Electrical nerds, please help.

[ADDirishboy]

To start off, a little history to the situation at hand here. I bought my car with a really crappy alarm installed. Long story short, it got on my nerves one night when it refused to turn off and I sliced the physical alarm horn thing out.

Problem is, the alarm wiring is still all there. Now, my alarm will randomly turn itself on, and lock my ignition so I can't start the car. I used to be able to just fiddle with the valet switch and bypass it. But now even that is not working, and my car is won't even turn over.

So, I've started pulling out the alarm components, but still get absolutely nothing.

So, anyone have any clue what I should be looking for here? Any specific cables I should be ripping out?

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Did you rip out the "brain" of the alarm?

It's probably wired underneath where your steering wheel is.

[ADDirishboy]

Yes, I did. And still got nothing. There are still the wires that lead away from that box though, and I can't for the life of me find where those little bastards lead to.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Is there a factory alarm?

[ADDirishboy]

Nope. It was aftermarket, and wires are just zip ties to random places.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Your car is doomed.

[AppleBonker]

Get a real car?

What was the model of the alarm?

[ADDirishboy]

Well, I know that the shock sensor is made by audiovox. Model # 9492.

The actual brain though I have no idea. The sticker where it says the brand is torn and I can't make anything out.

[AppleBonker]

That'll make it tough to figure out what wires were connected where...

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Should have bought my 240 when you had the chance! Alarm worked great!

I do however have a BMW for sale.......

But really, what I'm thinking is that there is some sort of factory alarm in there. Maybe not so much an alarm as an "anti-theft" system. It probably got confused once you removed the aftermarket system.

[ADDirishboy]

Whatever the hell it is, I don't like it. Once I have the funds for a Frontier, that car will die a horrible, horrible death.

[ADDirishboy]

New issue. Now it seems I'm getting VERY little to no power at all. My battery has been checked, and it is fine. I even threw in a brand new battery my dad just bought, and get the same thing. Now I'm thinking my alternator might have taken a s***.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Lol, what did you do with the wires you unplugged from the "brain" of the alarm?

If you left them just hanging there not plugged into anything, that could quite possibly be what's draining your battery.

[ADDirishboy]

Yea, help me find where those damn wires go and I'll buy that damn BMW of yours.

[Chaotic_Warlord]

Do you still have the brain? If so crack it open, the sticker shouldn't be the only place that has what it is on it, it should be inside the cover as well. Since you left the wires just hanging there you are just going out of your way to short out the electrical system in your car, there is possibly a backup brain/battery located somewhere in the car as most car thieves will just cut the brain out. The name of the alarm might be on the siren as well. It sounds to me like you have one of those el cheapo autozone Audiovox alarms if you can find the model number I can get you a wiring diagram.

Look for a fuse, it could be what is keeping the alarm from not dying.

[hvp014]

you said when the alarm went off it cut the ignition. Which means they cut your starter wire. So when you removed the brain you left your starter wire unconnected. Sounds to me that all you have to do is reconnect your starter wire and it should be good to go. What year make and model is it?

[elwesso]

Crappy alarm installs can be one of the biggest nightmares on a car...

Honestly what I would do in your situation, is get yourself a good wiring diagram and take all that crap out.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Yea, help me find where those damn wires go and I'll buy that damn BMW of yours.

When can I come over?

[the converted]

Yea, help me find where those damn wires go and I'll buy that damn BMW of yours.

When can I come over?

Haha. Once you have the brain unplugged, you should be pretty good with a few exceptions. I would definitely take out the starter kill relay to avoid any issues with it going bad. Feel free to harass me, I spent a few years putting alarms in.

[ADDirishboy]

Alright, so I've reconnected everything just in case the starter wire is in with that group. Tried pulling different fuses, and am still getting nothing.

Does anyone know why the lights would be dimming and I'm losing power to everything? When I first connect my battery it all works fine, but then the second I try and start it, everything dies, and doesn't come back unless I disconnect and reconnect the battery.

What I'm thinking is that there is a problem with my electrical connections, and not necessarily the alarm. Yes, the alarm randomly engages itself, but I think it's only after my electrical shorts itself.

Haha. Once you have the brain unplugged, you should be pretty good with a few exceptions. I would definitely take out the starter kill relay to avoid any issues with it going bad. Feel free to harass me, I spent a few years putting alarms in.

Trying to find it. I'll hit you up once I have more info. It's dark out now and I'm getting pissed off to the point of shaking again, so I'm gonna stop before I end up breaking something else.

[the converted]

That's always a good place to stop! Feel free to give me a phone call if you need a helping hand.

[ADDirishboy]

That's always a good place to stop! Feel free to give me a phone call if you need a helping hand.

I'll probably take you up on that. PM me your number so if I get stuck I can call someone who actually knows this crap.

[zerepdivad]

what car is this?

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Has anything else been done regarding the electrical system? Like anything aftermarket at all?

It could be an ignition problem too, but it really sounds like something is draining power to the point of it not even being able to crank the starter.

[Chaotic_Warlord]

By the sound of what your describing symptom wise is is starting to sound more and more like a combination of a short and a bad alternator. Do you have a multimeter? Test your voltage at the alternator while the car is running, if it's below 12V then your alternator is dying, if it's between the 12-14V range then you have a short somewhere and honestly if that's the case you're going to need someone who knows electrical systems there with you to help you out, just know that it's going to piss you off fairly quickly because finding a short is the single most frustrating thing a person can do, it's like trying to find a specific needle in a stack of needles. Go over every inch of the wiring and look for exposed wires, or burn spots if you can't find any then the short is going to be 100000000000000000000x times harder to find.

[PoorManQ45]

Honestly, it sounds like you've got an alarm relay somewhere in the system that hasn't been removed. Without the brain to trip it the switch stays in the off position.

[ADDirishboy]

what car is this?

2002 mitsubishi mirage.

Honestly, if I can't find the issue today, I'm calling an electrician before I tear the entire wiring harness out and burn it.

[zerepdivad]

Battery WHITE (+) IGN. HARNESS
Ignition 1 BLACK/WHITE (+) IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
Ignition 2 BLUE/BLACK (+) IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
Accessory 1 BLUE/WHITE (+) IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
Starter 1 BLACK/YELLOW (+) IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS

Neutral Safety BLACK/RED (-) TOP OF TRANSAXLE ON DRIVER SIDE
Tachometer WHITE (-) AT COIL

Parking Lights GREEN/WHITE (+) 13 PIN PLUG ABOVE FUSEPANEL
Brake Lights GREEN (+) AT BRAKE SWITCH

Horn GREEN/RED (-) LOCATED AT HORN

here's a few of the main wires. likely the black yellow wire is cut for a starter kill so you'll want to solder that together. basically unhook what's connected to these wires one by one and make sure to electrical tape or heatshrink any bare wires.