The security system has been acting up for years. It drained the battery

Tiny
OBRIPE
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 SATURN SL2
  • 155,000 MILES
But now with a new battery I have the same problems. A couple of years ago the security system of my car started acting up. It would chirp randomly and occasionally. A typical example would be that it would start to chirp every few seconds to every minute or so, sometimes more frequently, sometimes less, until I unlocked and locked the car a number of times with the keyless entry system. When the car was chirping like this it would not start. The lights were on and the battery was fine, but the engine would not do anything because it was locked by the security system.

Recently this problem was getting worse. Also, on two occasions the horn started "screaming", and I had to push it in various ways to get it to stop. My battery got drained a couple of times because I could no longer get the chirping to stop.

I brought it to a mechanic specializing in electrical problems, but they could not find what was wrong. They said that the battery was weak and replaced it. When I picked up the car it was not chirping anymore, and the keyless entry system seemed to be working as well. I brought it home though, and now, a couple of days later, the battery is dead again even though it has been quiet.

The other thing that may be related is that my car has has problems with water leakage for quite some time. I've brought it in to be fixed but nobody has been able to solve the problem. I'm concerned that this may have damaged wires, though the I'm living in a relatively drier place now that I have before, which should have helped this problem, not made it worse.
Friday, March 30th, 2012 AT 3:34 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
Does this have a after market alarm system added other then the factory keyless entry alarm?Because the factory alarm doesnt chirp it onky uses the cars horn no siren from the factory.
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Saturday, March 31st, 2012 AT 12:33 AM
Tiny
OBRIPE
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No, only factory installed security system is in the vehicle. The chirping I'm referring to may be the horn- it's the sound that the car makes when you lock it using the keyless entry system.
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Saturday, March 31st, 2012 AT 4:57 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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Where is your water leaking into the car the remote keyless entry module is located under the right rear bolster cushion right next to the verticle part of the seat that folds down. It almost sounds like the module is going bad usually when they go bad they dont start. Thats the most common reason I have replaced them for.
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Saturday, March 31st, 2012 AT 6:42 PM
Tiny
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That sounds very possible. I'll have it checked for that. The leaking started out from the trunk, which literally fills with several inches of water that won't drain when it's very rainy (I lived in Portland for years with this car). It has seeped into the seats and floor of the car at times. There seems to also be leaking around the sunroof now, which I had replaced a couple years ago.
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Sunday, April 1st, 2012 AT 3:16 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
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The main reason the sun roofs leak on those cars is from clogged sun roff drains.I have a trick to clear the drains and make drains drain twice as fast as they did from the factory. Does your sun roof work?Also see if water got into the remote keyless entry module or connector to it.
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Sunday, April 1st, 2012 AT 3:23 PM
Tiny
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Hmm, sounds plausible. The sunroof does work, despite the fact that the ceiling gets quite wet at times. My old sunroof got stuck in the open position, which was why it had to be replaced. Thanks!
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Sunday, April 1st, 2012 AT 6:35 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
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Yeah on that car the sunroof modules go bad all the time. To clear the drains the forward kick panels have to be poped off. Then you will see a rubber square filler plug remove that then you will see the drain hose. Pop the hose end out you will see a duct bill on it then use a razor blade to remove the duct bill valve so there is just a round hole in the end for draining. The duct bill valves are easly clogged causing sunroof likes Then water test the sunroof.
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Sunday, April 1st, 2012 AT 9:30 PM

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