Night Hawk

I have a 1988 L98 GTA that won't start. It worked fine the day I bought it and I worked on the rear brakes the day after....the newer style Clifford alarm always went off while doing the brakes....so stupid me I pushed all the buttons on the damn remote until it stopped. I drove the car for one day after the remote pushing frenzy, and now the rear hatch motor won't work, the car won't start, and the alarm is going nuts like going off in the middle of the night.

The car would eventually start if we jumped it...but as soon as we touched the battery, the alarm went off. but eventually it started...Another stupid move by me, I got mad at the stupid alarm siren so I clipped the 2 wires leading to the siren. I backed the car out of the driveway and then all of a sudden the car quit as I pulled out of the driveway. I spliced together the 2 wires that I cut, but still the car will not start...even when being boosted...and lots of battery, although nothing is related to battery is working such as the digital dash or radio.

I am thinking that by clipping the wires I may have triggered a kill switch somewhere that I don't know of because I just bought the car, or what else could it be? Could it be that I pressed a wrong button on the remote? The car has a little switch on the dash as well that the previous owner said was related to the alarm could this be anything?

I know this is confusing, and I probably left some stuff out because I have no clue what is happening but any help would be a life saver as I can't drive the car anywhere now.

Thanks!

Tim Burgess

Sounds like you need to search for the alarm system module and the starter disable relay - check under the driver's & passenger side kick panels, and in the console. Bypass the starter disable relay until you find out how the alarm system operates - does Cliffird have a web site? Check with the local Clifford dealer.

Tim

Chris Luongo

The two siren wires you cut---one of them goes directly to body ground someplace, and the other to the alarm brain.

When you cut the two of them at the same time, the metal bladed of your wire cutters shorted the two wires out. This should have simply blown one of the alarm's fuses, but it could possibly have damaged the alarm, or blown a car fuse. Check your car fuses first because they're easiest, then if that doesn't work, pull down the bottom of the dash, find the alarm, and check the fuses there.

Some alarms, including most newer Cliffords, use a "fail-open" starter kill wiring scheme. That is, if a thief disconnects or disables the alarm itself, the car still won't start. This is a more theft-resistant design, but it can leave you stuck without transportation if the alarm breaks.

When you're under the dash checking fuses, you should be able to see about four or five very thick, heavy-gauge wires where the alarm is hooked up. One of them is purple, and it should be cut in half, with both ends going to a relay. If you connect the two purple ends together, you have bypassed the starter kill relay completely. You can do this by ordinary cutting and splicing, or simply unplug the relay from its harness, and use a small wire or paper clip to jumper the appropriate terminals. (Of course, don't leave it this way when you're done.)

Also, while you're under the dash, get the model number from the alarm brain. You should be able to download instruction manuals from Clifford's website.