Trying to figure my alarm out Options

[6strngs]

Alright, so not too long ago, I was trying to wire up my gauges and I was cutting into some wires so I could use a test light to find ones with 12V of power. well, I was using a razor blade to cut into the wires, and I accidentally cut two wires at once and they started smoking. well, ever since then, my alarm hasn't worked, and also my doors will lock and then immidietly unlock themselves randomly while I'm driving and it's very annoying! and the more and more I look at things, the more convinced I am that I do not have the stock alarm. I traced the two wires that I shorted together as the red and black wires that go to this switch:

this is the switch that turns my alarm on and off. I haven't figured out where the other ends of the wires go to yet.

Here is what the sensor for my alarm looks like:

it says "clifford magnetic resonance sensor" so I'm guessing this is not the stock alarm? it was held in place with zip ties... I don't think toyota would zip tie it's alarm sensors in place. anyway, coming from this unit are a red, black, and orange wire. The red wire goes and then goes into a crimping splicer thing where about 3 other red wires go to all join to one thickish red wire. don't know that this is. the black wire does the same thing, where about 3-4 black wires join into a splicer into two black wires. orange wire splices into another orange wire, which I don't know where that goes yet either.

I also found this:

it's a clear box with electronic gizmos in it, like capacitors and resistors, that sort of thing. it has a red, black, and orange wire coming from it too, and it's also held in place by zip ties leading me to believe it's also aftermarket, anyone know what it is? it's located kinda behind where the dimmer switch is.

any help would be appreciated. Such as, possible things I could have blown out to make the alarm stop working (the little LED on the sensor still lights up evertime it senses a vibration.) I already checked all my fuses. also, what could be causing the doors to lock and then unlock randomly while driving (Usually happens when I do something else, like rolling down the window, turning on my headlights, or pushing the brake pedal)

This post has been edited by 6strngs: Jun 4, 2007 - 12:37 AM

[lubu]

you know how there is a wire that senses the signal from the accessories we use such as window, headlights...etc well that wire and its whole sensing components is pretty much screwed up. Im guesing the internal components has altered to some extend that when it senses a drop in current (when you use one of the accessories)it will locks the door and when the current restores it unlocks...happens because when you first turn something on it usually draws a larger current (for like a few milli sec) then the operating current for that device.

...ur saying that the alarm hasnt work since, maybe the ICs fried out, other parts will still work as there are diodes to protect reverse flow of current, but that particular part where you short circuited it is probably malfunctioning..i cant say for sure & needed to open the main module to see..its pretty much useless anyway.

...thats all i can think of .... gl with it.

btw...red and black in alarm circuits are usually ground and live wire..

[6strngs]

you know how there is a wire that senses the signal from the accessories we use such as window, headlights...etc well that wire and its whole sensing components is pretty much screwed up. Im guesing the internal components has altered to some extend that when it senses a drop in current (when you use one of the accessories)it will locks the door and when the current restores it unlocks...happens because when you first turn something on it usually draws a larger current (for like a few milli sec) then the operating current for that device.

...ur saying that the alarm hasnt work since, maybe the ICs fried out, other parts will still work as there are diodes to protect reverse flow of current, but that particular part where you short circuited it is probably malfunctioning..i cant say for sure & needed to open the main module to see..its pretty much useless anyway.

...thats all i can think of .... gl with it.

btw...red and black in alarm circuits are usually ground and live wire..

What does "IC" stand for?

[lubu]

IC=integrated circuit

[Hanyo]

that is an older generation clifford alarm. I have the same shock senser sitting in my room some where.

IC stands for integrated chip. aka cpu.

Yea, you fried out your main computer module. That clear box you took a picture of can either be a level senser (sets off your alarm when some trys to steal your rims) or an auxiliary channel expander.

You need to find the main moduel of the alarm. you can do this by following the orange wire. (That is one of the reason why its not always a good idea to buy main brand alarms. They always use the same color code for each wire throught out all their products. So its really easy to follow wires. )

once you get to the end of that orange wire, that will be your main unit (or brain) of your alarm. Check for burnt out fuses. If none of your fuses are burnt then its highly likely your main unit is dead. If you just pull the plug off the main unit, it will disconnect everything and your annoying door lock problem will go away. If you have time, you can trace all the wires and un-install the alarm.

If you feel like trying to repair this problem, I have a hunch you melted one of the positive or negative wires in your alarm. Test all the red wire with a volt meter to see if you get 12 volts and test all your black wires for ground by using the ohm function.

[6strngs]

where would that be? is it that clear box thing I found?

[Hanyo]

follow the orange wire all the way to the main unit.. if any wires splice into the orange wire, ignore the splice. follow the orange wire until you reached the end.

That appears to be a custom install by someone, so they could have hidden the main unit anywhere! they can go crazy and loop the orange wire 9 times around the entire car for all i know.

[lubu]

i think you better off buying a new alarm..save you all the hassles. But if ur keen as a bull then you have to locate the main module, open it inspect it with ur eyes first, you jst might find the damaged components by spotting a black residue underneath it, change them with new ones...otherwise voltmeter just like Hanoy says...if ur good wiith electrical go for it...if ur lazy..well...u know what to do.

[6strngs]

well, I wanted to get a new alarm anyway. but I figure this old one would have to come out either way. I don't know if I'd try to install it myself or have it installed.

in any case, right now I don't have any money for a new alarm, so I was just seeing if I could get it to stop locking then unlocking, or maybe check and see if it was just something simple and cheap that needed to be replaced to get it to work properly again. but I guess not...

[Manny]

You can unplug the brain to stop the locking and unlocking... but if the Alarm had ignition kill, then your car may not start....

[6strngs]

You can unplug the brain to stop the locking and unlocking... but if the Alarm had ignition kill, then your car may not start....

the brain? is this the same as the integrated circuit? my car didn't start at first, but after disconnecting and reconnecting my battery, now it does start.

[Manny]

The brain is the main module that controls the alarm functions.... All the wires will lead to the "brain". When you disconnected you battery, you just reset it... but.. this tells me that you probably have ignition kill and removing the brain may disable the engine.... I have minimal experience installing alarms, and have only done a few for myself....

IMO you are better off taking the thing to an installer when you are ready for a new alarm, and live with the unlocking and locking for the time being....

[Hanyo]

he has a clifford alarm, by removing the model will disable the start kill.

sometimes i wonder why i bother posting....

[6strngs]

IMO you are better off taking the thing to an installer when you are ready for a new alarm, and live with the unlocking and locking for the time being....

yeah, I think I'll just end up doing that. thanks for all the help everyone.