silkster

I have a 2005 Mustang GT. My battery just died, so I bought a new battery and installed it. After connecting the battery, my alarm goes off and I can't turn it off with the key fob - yes the key fob works, at least it still unlocks the doors and pops the trunk. This is a Ford alarm installed at the dealer. The documents I have for the alarm say there's a programming button somewhere to reset it, but I looked all over and under the dashboard - no button. The alarm is a black box with Ford stickers installed below the steering column on the door side. Disconnecting the box has the obvious effect of killing the ignition and messing up the windows which normally lower a bit when the door opens and raise back in place when the door is shut.

Does anyone know how to reset this thing? If I have to take it to the dealer, I'm going to have them remove it completely so I don't have to go there every time the battery is disconnected.

silkster

I found the answer at f150online.com:

Disconnect the battery. Wait 2 minutes for the module to lose all traces of voltage. Turn the ignition key to the RUN position. Reconnect the battery. Turn the key OFF and press LOCK on the drivers door switch to reinitialize the alarm.

http://www.f150online.com/forums/lig...ystem-4-a.html

So no thanks to Ford or the dealer. I read through all the documentation I got for the alarm twice and these instructions were not included anywhere. I'm printing them out and adding to my owners manual for future reference.

I guess a regular Joe can't even change the battery in modern cars!

Wpipes

Thank you for posting the solution!

Nothing worse than a problem thread, that when the OP figures out the solution they just don't come back and end the thread with it.

Glad you got it all figured out .

silkster

I know what you mean! It took me hours of searching over 2 days to find that! I hope someone else finds it helpful.

Nuke

Great find and thanks for sharing.

808muscle

Very good find. Glad you figured it out.

ironh19

weird, the battery died in my 05 two days before I traded it in, I immediately swapped the battery I had waiting in storage and it worked fine with no problem... I guess its not an every time problem.

Derf00

He's referring to the 'optional' alarm that most dealers have on the car while they sit on their lot, not the factory theft deterrent.

It's a little black box just like he described at the base of the steering wheel column (if you have it).

Anyways, I didn't want to pay the dealers $500 for it so I had them remove it. I ended up having them replace the wiring harness after they removed the alarm (this was my wife's '06 Escape when we bought it new). The alarm had been wire spliced with those damn piggyback connectors and after they took it out the left all the splicers in place. No way in h e l l I was going to leave it open for ignition problems down the road.

OHxEIGHTxGT

Holy crap, I had this same issue today. Had my battery go dead and the alarm was going ape-s&*# every time I tried to unlock it with the key fob after I replaced the battery. I honestly thought for a brief moment that I might lose my sanity if I didn't fix it. I tried this and it worked right away! All I can say is thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you for posting the solution!

silkster

@Derf00, that was smart having them remove the harness, too. I looked at how mine is connected while I was trying to figure this out and I couldn't believe what a mess it was. Too little, too late for me unfortunately so I'm stuck with it until something really goes wrong.

@OHxEIGHTxGT, the biggest problem for my mustang is the lack of road time. I had to have it jump started again today. The AAA tech told me to make sure to drive it at least 20 miles a week. He said that people who drive 30 miles to work 5 days a week will have no problem with their battery for the lifetime of the car. If you drive less than 10, then you will have to replace the battery every 3-5 years. So I will be driving it to work at least once a week from now on.