Hi all, new here, I have my granddads fiesta mk4 which I absolutely love but is doing my (and my granddad’s) head in with the alarm. 

The problems are as follows

-Boot cannot be opened at all, passenger and drivers can be though

-Cannot get keyfob open to change batteries (no help online as they all use the facelift keyfobs)

-Biggest problem is the anti theft system always going off (ie horn and hazards) when the doors are unlocked and opened, and when ignition is started. Because of this I was unable to carry out the diagnostic tests from here: http://www.mirez.co.uk/AlarmProbs.htm

The little red light near the clock flashes red when the car is unlocked indicating anti theft is on

Have opened bonnet and the rubber switch that detects if the bonnet is open/closed sets the alarm off when pressed. 

I can upload any images to better make sense of the problem. 

Hope someone’s able to help, Thanks :)

6 minutes ago, Autoroj said:

Hi all, new here, I have my granddads fiesta mk4 which I absolutely love but is doing my (and my granddad’s) head in with the alarm. 

The problems are as follows

-Boot cannot be opened at all, passenger and drivers can be though

-Cannot get keyfob open to change batteries (no help online as they all use the facelift keyfobs)

-Biggest problem is the anti theft system always going off (ie horn and hazards) when the doors are unlocked and opened, and when ignition is started. Because of this I was unable to carry out the diagnostic tests from here: http://www.mirez.co.uk/AlarmProbs.htm

The little red light near the clock flashes red when the car is unlocked indicating anti theft is on

Have opened bonnet and the rubber switch that detects if the bonnet is open/closed sets the alarm off when pressed. 

I can upload any images to better make sense of the problem. 

Hope someone’s able to help, Thanks 🙂

Edit: twisting key drivers door doesnt unlock the car either, only passenger works. 

Can you post a picture of your keyfob?  I assume you've only got one?

Sounds like the glass transponder chip might be broken.

The door barrels should still work.  They have probably just seized up through lack of use.  Get some penetrating fluid in them.

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Can you post a picture of your keyfob?  I assume you've only got one?

Sounds like the glass transponder chip might be broken.

The door barrels should still work.  They have probably just seized up through lack of use.  Get some penetrating fluid in them.

I have two, the one pictured and the standard key without the IR transmitter (dont have the red key)

Does the same happen with both keys?

To replace the battery you have to press that little square down in the middle, then slide the Ford logo section upwards.

33 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Does the same happen with both keys?

To replace the battery you have to press that little square down in the middle, then slide the Ford logo section upwards.

yes the same does happen, The square was very stiff to push, even with a screwdriver..

Ok, we can rule out a fob or chip issue if both keys are the same.  Must be on the car side instead.  You can try replacing the pickup ring around the ignition barrel.

The square is angled so it clicks back into place when refitted.  You need to be pushing the very top of the square (tallest section) down as far as you can do that part is lower than the hole.

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Ok, we can rule out a fob or chip issue if both keys are the same.  Must be on the car side instead.  You can try replacing the pickup ring around the ignition barrel.

The square is angled so it clicks back into place when refitted.  You need to be pushing the very top of the square (tallest section) down as far as you can do that part is lower than the hole.

Will have a go with the fob batteries next time I’m down there. 

Alarm starts going off when I open the doors too, any ideas what that might be?

I appreciate your help in this 🙂

13 hours ago, Autoroj said:

Will have a go with the fob batteries next time I’m down there. 

Alarm starts going off when I open the doors too, any ideas what that might be?

I appreciate your help in this 🙂

If you're opening the doors manually using the key blade in barrel then the alarm should go off within a few seconds.

It is the fob unlock button that sends the radio signal from the fob to the car to disable the alarm.  If you don't press the button (or the battery is flat) there is no radio signal sent.  The only way to disable the alarm in that situation is to put the key into the ignition within a few seconds.  (Think it's 5 seconds).  Then the key chip can be read by the proximity ring around the key barrel which should also disable the alarm.

8 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

If you're opening the doors manually using the key blade in barrel then the alarm should go off within a few seconds.

It is the fob unlock button that sends the radio signal from the fob to the car to disable the alarm.  If you don't press the button (or the battery is flat) there is no radio signal sent.  The only way to disable the alarm in that situation is to put the key into the ignition within a few seconds.  (Think it's 5 seconds).  Then the key chip can be read by the proximity ring around the key barrel which should also disable the alarm.

Do you know what causes the alarm to go off? Is it when foreign keys are inserted or something else?

2 minutes ago, Autoroj said:

Do you know what causes the alarm to go off? Is it when foreign keys are inserted or something else?

The answer is in the post above.

8 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

If you're opening the doors manually using the key blade in barrel then the alarm should go off within a few seconds.

If you manually unlock the door with the key, you only have 5 seconds to put your key in the ignition and turn it on.

23 minutes ago, Autoroj said:

Do you know what causes the alarm to go off? Is it when foreign keys are inserted or something else?

Opening the door sets the alarm off if you haven't disabled it via the remote fob first. 

There is no chip reader around the door barrel so a thief could pick the lock to get in but the alarm would still go off.

That's the correct operation.

 

The issue seems to be that your proximity chip is not being read even once the key is placed in the ignition barrel.  As that's happening with both keyfobs, it suggests the pickup ring around the ignition barrel may be faulty.

27 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Opening the door sets the alarm off if you haven't disabled it via the remote fob first. 

There is no chip reader around the door barrel so a thief could pick the lock to get in but the alarm would still go off.

That's the correct operation.

 

The issue seems to be that your proximity chip is not being read even once the key is placed in the ignition barrel.  As that's happening with both keyfobs, it suggests the pickup ring around the ignition barrel may be faulty.

Got it, thanks for explaining. 

Remote unlock hasn’t been working for years, drivers door jammed and all that mess. Will have a look when I get down, Thanks for the help