Stupid car alarm!

January 23, 2007 11:15 PM

Disable the alarm on a 2006 Buick Allure? It's a rental, and it's 2am and the alarm is going off pretty much every 30-60 minutes. We have the key and can get into the car etc, but have no idea how to disable it.

Didn't come with a manual, and google is failing me on that count, so any help would be MUCH appreciated.

posted by tiamat to travel & transportation (10 comments total)

Pop the hood and disconnect the battery. More than likely, that will do it.
posted by hackwolf at 11:21 PM on January 23, 2007

my alarm system goes off every hour too. the only suggestion i have is to not use it -- unlock your doors using the remote (do you have a remote?) and then lock your doors manually instead of using the remote. that's what i do, and it works. of course, i drive a nearly 10 year old saturn, so your ymmv.
posted by kerning at 11:22 PM on January 23, 2007

Have tried resetting the locks 3 times with the key, as instructed by road side assistance of the rental company. Will try to get 30 minutes sleep and check back here if the alarm goes off again.
posted by tiamat at 11:27 PM on January 23, 2007

You'll need a ⁵/₁₆ths or 8mm wrench to disconnect the battery. Remember to detach the negative.
posted by Mitheral at 11:47 PM on January 23, 2007

Seconding disconnecting the battery. I have had alarm problems in the past, and they included the alarm running all night and flattening the battery.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:44 AM on January 24, 2007

you've probably already solved this problem, but you can just pull the fuse that runs the car horn in the fuse box, which is probably located in a panel on the driver's side door. That seems safer to me, and less hassle than disconnecting a battery. I used to have a pontiac that did that all the time, and I would just yank out the fuse and solve the problem. Of course, I couldn't honk at anything, but at least the alarm wasn't going off every ten minutes.
posted by bash at 6:38 AM on January 24, 2007

A friend of mine had to break into his own car and he reported that there was nothing preventing the auxiliary alarm horn (i.e. not the car's horn itself) from simply being disconnected either via a screwdriver or a wire cutter. His alarm was not OEM however, so it may be an entirely different matter in your case.
posted by Skorgu at 7:28 AM on January 24, 2007

Take it back to the rental company and request a different car.
posted by internal at 7:31 AM on January 24, 2007

Not sure how the Buick alarm is wired, but for at least *some* car alarms, the alarm automatically arms when you use the keyfob to lock the doors. Using the key and not the fob is interpreted as a suspected break-in and also does not disable the alarm. Use the remote, not the key, to unlock the doors (and also disable the alarm). When locking the car, use the key from then on out and not the key fob. The car will lock but the alarm may not arm.

Most alarms have switches on the doors and also on the hood and trunk (or hatch). Hood switches, for some reason, seem to go out of adjustment a lot and make it look to the alarm like the hood is open. If it's right on the hairy edge, temperature changes can make the switch activate the alarm (also, if the hood is not fully closed).

Hopefully since it's a rental, you've been able to exchange it by now. If now, try the stuff I suggested.
posted by Doohickie at 8:15 AM on January 24, 2007

Thanks for all the suggestions folks!

In the end we just decided to leave the car unlocked. I've never actually even heard of a car getting stolen in this area...

Anyway, for the record, locking the doors with the keys seemed to turn on the alarm just the same as locking it with the remote.

The car rental roadside assistance people suggested resetting the alarm by locking and unlocking the doors 3 times, with the key, in the driver's door, but other than making some additional beeps we weren't really able to tell if this did anything.

So in the end we all got some sleep.
posted by tiamat at 8:50 AM on January 24, 2007