[huxley]

Hey all,

New to the forum. I'm not an owner of an Escort personally, but my father owned a 97 sedan, now owns a 97 wagon, and I just helped my grandmother purchase a low mileage used 2002 (27K!). I'm mechanically responsible for it, I just don't get the pleasure of driving it

Anyway, she's apparently having trouble with her alarm system going off randomly. Grandma, while I love her dearly, is notorious for making problems out of non-issues. For example, the fuel gauge didn't read full. She tried to convince me something was wrong with the gauge and I was thinking "Great, I'm going to have to drop the tank and replace the float." Nope. She didn't fill it up all the way. Problem solved.

That being said, I'm certainly suspicious about this being a problem that is just randomly occurring. Also, I am unfamiliar with car alarms. I have a basic working knowledge of car electronics and plenty of books on the subject (and if you have an old Jap motorcycle, I can rewire it for you) but car alarms are not something I've dealt with before.

Was this a problem on these vehicles? Is there a way to simply reset it? Should I get the codes read for the hell of it even without any idiot lights on? If all the above don't work, where do I go from there?

Any suggestions are certainly appreciated.

As a quick sidenote-I'm replacing the front brakes in the next day or two. I've done the front brakes on my dads 97 wagon. Any differences on the 2002 that I should know about before I start in?

Thanks all,
Huxley

 

[huxley]

Update on this: The alarm is not doing what I would figure it would do-the typical pulsing "beep...beep...beep". Instead, Grandma tells me that it's one long continuous beep sound. However, it stops when she pushes the button the the remote.

That sounds to me like a clockspring issue behind the airbag. That sounds to me like a big PITA as I never had to deal with that before. Am I right here? Or is there an electrical issue I'm just missing?

Thanks again!

 

[pextor]

is it the factory ford alarm system?

 

[huxley]

Hey Pextor,

Yeah, it's the factory alarm system.

And ignore my second post there-it is indeed doing the "beep beep beep". Grandma is a hard person to do diagnosis with. I'll ask two different yes or no questions and I get answers that contradict both questions.

Anyway, one "incident" was outside a store where it was probably activated due to someone slamming a truck door hard or driving close to it or something. Two other incidents occurred inside her garage today. She claims the car was unlocked the second time...I don't believe her as I read up on the alarm system and it will not activate itself if the door is shut but is left unlocked.

Sigh. I'm sorry these posts are so all over the place. Like I said, difficult to diagnose issues with her telling me problems instead of me being the one to find and explain issues.

Thanks,
Huxley

 

[silverton]

I don't think a factory escort alarm would have a vibration sensor in it. as my mothers 01 hyundai santa fe only goes off if the door is opened and the alarm is activated. I think either A, grandma has no idea whats going on, or B, you have a wiring problem on your hands, but with 27K on the clock, that shouldn't be likely.

 

[pextor]

unplug the hood sensor, it's on the drivers side along the fender. see if it still happens. those sensors can go bad and cause what you are experiencing.

 

[huxley]

Hey Pextor,

Will do. What does the sensor look like? I saw something along the drivers side fender...a black rubber coated push button sensor thing...is this it or is that something else? Never seen that on of the cars I've worked on before (none had factory alarm systems).

Also, if it is the sensor at fault, is it the same straightforward replacement or am I looking at mucho cost and shop fees?

Thanks,
Huxley

 

[kaczman]

I have a problem like this too. Randomly, when teh car alarm is armed, it will just go off a few times. Im not sure what could be causing it, but when I hit unlock, and relock, it stops for a few days.

 

[madmatt2024]

Are you sure its the factory alarm system? My dads ZX2 has the factory alarm and it has never made a beep sound.

 

[StealthStyle]

so , yea, the stock alarm has no shock sensor

it will only go off when a door, hood, or trunk is opened.

it has to be a bad sensor

 

[zzyzzx]

I figure that the Escort badge on the car was all the theft deterrent that you needed.