I have a '98 Legacy GT wagon with a factory alarm.

 

The key fob locks/unlocks the doors just fine, however the LED on the dash always blinks 3 times rapidly followed by a short pause. This happens whether i have the doors locked or not... or what. I suspect the alarm isnt arming (although I havent tried opening the door yet to test it).

 

The manual says that when the alarm is armed, it blinks really slowly. It also says that the LED will behave exactly like mine is if all the doors/hood/trunk isnt closed properly. I'm positive these are all closing properly.

 

Any ideas? Is this a common problem?

I think your car is in Valet mode. Read the manual and if you don't have one, call the dealership. I think you have to keep the driver's door open and hold the red button down for a few seconds to put it back in normal mode.

The manual didnt say anything about Valet mode (although I'm going to be double checking when I get home).

 

Also, red button? what red button? Another thing the manual didnt say anything about.

Sorry! My factory alarm has a red button to arm and little blue one to disarm. That sounds similar to what my car does in valet mode. My wife did it accidentally once a couple months after I got the car and scared the crap out of me. Thought it was broken.

I think I've kinda figured it out. Hooray for groping blindly towards a solution!

 

I pressed the LED, turns out it's a button too. I pressed it 3 times, and now the light blinks slowly whenever I lock the doors, so I THINK its armed. Also, when I locked the doors, the lights flash twice now.

 

I love how I just post my problems on the internet rather than test it out to see if its actually working