Alarm Troubles

hey guys yesterday at 4 a.m. i woke up to my car alarm blaring, so i rushed outside and there was no one around. i tried to use my remote to shut it off but it wouldnt work, so i put my door key in and turned it to shut the alarm off and it worked, the problem is it went of evey 10 minutes after that, and i had to do the same thing to shut it off.

Eventually i got so pissed that i disconnected the battery and tried like hell to get back to sleep. i drove it to work and i assume that id did not do this because it started right back up when i left to go home.

it sat in my driveway until 5:46 a.m. today and low and behold the alarm went off again, i ran to the window and saw no one again this time however i was able to shut it off with the remote, and much to my dismay left it unlocked the rest of the night.

Is there something wrong or is someone in need of a serious ass kicking for "F'ing" with me?

my alarm goes off randomly too...

it also goes off every once in awhile when I use my key in the door.... kuz I lost my remote....

Hello,
I've had my '97 Riviera for almost four months. Now, all of the sudden, everytime I open the door, the alarm that I didn't know I had, goes off for a few minutes. I had noticed that when the door was opened, a "security" light lit in the dash, but nothing else happened. How do I disable this? Or, is it possible to go to a Buick dealer and get a remote made?
Thanks,
Mikel

Try unlocking the car with the remote (whether it is locked or not) before you open the door and that should take care of it.

My guess is you might probably need a new door latch, which has the dome light and alarm switches built into it. Over time I have replaced both door latches on my '98 Riv.

By the way, you can make the alarm go off by locking the car with key or remote then unlocking manually and opening the door.

Albertj

I'm not sure he even has a GM key fob / remote.
That would be my first question.
And the second question is did you get an Owner's Manual with the car when you bought it.?

Rickw wrote:

I'm not sure he even has a GM key fob / remote.
That would be my first question.
And the second question is did you get an Owner's Manual with the car when you bought it.?

I get it..

If this were my problem, I would:

1) buy a remote or two off EBay, it'll run around $20 each. Try:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/96-97-1996-1997-BUICK-RIVIERA-SUPERCHARGED-KEY-REMOTE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5d268bacbeQQitemZ400078646462QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

2) follow the instructions the vendor gives or the directions in the write up on this editboard (use the search function) for programming the remotes

Albertj

Hello,
I don't have a remote. I use the key for everything. I called my local Buick dealer and gave them my VIN. They said that my car had a remote for locking/unlocking the doors, but no alarm, so it must be an aftermarket addition. Would one of those ebay remotes also operate the alarm?

How much does it typically cost to install a remote starter/alarm?
Thank you all.
Mikel

is there a way to turn off the alarm. My goes off for no reason , my clicker to unlock the doors is broken so i have to go outside to turn it off with the key. i was thinking about taking the fuse for the horn out. Any suggestions?

If you disable the theft deterrent system in any way, you will be in "tennis shoe" mode, as you will be walking to your destinations. I suggest you figure out what's wrong and have it repaired.

even if i take the horn fuse out, will it mess up the theft deterrent system?

While you obviously have a fault somewhere that is setting off the alarm,
the salient question is: Are you arming the system when you park it?

If you are using the power locks then you are - If you're not, then you really
have a bad fault...

If you don't have the time to try to find the problem at the moment, just lock the doors
with the manual levers, that should keep it quiet.

you could pull the horn fuse with no trouble. But I'd just stick in a kill switch for the horn so you still have it when driving. The wife used to have a similar prob. She had no "gickey box" and would constantly open the drivers door with the key, then lean across and un-lock the passenger door, which would set off the alarm. Somehow there are a million ways to set off the alarm without a working box. She just learned how to pop the hood and unplug the horn.

yes, that sounds like a nice ghetto-fabulous idea, put a kill switch in for the horn......

I agree with Eldo, just don't use the power locks and the alarm won't be enabled.

even if i lock it from the power door lock the alarm still goes off-- the only way it wont go off is if i dont lock my car. so do i need the remote to turn off my alarm.

1996RIV CALI wrote:

even if i lock it from the power door lock the alarm still goes off--

Read my post again... Lock it with the manual lock levers, NOT the power lock switch.

i tried that 2 and did not work.

Your problem could be 1 of 2 things, the Remote Function Actuator (RFA) module might be acting up. This module is on the right side of the trunk under the shelf. Does the alarm go off if you don't lock the doors? This would be a better indication of the module being bad.
OR
As Albert had suggested earlier, a door latch may also be faulty, which would cause the alarm to go off after locking the doors.

You don't need a key fob for the alarm to work properly. As long as you unlock the door with the key, the alarm will not go off....and the system will be activated by using the power lock button. The remotes are a luxury that ALL the Rivieras came with. I would suggest that you get at least one remote and program it. From there we can diagnose your problem better.

1996RIV CALI wrote:

i tried that 2 and did not work.

If you've done it the manual way and the alarm still goes off, then the system isn't just alarming when it shouldn't, it is arming itself as well... If that's the case, short of tracking down every wire involved, I agree with Abaddon that the RFA is the likely suspect.

This is a great thread guys.

My Riv just went batshit crazy in the parking lot at work today. The shitty part is that I walk almost a half mile to and from the car to the entrance of the bldg. I was out for lunch walking around the compound when I heard a familiar sound... Sounded like a big-ass American car horn. Being that most of my co-workers who park in that lot have Euro crud, I knew it was mine. I feared my car might have been getting broken into but knew better being that it was mid-day and the lot is guarded. Sure enough, the lights were flashing and nothing was near the car. I didn't have my keys with me so I marathon'd it back to my office and then went back. It was a nice mile run. I probably did it in 6 mins. lol Got almost all the way to the car and the alarm went off on its own. I read that it would turn off automatically after 30 mins so that's a relief. Otherwise the car was just possessed. :/

Anyhow, I gave Scott a + above because he, along with Albert, summed up troubleshooting this problem in a very simple way. I will report back with what I find. Seems easy enough. I leave car unlocked and wait to see if alarm goes off.

Do you have an aftermarket alarm/remote starter installed?

No. It's all factory sir. Makes the same sound as if I mistakenly hit the panic button or tried to unlock the door manually when the window was down.

After a few days of manually locking the doors with the paddles the alarm has not gone off. I did, however, lock the car with the key fob last night and the alarm was blaring at 8:00am this morning.

Does this help narrow it down?

Could it be a door latch mechanism that is failing? This may be unrelated but I noticed that every few days or so, when I turn the car off and take the key out of the ignition, the overhead light does not go on automatically. Would be great if that is the same faulty part that is triggering the alarm.

Or would you lean towards the RFA module getting squirrely and thinking it is getting an alarm signal?

DEMonte1997 wrote:

After a few days of manually locking the doors with the paddles the alarm has not gone off. I did, however, lock the car with the key fob last night and the alarm was blaring at 8:00am this morning.

Does this help narrow it down?

Could it be a door latch mechanism that is failing? This may be unrelated but I noticed that every few days or so, when I turn the car off and take the key out of the ignition, the overhead light does not go on automatically. Would be great if that is the same faulty part that is triggering the alarm.

...sounds like the ig switch or body computer (MALL). From my experience - if you have a bum door latch the lights either don't come on when you open the door or come on after a delay, the delay is *not* constant. There should not be a delay at all when you open door and except for the "police package" Impalas, Blazers and Suburbans, short of taking out the bulbs I don't know how to disable the dome lights turning op when a door is opened.

Also thinking about what you posted, watch out for stuff that is naturally worn out failing simultaneously, like the ig switch and one or both door switches.

I understand the switch is embedded in the latch case and I have been told the switch isn't replaceable separate from the latch mechanism.


Albertj

Hmmmm... I could easily get an ignition switch from Ed and throw that in to see if it fixes things.

BCM (body control module) gets a little more hairy. I tried replacing it in my Regal and then the airbag light came on. I guess I'd have to hit the dealer to have them sync it with a tech-2. Not sure I want to spend that kind of money.

For now, I'll keep locking the doors manually. :/

One other silly question:

It seems to do this no matter if I arm the car with the fob or the door lock button. This doesn't help narrow it down further, right?