Hello to all. I hope I'm in the right place as I've just joined USMB. I was given a 2001 Subaru Forester S by a friend. It has 216K on it, but it's in above average condition for it's age. I love working on cars, and I can already see why Subaru owners love their cars. Neat vehicle.

 

Anyway the Forester came with 2 key fobs that looked aftermarket. They're 4 button AVITAL 474L remotes. Turns out this car had a remote starter kit installed. That explains the upgraded remotes. My problem is with the alarm. There is no led flashing on the instrument display at any time. Wlen I lock or unlock the car the parking lights flash, but there is no horn chirp. Without a functioning led I'm not sure how to troubleshoot the problem. I'm starting to question if there is an alarm., but this vehicle should have one. I also wonder if they disabled the alarm when they they installed the remote start. I have also read that the secondary horn for the alarm is known for failure due to it's location. I guess that would explain having no chirp while alarming vehicle.

 

I'm fairly mechanical. but sometimes stuff like this baffles me. My buddy really abused this vehicle so I'm not too keen on asking him for help. He didn't even know the car had a remote start feature. He was the 2nd owner. Thanks in advance for any ideas you might have for me.

 

,,

link below on ''how to'' for the alarm system.

your system should be the same as others of that year.

there is a way to ''deactivate'' the system (valet mode) so you can open the door with a key.

this basically turns the alarm off, so you can open it with a key and no alarm sound.

as far as i know that is the only way to turn it off , short of unplugging it.

 

http://www.cars101.com/subaru/keyless.html

 

do the door locks work properly?

if no, this some times signals an alarm problem.

 

but if you have an after market remote, i would search for info on that company and operating instruction.

or the install instructions .

I think inside the subaru keyless entry box is a set of micro switchs to addjust it eg horn chirp or lights to come on ect