1997 LeSabre Theft Deterrent Problems - Trunk

[brcidd]

My money is on the tamper switch in the driver's door- now try cutting it to see if it stays quiet....you can do it at the RFA module or in the door jam instead of in the door...

[scottndsky]

Ok, done. Now I'm waiting for it to go off again.

What's your theory? That the remote might have a rogue transmission that is setting off the alarm? Would moving the remote far away from the car accomplish the same thing, or is there something about the programming you hope to "reset" by removing the battery altogether?

Any suggestions are welcomed!

Thanks,
Scott

[brcidd]

Temporarily cut the lt blu wire (on terminal position F10) at the RFA (remote function actuator module) - located at lower right of dash above passenger footwell.-- and see if alarms quiets..

If it quiets- then that circuit is seeing an intermittent ground- most likely at either front door tamper switches.

[Brijs]

Scott,

I am having the same problem, its 1 am and for the last 3 nights I have been woken up by the stupid alarm on my LeSabre. It goes off spontaneously and seems to only happen at night when everyone is asleep. All the doors are closed, the truck and hood are closed. I have tried manually locking the doors and using the key fob but it doesn't seem to matter ether way. The only sure way I have been able to prevent it from going off is by leaving the doors unlocked. Anyway if anyone has any suggestions please let me know, I would like to be able to lock my doors and get some sleep.

Thanks,
Ryan

[Scrapper]

i think brcidd is correct on cutting blue wire. i would atleast give it a try.

[Mickey#1]

Originally Posted by scottndsky

Ok, done. Now I'm waiting for it to go off again.

What's your theory? That the remote might have a rogue transmission that is setting off the alarm? Would moving the remote far away from the car accomplish the same thing, or is there something about the programming you hope to "reset" by removing the battery altogether?

Any suggestions are welcomed!

Thanks,
Scott

My son's 99 Bonneville had a hair trigger on one of the remotes. Once we narrowed it down to the remote we were able to clean the switches & cure the problem. If removing the battery doesn't help then I would try doing the "bong" test on all the doors.

[scottndsky]

Thanks Mickey#1!

Right now I'm waiting to see if removing the batteries from both FOBs has worked for me as well. It's been a couple of days now and I haven't heard the alarm go off. I've been arming it by opening the door, hitting the power door "LOCK" button on door itself, then closing the door. When I arm the alarm this way I hear two quick chimes right after I hit the button. After I close the door the alarm automatically locks all the doors (you can hear all the solenoids energize), then the Security light goes out. Now it is armed, and now I wait...

If it goes off again I'll pursue the other suggestions that involve cutting blue wires.

Regards,
Scott

[scottndsky]

Originally Posted by Mickey#1

If removing the battery doesn't help then I would try doing the "bong" test on all the doors.

Do you mean simply tapping or thumping each door near the lock cylinders?

Thanks,
Scott

[scottndsky]

Update...

The alarm went off again yesterday around 6pm while the batteries were removed from both FOBs. I guess we can rule out the FOBs. Now I'd like to look at the doors. Can someone please describe the related circuits for me? Questions I have...

1 - Are tamper switches something you'd only find on the lock cylinders (where you put your key)? Am I right in saying that only the front doors (and the trunk) have tamper switches?

2 - If true, are both front door tamper switches connected to the same blue wire (on terminal position F10) at the RFA, or is there a wire going to the RFA for *each* tamper switch?

3 - The door latches themselves must have switches similar to the truck that are independent of the tamper switches, correct? There should be four of these (one for each door) that set off the alarm if the door is opened, right? Is this something to look at, or are tamper switches the more likely culprit?

4- Does anyone have any wiring diagrams they'd be willing to share?

Again, thanks to all those who have provided suggestions!

Regards,
Scott

[Mickey#1]

PM me with an email address & I'll send you some info.

[brcidd]

The tamper switches all feed through the same wire at the RFA- they need to be grounded to activate them- the tamper switches switch to ground when they are tampered with.

[scottndsky]

Originally Posted by Mickey#1

PM me with an email address & I'll send you some info.

I sent a PM - I think. When you're ready please fire away. I'm looking forward to your details.

Thanks,
Scott

[Mickey#1]

Email sent for doing the bong test. I'd also check the connections at the battery for corrosion. You need to remove the bolts & rubber boots from the cables in order to see the corrosion. Clean everything with sandpaper &/or a wire brush. Apply some dielectric grease to help prevent the corrosion from coming back.

[scottndsky]

Originally Posted by brcidd

Temporarily cut the lt blu wire (on terminal position F10) at the RFA (remote function actuator module) - located at lower right of dash above passenger footwell.-- and see if alarms quiets..

If it quiets- then that circuit is seeing an intermittent ground- most likely at either front door tamper switches.

brcidd,

I'm going to try this next. Do I need to take the glove box out to get to RFA, or is further to the right? Would you say it is hard to get to, or do I just pop a panel off and there it is?

Thanks,
Scott

[scottndsky]

Update...

Ok, so I found the RFA module. It took me a while because I was looking for something with at least 6 rows ("F") by 10 columns. I was able to spot a light blue wire going into a black box at row 2, column 10, so I figured this was the F10 input to the RFA.

Rather than cut the wire, I was able to remove the corresponding contact from the terminal block and plug the block back into the RFA. The wire is now labeled and floating underneath the dash.

And so I wait... Hopefully this will silence the random alarms. If it does, I'll know that one of the front door tamper switches is to blame.

Thanks again for everyone's help! I'll post another follow up with the results.

Scott