ryanw Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Okay, I feel like this is a stupid question, but please humor me I bought a used 98 OBW a couple months ago the head gasket blew after 4 hours of driving it.... so I did the 2.5 to 2.2 swap. During this time, I noticed that the car alarm horn (I'm guessing) had the two wires going to it cut. I hooked them up and there was a low buzzing coming from the device which would not go off (which I guess is why the wires were clipped), so I left these disconnected. After getting the new engine in, I realized that the flashing red light on the dash (no audible alarm) meant the alarm was going off and I had to hit the lock/unlock button on the keyless entry remote to get the alarm to shut off. Well my keyless entry remote stopped working (just battery I'm hoping) about a week ago and I've been just using the key (along with procrastinating getting another battery).... I had some trouble opening the trunk with the key today, but finally got it open, then got in the car and it would not turn over. I noticed the flashing light on the dash which I assume means the car alarm has been triggered and therefore had shut off the starter. I had no remote entry device (left at home till I got batteries) and hitting the lock/unlock on the door did not shut off the alarm. I disconnected the battery lead for awhile, but I believe the alarm comes on after power loss and was in the same position. I had just moved my tools out of the car, but still had a pair of jumper cables, so I clipped on to the appropriate wire on the solenoid with the key on and jumped it to the positive on the battery which turned it over and started it up. So I drove home with the alarm light flashing on the dash the entire time. There has to be a way to shut off the alarm if you have the car key isnt there? Or do you HAVE to have the keyless entry remote to disable the alarm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOthis Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 if you have the key....try cycling the key on and off 4 or 5 times.......(dont crank engine or start car) just between off and on/accessory..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 There may be a push button on the underside of the moulding right above where your legs are when sitting in the driver's seat. Push the button while cycling the key off and on. BTW, if you don't have an owner's manual, BUY ONE!! This car is fairly complex and many things are NOT intuative. BTW numero dos, you are about the billionth poster to buy an used Phase I Subaru and have it develop a head gasket leak on the way home. For some reason, that ride home must be really tough on a used Phase I engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 BTW numero dos, you are about the billionth poster to buy an used Phase I Subaru and have it develop a head gasket leak on the way home. For some reason, that ride home must be really tough on a used Phase I engine. :lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 [...] BTW, if you don't have an owner's manual, BUY ONE!![...]You might not have to pay for an owner's manual. See my post here:http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showpost.php?p=750998 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDave Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 I would remove the whole unit since it's obviously gone bad. It's not that hard to do. We get them towed into the shop all the time and it takes about 30 minutes to exorcise an aftermarket alarm. Remove the panel under the steering column for better access. Find the black box tie wrapped in place with a jumble of wires coming out of it. Clip the tie wrap and pull the box down so you can get a better idea where all the wires are running. You'll see a couple wires go though the firewall for the siren and hood switch. There are wires leading to the left kick panel going into the driver's door. Some wires go to the trunk, apparently, and there will be the wires that go to the little red light. There may be a ground wire too. Most of those wires should connect to your factory harness with either scotch locks or T connectors. Where possible just unplug the wires leading to the black box. If you have to cut wires, cut alarm wires, not your factory wires. If you have to cut some, have electrical tape handy to wrap the bare ends in your harness so you don't produce a point for future shorts. Note: In some cases there may be a factory connector unplugged and two Black box connectors plugged into their ends. This is usually done at the left kick panel and the connector is for your power door locks. Simply unplug the two BB connectors and plug your original connector back together. Once you get all those small wires disconnected you will likely be left with two larger wires of the same color that were cut and larger black box wires spliced in. That is your main ignition feed wire and the reason the car won't start. Cut the black box wires off them and solder your wires back together. You may have to leave a couple inches of the BB wire on when you make your cut so you will have enough slack to work with when soldering your wires back together. Tape up all slices, or better yet use shrink wrap on the ignition wires. That's all there is to it. I've removed dozens of them and they're basically all the same and not at all hard to remove. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 I would remove the whole unit since it's obviously gone bad. It's not that hard to do. We get them towed into the shop all the time and it takes about 30 minutes to exorcise an aftermarket alarm. Remove the panel under the steering column for better access. Find the black box tie wrapped in place with a jumble of wires coming out of it. Clip the tie wrap and pull the box down so you can get a better idea where all the wires are running. You'll see a couple wires go though the firewall for the siren and hood switch. There are wires leading to the left kick panel going into the driver's door. Some wires go to the trunk, apparently, and there will be the wires that go to the little red light. There may be a ground wire too. Most of those wires should connect to your factory harness with either scotch locks or T connectors. Where possible just unplug the wires leading to the black box. If you have to cut wires, cut alarm wires, not your factory wires. If you have to cut some, have electrical tape handy to wrap the bare ends in your harness so you don't produce a point for future shorts. Note: In some cases there may be a factory connector unplugged and two Black box connectors plugged into their ends. This is usually done at the left kick panel and the connector is for your power door locks. Simply unplug the two BB connectors and plug your original connector back together. Once you get all those small wires disconnected you will likely be left with two larger wires of the same color that were cut and larger black box wires spliced in. That is your main ignition feed wire and the reason the car won't start. Cut the black box wires off them and solder your wires back together. You may have to leave a couple inches of the BB wire on when you make your cut so you will have enough slack to work with when soldering your wires back together. Tape up all slices, or better yet use shrink wrap on the ignition wires. That's all there is to it. I've removed dozens of them and they're basically all the same and not at all hard to remove. Any more hints as to where this is on a 99 OB? I've looked under the dash several times and can't find anything as described online. I've had the car for two years and the alarm just started going off a few weeks ago after replacing the battery. I've unplugged the seat belt control which has been great. I tried unplugging the "keyless entry unit" which is the only black box I could find but then the car just doesn't run. I followed the wires from the security light but they just go into a giant bundle of a hundred wires above the fuse box. I do have the key fob but I think its battery is dead. I really just don't want the alarm but I might try to resurrect the remote so I can put it in valet mode for now. Any help on where I can actually find the alarm unit or what it looks like would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djmark7 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 http://www.cars101.com/subaru/keyless.html#code Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocei77 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 The button may be pushed up some. It is by your left knee area. Get a flashlight and look. Once found, push in while cranking. This will hold until the next time the battery loses power.. Replace the battery in the key fob and go to cars101.com and look under programming remotes. O. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Alarm is disabled if you connect the battery with the key In the On position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontoontodd Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Alarm is disabled if you connect the battery with the key In the On position. Thanks for that tip. My radio died a few weeks ago and when I had that out I spotted a black box. It says Subaru security unit so I unplugged it. Alarm hasn't gone off since. Everything else still seems to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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