PATS (Alarm) in 1997 Mustang is very touchy
 

Well, my 1997 Mustang has quite a few quirks. Most stem from previous owners just not taking care of the car, as well as the fact that its seen some heavy use. 161,300mi on it, all stock, it needs some serious TLC, which I intend to put into it. Anyways, moving on to the point.

A short history:

Its a repo, the person who owned it prior to the repo took really good care of the car, it was in PERFECT condition... then it was repossessed. Brutally. They really did quite a number on the car in the process. Something tells me the owner wasn't keen on coughing up the keys.

Essentially, this resulted in not having a key fob, the driver's side door has nothing but issues, and the alarm, well, it just enjoys fucking me over and going off at random. Oh how it loves it.

Of course, I'm talking about the (not so) Passive Anti-Theft Alarm System. Well, quite frankly, it doesn't work. More importantly, when it DOES work, it does so on its own accord, and doesn't do a damn thing for vehicle security.

I purchased a Chilton's manual, but have found nothing of the sort to disable this alarm. Ideally, I want to do one of two things. The alarm, well, basically what happens is if you open the passenger side door (only this door, driver's side door being opened doesn't seem to bother it any) without the key in the ignition and the electricals on (engine running doesn't matter, as long as the key is in and electricals are on), again, WITHOUT the key, it will go off if it feels like being a pain in the ass at the given time and place.

Its really quite embarrassing to have a passenger open the door and the alarm go off, shutting the car down, and getting the suspicious, contemptuous stares of passersby and trying not to look like the asshole who set off his own car alarm while trying to pull the lead off the battery and not kill myself in the process.

Is there a way to disable this, or even make my own key fob? They're really damn expensive, so ideally if I can make my own, I'd be much happier. If not, well, disabling it is the way to go. I've heard its in the trunk somewhere, but its a bit dark to poke around in it tonight to find out.

congrats on your purchase and good job on the chiltons manual, that's helpful in the future.. Anyway, I don't know a lot about the alarm.. I've set my sensors off in the Probe because it was going off whenever there was a fly in the car.. but that's not your answer. I'd take it to a shop that specializes in building in Alarm systems, they should probably be able to help out. Good luck

In all honesty, the previous owners were my mother's boyfriend, then my mother, in that order (he bought it at auction after the repo. My mom was the worst offender.


LOL

My mom is pretty much giving me the car, I'm a bit surprised though, we're strapped for cash, so I won't be too miffed if she asks for money for the car. So yeah, can't take credit for a vehicle purchase I didn't make :D

But yeah, last night, went out and bought the chilton's book and have been reading it through and through. All this stuff is waaaay over my head, so I figure I should study it and start figuring out whats what.



For what its worth though, I do intend to hang on to the car, get a loan and buy a used, newer mustang (somewhere in the 2000-04 range) to get a "fresh start" on things, then try to sell the Mustang, or, hell, my mom might want it back so I could just give it back to her.