1990 Pickup Alarm Woes (Please Help!)

Hello
I've got a 1990 SR-5 4WD pickup that has an alarm in it but I know very
little about it because there is no mention of it in the user's manual.
The button on the dash says "TOYOTA" with a round red light and has
options for "Horn Defeat" and "Vallet Mode". There is a keychain
beeper with a toyota logo and two BLACK buttons on it. One of the
buttons locks the doors (and at the same time enables/disables the
alarm). The second button as far as I can figure does nothing.

Here's my problem:
I've had the truck about a year, and I've ALWAYS had to use the beeper
when I get in or else the alarm goes off. Today my 2-year-old decided
to wash all of our car keys and the beeper no longer works. My wife
didn't know it was dead and tried it and set off the alarm and couldn't
get it to turn off for a long time. I pulled the horn fuse so our
neighbors wouldn't get mad, but now I can't start it--even when I wait
until the alarm stops, the ignition is disabled. I tried disconnecting
the battery and pulling random relays, but when ever I re-attach the
battery terminal the alarm starts to go off again, and the ignition is
still disabled.

As I write this I am leaving the battery disconnected for the night to
see if that helps. Other than having it towed to the dealer, can
anyone offer any suggestions as to how to get the truck started? I did
try drying things out and replacing the battery in the beeper but
nothing helped.

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer. If you don't have a
clue how to help, but know something about my alarm, that would be nice
too..

Barry

"Barry Croker" <barry.croker@wpafb.af.mil> wrote in message
news:1146105564.535981.84440@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> Hello
> I've got a 1990 SR-5 4WD pickup that has an alarm in it but I know very
> little about it because there is no mention of it in the user's manual.
> The button on the dash says "TOYOTA" with a round red light and has
> options for "Horn Defeat" and "Vallet Mode". There is a keychain
> beeper with a toyota logo and two BLACK buttons on it. One of the
> buttons locks the doors (and at the same time enables/disables the
> alarm). The second button as far as I can figure does nothing.
>
> Here's my problem:
> I've had the truck about a year, and I've ALWAYS had to use the beeper
> when I get in or else the alarm goes off. Today my 2-year-old decided
> to wash all of our car keys and the beeper no longer works. My wife
> didn't know it was dead and tried it and set off the alarm and couldn't
> get it to turn off for a long time. I pulled the horn fuse so our
> neighbors wouldn't get mad, but now I can't start it--even when I wait
> until the alarm stops, the ignition is disabled. I tried disconnecting
> the battery and pulling random relays, but when ever I re-attach the
> battery terminal the alarm starts to go off again, and the ignition is
> still disabled.
>
> As I write this I am leaving the battery disconnected for the night to
> see if that helps. Other than having it towed to the dealer, can
> anyone offer any suggestions as to how to get the truck started? I did
> try drying things out and replacing the battery in the beeper but
> nothing helped.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer. If you don't have a
> clue how to help, but know something about my alarm, that would be nice
> too..
>
> Barry[/color]

Have you tried unlocking the door with the key ? That should disarm the
alarm sytem.

No, unlocking the door with the key has never disarmed the alarm. I
have _always_ had to use the beeper or the alarm will go off. The
locks are such that the driver's side lock only unlocks itself when you
use a key (not like other cars I've had where you can unlock all the
doors just by using the key in the drivers door if you turn it the
right way or wait a minute.) and as soon as you open the door the alarm
light starts to flash and soon the whole neighborhood is awake.
Thanks for the suggestion... any other ideas?

small button on left side of dash, put key in ignition and press button till
alarm is disabled. each time you start car utill you get new key chain
remote.
"Barry Croker" <barry.croker@wpafb.af.mil> wrote in message
news:1146133848.698228.317440@y43g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> No, unlocking the door with the key has never disarmed the alarm. I
> have _always_ had to use the beeper or the alarm will go off. The
> locks are such that the driver's side lock only unlocks itself when you
> use a key (not like other cars I've had where you can unlock all the
> doors just by using the key in the drivers door if you turn it the
> right way or wait a minute.) and as soon as you open the door the alarm
> light starts to flash and soon the whole neighborhood is awake.
> Thanks for the suggestion... any other ideas?
>[/color]

Just a follow-up:
I felt like I replied to the previous message in haste, so I did go out
and try it (after re-attaching the battery and waiting for the alarm to
stop going off). I first locked the doors with the power locks inside
(while the alarm was going off) and waited until things were quiet,
then I opened the doors with the key. BOTH doors did unlock (to my
surprise) and the alarm didn't go off when I opened the door so it was
somewhat disarmed. HOWEVER, the ignition is still disabled.

Just a side note, I did experience the "toyota starter click" fiasco
last year where you turn the key and get a click but no ignition and
this is NOT the same sound. When it was the starter you could hear the
solenoid energize and see that the battery was having current drawn,
but now when I turn the key there is no click and no drop in voltage.

Thanks again,
Barry

Roger
Could you be a bit more specific? The "button" on the left side of the
dash isn't a button but a rocker switch with two positions "Horn
Defeat" and "Valet Mode". I have never been able to use this switch to
disable the alarm. When it is in "Horn Defeat" it prevents the horn
from chirping when you lock/unlock the car (beep beep). "Valet Mode"
is a bit more difficult to understand, but it appeared that when it was
in this mode you could get out without the alarm automaticlly arming
and get in without setting off the alarm. However, when the alarm is
going off the switch does nothing.

To use the valet mode, the ignition has to be turned to the on position with
the key and then turn the switch to the valet position.

Not sure it will work without the alarm being fully disarmed. I'd also
check for power at the starter just in case two things are going on.

Good luck. It looks like it's an old alarm and not too many folks out there
know about it (including me).
Paul.

"Barry Croker" <barry.croker@wpafb.af.mil> wrote in message
news:1146144499.341455.289720@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> Just a follow-up:
> I felt like I replied to the previous message in haste, so I did go out
> and try it (after re-attaching the battery and waiting for the alarm to
> stop going off). I first locked the doors with the power locks inside
> (while the alarm was going off) and waited until things were quiet,
> then I opened the doors with the key. BOTH doors did unlock (to my
> surprise) and the alarm didn't go off when I opened the door so it was
> somewhat disarmed. HOWEVER, the ignition is still disabled.
>
> Just a side note, I did experience the "toyota starter click" fiasco
> last year where you turn the key and get a click but no ignition and
> this is NOT the same sound. When it was the starter you could hear the
> solenoid energize and see that the battery was having current drawn,
> but now when I turn the key there is no click and no drop in voltage.
>
> Thanks again,
> Barry
>[/color]

Since no one seems to know how it works, can anyone help me find where
it is? I've spent time under the hood and pulling relays/boxs from the
lower left of the driver's side and I haven't seen anything. I've
found things that mention the ECU is usually under the dash near the
steering column...is there something I can pull to disable all the
alarm stuff?

OK, another update this time good...

I was poking around under the dash looking for the ECU (which I found
on the passenger side diametrically opposed to the fuse pannel) I
noticed that there was a pigtail-like wiring harness connected to the
ignition that looked out of place. Further inspection revealed that
all but one of the wires passed through this harness, which I
postulated to be the ignition disconnect. I pulled the pigtail and
reconnected the two ends and voila! It started. The second finding
was that my alarm happens to be fused through the dome light circuit,
so when I pulled this fuse the alarm stopped going off! Now aside from
the facts that I don't have a remote lock/unlock mechanism and the dome
lite doesn't work, I'm all back together again! I guess when I get
sick of not having a dome light I'll do some digging to find out how to
remove the alarm, but until then it's out of sight out of mind.
Thanks to the help that was offered and that inspired me to do more
lurking around under the dash.

Do search for the Fujitsu alarm FAX back site to get the operating manual
and installion instructions --- note they may not go back that far
though -- recall '96 oldest. (ok its 310 327-9905). A Google search might
give you programming instructions too. Then look on ebay for replacement
alarm fobs (Yours came with 2). Make sure you get the same FCC code --
since itis the tranmitting frequency that matches the alarms receiver. Use
the manual to program it. You might try taking old one apart and cleaning
contacts and replacing the battery.

"Barry Croker" <barry.croker@wpafb.af.mil> wrote in message
news:1146105564.535981.84440@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> Hello
> I've got a 1990 SR-5 4WD pickup that has an alarm in it but I know very
> little about it because there is no mention of it in the user's manual.
> The button on the dash says "TOYOTA" with a round red light and has
> options for "Horn Defeat" and "Vallet Mode". There is a keychain
> beeper with a toyota logo and two BLACK buttons on it. One of the
> buttons locks the doors (and at the same time enables/disables the
> alarm). The second button as far as I can figure does nothing.
>
> Here's my problem:
> I've had the truck about a year, and I've ALWAYS had to use the beeper
> when I get in or else the alarm goes off. Today my 2-year-old decided
> to wash all of our car keys and the beeper no longer works. My wife
> didn't know it was dead and tried it and set off the alarm and couldn't
> get it to turn off for a long time. I pulled the horn fuse so our
> neighbors wouldn't get mad, but now I can't start it--even when I wait
> until the alarm stops, the ignition is disabled. I tried disconnecting
> the battery and pulling random relays, but when ever I re-attach the
> battery terminal the alarm starts to go off again, and the ignition is
> still disabled.
>
> As I write this I am leaving the battery disconnected for the night to
> see if that helps. Other than having it towed to the dealer, can
> anyone offer any suggestions as to how to get the truck started? I did
> try drying things out and replacing the battery in the beeper but
> nothing helped.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer. If you don't have a
> clue how to help, but know something about my alarm, that would be nice
> too..
>
> Barry
>[/color]

Have you try locking the door with the key and unlocking it with the key?

"Barry Croker" <barry.croker@wpafb.af.mil> wrote in message
news:1146105564.535981.84440@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> Hello
> I've got a 1990 SR-5 4WD pickup that has an alarm in it but I know very
> little about it because there is no mention of it in the user's manual.
> The button on the dash says "TOYOTA" with a round red light and has
> options for "Horn Defeat" and "Vallet Mode". There is a keychain
> beeper with a toyota logo and two BLACK buttons on it. One of the
> buttons locks the doors (and at the same time enables/disables the
> alarm). The second button as far as I can figure does nothing.
>
> Here's my problem:
> I've had the truck about a year, and I've ALWAYS had to use the beeper
> when I get in or else the alarm goes off. Today my 2-year-old decided
> to wash all of our car keys and the beeper no longer works. My wife
> didn't know it was dead and tried it and set off the alarm and couldn't
> get it to turn off for a long time. I pulled the horn fuse so our
> neighbors wouldn't get mad, but now I can't start it--even when I wait
> until the alarm stops, the ignition is disabled. I tried disconnecting
> the battery and pulling random relays, but when ever I re-attach the
> battery terminal the alarm starts to go off again, and the ignition is
> still disabled.
>
> As I write this I am leaving the battery disconnected for the night to
> see if that helps. Other than having it towed to the dealer, can
> anyone offer any suggestions as to how to get the truck started? I did
> try drying things out and replacing the battery in the beeper but
> nothing helped.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer. If you don't have a
> clue how to help, but know something about my alarm, that would be nice
> too..
>
> Barry
>
>[/color]