1990 Chrysler New Yorker Laundau Factory Alarm

[Garak]

A buddy recently picked up a car, as per the thread title, and is having some issues with the factory alarm. Why Chrysler saw it necessary to fit an alarm in a glorified K Car is for another thread.

In any case, he is relatively familiar with these vehicles. When the battery dies or is removed and replaced, the alarm is supposed to kick on, and can be reset by using the key to unlock the driver's side door. Apparently, there is a switch of some sort in there. He picked this vehicle up a couple weeks back and immediately replaced the battery. Upon doing so, the alarm went off and he followed the above procedure, and it worked perfectly.

Fast forward to yesterday - he gets home, and the alarm is going off. He does the key thing, with no luck. He disconnects the battery for a time and reconnects it. The alarm goes off again. He follows the procedure; again, no luck.

Do any Chrysler gurus here know a way to disconnect or disable the factory alarm? The fuse won't work, since it's also for the horn and several other things. A Google search shows that others have had the problem, but no solutions other than the already tried and failed procedure appear.

The manual apparently says very little about the alarm. I couldn't find a factory service manual online (except for $135 plus shipping). The Allpar forum is a nightmare to search unless one registers, and the Chrysler forum had examples of the problem, but with no solutions.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Sarcasm won't be necessary, since I already told him that he picked it up from the wrecker and that it was dumped there for a reason, and that few examples of these cars are left on the road for a similar reason.

 

[eljefino]

Well I doubt the key switch is any fancy hall effect gizmo, probably a friction drag piece of junk setup.

The trick, IMO, is if you can get it to turn off, to keep it from arming again. My cressida of a similar vintage is disarmed via the hood switch-- no light to leave on and the car assumes work/battery work is being done and won't trigger the alarm.

So it doesn't also disarm if you put the key in the ingition and start it up?

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
So it doesn't also disarm if you put the key in the ingition and start it up?


No, this was the day before the fancy electronic keys. It's supposed to disarm by using the key in the driver's lock. As it stands now, if he starts it, it dies three seconds later and everything starts flashing and honking and so forth.

You're right, the key switch cannot be that complex. I already suggested he pop off the door panel and take a look. There could be years of crud built up in there or the connections could be shot. I don't think it has a hood switch. What little information I was able to gather about its wiring didn't mention anything under the hood, but one never knows.

I'm not even sure what arms it, either. It doesn't require one to use the key to lock it from the outside. From the little information I have on it, it sounds like it's armed via the power locks. Perhaps he needs to get in and out Dukes of Hazzard style once he gets it shut off.

 

[Jimmy9190]

The alarm is turned off when you unlock the driver's door with the key. The lock mechanisms do get gunked up over time, and you can remove the door panel and the lock/latch assembly and spray it with WD40 or electrical contact cleaner, work the lock cylinder several times and that could restore normal operation of the alarm. There is also a light green/orange wire in the driver's kick panel. That is the factory alarm disable wire. If you want to permanently turn the alarm off, ground that light green/orange wire.

The car has an anti-theft module in it, it is located above the glove box. You have to remove the panel under the glove box to get to the screws that hold the glove box in place. There are several modules behind and above the glove box. The anti theft module is the one with the 21-pin connector on it. You have to start the car and within 10 seconds of starting the car, unplug the anti-theft module. This will permanently disable the alarm system. You have to unplug the anti-theft module while the car is running, otherwise the body control module will think you are a thief and continue to sound the alarm.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Perhaps he needs to get in and out Dukes of Hazzard style once he gets it shut off.

I thought "dem boys" did that b/c the doors were welded, but a faulty alarm in their Charger sounds plausible...

 

[Jarlaxle]

Can he just disconnect the alarm siren, or does it blow the horn?

 

[Volvohead]

I have the '90 Chrysler service manuals somewhere in the "library".

If you PM me with an e-mail, perhaps I can get a scan or two over to you in the next few days.

It's been a really long time, but I think the alarm circuit on those runs off or through the SBEC. Don't quote me on that, though.

 

[Garak]

Thanks! I knew we would have someone here who would know something about the nitty gritty on these alarms.

@Jaraxle: I think it blows the horn, along with flashing the lights.

@Volvohead: I'll let you know. If Jimmy's procedure doesn't work or we need some manual pages, I'll bug you for them then.

Thanks to all for the help! I'll let you know how it turned out, or if he returned it to the wrecker.

 

[Garak]

Well, it all worked out, basically using Jimmy's procedure. My buddy was skeptical (being OCD as he is) and checked with a Chrysler mechanic who's been at the dealer since before the days of the Cordoba, and he said exactly the same thing. We basically got the switch working, got it started, and then yanked out the anti-theft module in time, and everything is perfect.

I tell you, though, a Benz engineer should have looked at the fit and finish of the interiors of the Chryslers of the day before the ill-fated merger. They never would have bought in had they seen this fiasco.

They would have been better off using duct tape and velcro. The fit and finish would have been similarly imprecise, but it would have been easier to disassemble.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Glad to know it is better now. Car alarms were pretty bad back in the 80's and early 90's. Primitive as they were they were still unbelievably complicated. Nobody paid any attention to a car alarm back then anyway, and nobody pays any attention to a car alarm now either. Unless it is going off all the time like the one in your friend's New Yorker. I think the main benefit of an alarm is it will alert you if someone breaks into the car at your home or maybe at work, but no one ever even looks twice at a car in a parking lot with the alarm going off. You can make an aftermarket alarm do a lot of tricks, but that is mostly for convenience - keyless entry, remote start, windows up and down, etc..but as a theft deterrent an alarm is basically useless. If a dirtbag thief really wants your car or its contents, he will take it, one way or another.

 

[Garak]

Absolutely. Thanks again for the help. It was a more complicated system than what one would expect, but from another perspective, they did pretty good given the technology they had available at the price point in the day. Chrysler certainly proved you don't need fancy RFID keys and the like to make a working anti-theft system. But, who wants to steal a 1990 New Yorker?

And you're quite right. I can't see why anyone would bother with an alarm unless it did something for their premiums or if they wanted some of the convenience features that weren't available originally in the car.