Jump start vs Alarm

[godeatgod]

I have a 1991 SHO and the battery died only because (I believe) it had been sitting for about 6 weeks without starting. The battery is about 2 years old. I tried to jump start the car but this set off a frustrating series of events with the alarm. The battery definitely got juice from the jump because as soon as I opened the door, the alarm kicked in but there was power to all the gauges and lights. I think the alarm triggering made the engine go into "do not start" mode, so I couldn't start the car. When I turn off the ignition and removed the key and got out of the car, the full alarm cycle sounded again. I thought maybe it was because I had the hood up (jump starting) so I removed the jumper cables and closed the hood. Went back to try again. Alarm went off as soon as I got in the seat which triggered "do not start" so I went through that cycle again. Got out of the car, alarm went into full cycle again.

Is there a way to handle a dead battery other then to buy a new battery? I'm fearful that just putting a new battery in will sound the alarm, which will put it in "do not start" mode, etc.... My neighbors are ******. Alarm went off 6 times in 20 minutes. Couldn't turn it off with the keyfob either.

Any advice?

 

[TimboSHO]

What kind of alarm do you have? You should be able to disconnect the siren. You will have to find out the model of your alarm to try and find an owner's manual of some sort to work your way through this. My first 89 had an alarm on it that when it was triggered the first time led me to believe my fuel pump was bad....... until I replaced it and it still didn't prime.

 

[godeatgod]

It's a factory alarm. I feel like it's watching me now. It sees me creeping up to the car to do something and is waiting to disengage the starter. I saw a post on another forum that indicated there is a toggle switch under the driver's side dash that will disable the alarm. Of course, looking for this switch caused the alarm to go off. (doh!) I'm leaning towards buying a new 800 cca battery for $100. The current battery is from Walmart. Once I get it started just one time, I think I'll be ok. I'll tell you this though... I'm never going to leave the car that long without starting it again. Thanks for your post though. It confirmed to me that there can be a lot of intricacy and dependencies involved in these things.

 

[TimboSHO]

It might be a dealer installed alarm, but there were no factory alarms until 1993. Being a Ford alarm, your dealership may have some information to help you.

 

[godeatgod]

Thanks for the replies. I installed a new battery and after the alarm went off one more time, it started right up.