That silly factory anti theft system

Hey everyone. I have a 2001 Taurus DOHC with that factory anti theft that you can trigger from the panic button on the fob. I don't think I have every used it except when I set it off by accident when the keys are in my pocket. Well in the last 2 weeks this thing has been setting itself off for no reason. Last night at Boy scouts the stupid thing went off in the parking lot and when I went out to turn it off it wouldn't stay off. Every time i pressed the fob it would shut off and then start again after a couple of seconds. I finally had to unlock the car which disabled it and leave it unlocked. I can't have this stupid thing going off randomly because it will annoy someone enough that they will take retribution on on the car and it will drain the battery. Any suggestions on what the problem could be or even better yet how to just disable it. Honestly its such a waste. Why did ford even bother.

Thanks

Have you noticed interior lights staying on or maybe a "door ajar" light in the instrument cluster coming on at odd times? It's pretty common for door switches to stick on this era of Fords, and such an issue could explain the security system going off.

I used a product Caig brand De-Oxit to clean my door switch (sprayed in the latches) and followed that up with Caig Preserv-It which took car of my 1998 SHO for a couple more years (at least to the time I sold it). For all I know it's still working fine.

-Rod

You know what? A couple of years ago I had a problem with the doors not automatically locking when you started to drive and the door ajar light coming on even though the doors were all closed. At that time Ifixed the issue with a squirt of silicone spray into each door switch. Maybe it's time to do that again or get the product you mentioned. The other thing I forgot to mention is that I still have the original battery in by fob if you can believe that.

It's not unheard of for a wrist watch to get 10 years out of the CR2032 lithium battery like what's used in your fob, and if it doesn't see much use, then I'm not terribly surprised you haven't changed the battery. But, I doubt the battery is causing the problem you're experiencing, especially if your fob is unable to shut off the alarm from where you are at when it starts going off. The fob has a pretty short range.

-Rod

The fob does have a short range I noticed. Last night when I got home I sprayed each of the door latches with a little silicone spray and then locked the car. I didn't hear any sounds coming from the garage all night so that may have done the trick. We'll see if anyone today at work tells me my car is going off.
Thanks!!!!

Well lubricating the door switches didn't seem to work. The car alarm started going off at work today. Now everyone knows its me so they tell me my car is waking up the dead. Anyone have any other ideas on how to diagnose this?

The factory system does not use any motion sensors, it's perimeter only, so if the system is activating it's either because it senses a door/hood/trunk opening without receiving an unlock command first, the panic feature is being requested (unlikely if you are hundreds of feet away in a building) or the CSM/RAP module is malfunctioning.

I can take a look at the factory service manual later this evening to see if there is a fuse that would only disable the security and not the keyless entry. At this point maybe you'd even be fine with the keyless being disabled.

A professional scan tool could help identify the cause, but you'd need to be logging the system datastream when the sensor acts up which is likely not practical.

-Rod

I looked in the service manual which refers to the schematics but the service manual doesn't have any schematics. Anyone know where I can get a wiring diagram for the perimeter antitheft. I'm thinking its either the hood sensor (I always wondered what that was for now I know) or the trunk sensor (where it it in the trunk??? Also is the module under the steering column like it is for a PATS system?

I have the factory service manual for the 2001 Taurus. If you send me a Private Message reminder I'll try to get the schematics PDF'd and sent your way. Please include in the PM the request AND an e-mail address for you.

-Rod

Well guess what, the problem has just gone away. I'm guessing it was a loose connection or maybe some moisture somewhere. I'll have to wait til it comes back to address it again

Just as I suspected the problem is back. If I lock the car eventually the alarm will go off. I did notice a new twist this time. If the doors are locked and I pop the trunk with my fob it sets of the alarm. I never received those schematics Rod. Maybe I did something wrong and the PM didnt get through to you. I would love to just disable the system. The car is 14 years old. Really don't need it.

I had sent them June 2, 2014 at 10:32pm to the e-mail you had provided that time. I tried again just now to the different e-mail you provided today. They came from my Gmail account. Please let me know if you don't receive them.

-Rod

I did get them thanks!!
And I found the problem. The short making the alarm go off was the sensor going to the trunk key lock. I would have never figured that even the trunk key lock, which I have never used in 14 years to open the trunk, would be part of the system. I disconnected the stupid wire from it and the problem went away.

Thanks for everyone's help. The taurus has been passed on to my son. With apologies to all you ford lovers I am now driving a Toyota Prius, which I got for a steal with these low gas prices, and I love it. When Ford gets around to making a more fuel efficient Taurus (32+mpg) I might come back. Even the fusion is not that fuel efficient surprisingly