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SO what is the alarm there for...if you touch my car when its locked it never goes off...even when you try to open the handle it doesn't go off.....why do i have this alarm button on my keyless entry thing. Is it a Saftey thing to scare ppl away from my car when im close....really i have no clue!
 
#8 ·
that happend to my 99 coug, i have the kaminari CF hood and a Compustar aftermarket alarm, when i would set my alarm somtimes fife seconds sometimes 15 mins would go by and all of a sudden it would start going off for no reason, apparnetly it was the hood switch, the piece of metal that was used to brace it in the air, was bent down enough to where it wasnt fully pressing the switch, bent it back up and no problem since.
 
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#9 ·
Originally posted by: jec215
On on 01 if you hit press and release the sensor enough times it puts the alarm into a super sensitive mode where if you touch the car it gives a warning to back off...
would this work for the 1999 coz my alarm sucks.. my car got hit while it was park and the alarm didnt even go off.. when i first got the car i tried bumping into it and all these others stuff to set the alarm off but it wouldnt go off.. so i took it to the dealers and asked them if there's a way to test if the alarm works and they told me to break my window.. so i just left as fast as i could coz those guys are a bunch of idiots.. i eventually got the alarm to go off by having a friend sit inside and wait 30 seconds after i enabled the alarm.. then he'd open the door and it would go off.. if u opened the door in less than 30 seconds after the alarm was enabled the alarm wouldnt go off.. i was thinking of getting a new alarm but after reading that comment, i might try that out to see if it works.. one question though.. where's the sensor??
 
#10 ·
It really sounds like this is what people are running into...the sensor is on the passenger side of the car above the headlight. It should have a rubber piece on it...it is beside the hood spacer...may want to make sure that isn't up too high to keep it from pressing the sensor in. I will try and get a pic if the rain stops.
 
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#11 ·
I was in a fender bender a couple months ago. Since then, the hazards stopped blinking when I remotely locked the vehicle and when I hit the panic button, yet they work when signaling to turn. More recently the car alarm will beep at random as if I am arming the alarm (just the factory alarm; no after market alarm) and sometimes a series of random beeps. There have even been a few mornings where my alarm will go off for no apparent reason. I have noticed that the alarm won't go off unless I have locked the car and thus activated the alarm.
I took the car to a Mercury dealership (ewww, I know) hoping that they would have some knowledge on a vehicle that they sell; No luck. They couldn't reproduce the problem even though they had it for an entire day.
It is really irritating. Does anyone know which fuse to pull to deactivate it??
 
#12 ·
Somewhat related - I've noticed that the alarm only goes off when the door actually opens. Trying the handle doesn't do it. For fun, roll your windows down, lock the doors using your key fob, then reach in and open one. That'll set it off. Or, you could do it the way I found out: be sitting in the car and hit the key fob lock button, then forget and open the door. (Yes, that was quite a wake-up call that morning - sitting inside the car at work at 7 a.m. with the alarm going off.) ;)

The "super sensitive" mode described above really seems like a test mode, because it comes back out of it quickly. I think it switches back to "normal" mode when you unlock the doors using the key fob or start the car, but I don't remember for certain.

I don't think our cars have a motion sensor, so there's no reason it would go off when it was hit. I think our alarms are strictly entry-only.

StrandSC is correct - the alarm only goes off when it's armed by locking with the key fob. I don't think locking the doors then closing them will arm it. It might arm if you use the key to lock the doors, but I've never used my key to lock or unlock my doors so I'm not sure.

--RJ

P.S. By the way, StrandSC - you list your city as Indianapolis. You'd best be coming to the Cougarfest there this summer! :) (See the Cougarfest forum if you aren't already aware of this.)
 
#14 ·
That's an impressive thread bump right there.

It's going off because something is triggering it, probably. Check your door and hood contacts...as was said above.
 
#15 ·
There are 4 contacts: one under the hood (by the passenger's side headlight); one on each door; and one next to/inside the trunk latch. Maybe unhook each one in succession until the problem goes away?
 
#16 ·
I actually armed my alarm with the key fob then washed and dried my keys because i forgot them in my work uniform when i changed. it dilapitated my remote and when i opened the hood it set the alarm off.

If you unplug the sensor for the hood it wont arm the alarm, but you can still use the keyfob to lock the doors. Considering you have to have the key to drive the car you cant steal it and anyone smart enough to get around that also has the knowledge to get around the alarm. Insurance companies or at least good ones will cover anything stolen as long as the doors were locked. My insurance company says nothing about if the alarm was armed or not. The alarm really only keeps honest people honest.

Just a bit of info for those who really dont NEED the alarm but still like being able to do everything else thats on that fuse.
 
#17 · (Edited)
My Cougar had the same symptoms as the the person who started the thread:
- anti-theft alarm has been going off randomly
- anti-theft alarm sound as "morse code" (even with the alarm dearmed or while driving)


The problem was the hood ajar switch.

Ford part number (in Europe): 94FG-19L538-AA . Finis code: 6983000 .

Due to he high price of a new one, I have decide to remove this switch and join the two pins of the plug with a paper clip.

See the following pictures:










 
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