How often have you lost something valuable because someone stole it from you?
If you’ve ever had this experience, then you know how important it is to secure your belongings.
The anti-theft system is a feature built into modern vehicles that can prevent it from being stolen or broken into.
These anti-lock systems use an electrical circuit around the car and disconnect it if there is a suspected break in attempt.
This stops the car from being able to turn on. While this is helpful to prevent anyone from stealing your car, the system can be faulty.
If your anti-theft system has activated and you don’t know how to turn it off in order to drive your car again, we have you covered.
Today we will be looking at how you can disable an anti-theft system in a vehicle with a few different methods.
How To Know When Your Car Is In An Anti-Theft Mode
There are several ways to determine if your car’s anti-theft alarm is on.
The most obvious way to know this is when your anti-theft system light is illuminated on the dashboard.
Pair this with an engine that won’t turn on, and you can be pretty sure that your anti-theft mode has been activated.
Another way to tell if your car is in anti-theft mode is by using the key fob.
If the car is locked, and you press the button on the fob for a few seconds, it should unlock the doors.
However, if the car is in an anti-theft mode, pressing the button on the fobs may not work. Instead, you’ll need to enter the key manually to unlock it.
Why Does An Anti-Theft System Activate?
The anti-theft system might activate due to an attempted break into your vehicle. This is what the system is supposed to pick up on and avoid.
If your car has any obvious signs of break-in, such as dents or scratches, then you should consider the fact that the anti-theft system will likely be on.
However, if your car doesn’t show any damage, but the anti-theft light is still lit, then this could indicate that the system thinks that the car was tampered with.
This might be due to someone walking too close to your car, or even touching it.
You should also keep in mind that the anti-thefts system isn’t perfect. It might think that the car was tampered with when it wasn’t.
The system might have just glitched and created a fault that was not there in the first place.
Things To Consider Before Disabling The Alarm
There are a few things to think about before you start disabling your anti-theft alarm.
While some people might think that their systems have been activated, it might be a simple troubleshooting issue that you can rectify instead.
First of all, you should make sure that your key is in good working order. Take your key fob and check it to see if the battery is dead.
If the battery is dead, the anti-theft system might not have been activated – you just can’t start the car because your key is dead.
Ensure that the battery within the key is charged and installed correctly.
You should also make sure that the key you’re using is the correct one. Most modern vehicles come with a set of keys which all have different purposes.
If you’re using the wrong key for its unintended use, you might think that the anti-theft system has started when it hasn’t.
Make sure that you’re using the key for starting the engine rather than opening the doors.
Finally, take a look at the door lock cylinder.
If someone has attempted to break into your car, they might have damaged the cylinder which would have caused the anti-theft system to activate.
If there is any damage to the cylinder, you will know why the system was activated.
If you are sure that your anti-theft system has been activated, you can now start trying to disable it to start your car’s engine again.
Disabling The Anti-Theft System Through The Ignition
An anti-theft system will stop the car’s ignition from starting, rendering it useless.
However, you should still be able to turn the car on, so you can try and disable the alarm through this method.
Here are the steps to do this.
- Turn the car on with the key fob and check the anti-theft light. If this light is illuminated on the dashboard with a blue or red light, the anti-theft system is activated and you’ll have to disable it before being able to start your car’s engine.
- Switch the car’s ignition on so that all of the car’s aspects are turned on except for the engine.
- Turn the key back to the off position in the ignition and leave the key resting in the mechanism for a few minutes. This allows the system to reset itself.
- Turn the ignition back on and see if the light is still on the dashboard. If it isn’t illuminated anymore, the reset was successful and you should be able to start the engine again.
- If the light is still illuminated on the dashboard, then the reset was not successful. Test the battery of the key fob and repeat the process. You might want to wait a little longer with the key in the off position to ensure that you’re giving the system enough time to reset itself.
- Repeat the process until the light is off and you are able to start the engine.
Can You Turn The Anti-Theft Mode Off Completely?
There will be a way that you can turn your anti-theft system off completely, and the way to do this will be in your car’s manual.
However, there are many reasons why you should consider not turning this system off completely.
For starters, the most obvious reason why you should consider keeping this system on is to keep your car safe from thieves.
The system will have a blinking light that will deter criminals by letting them know that your car is protected.
If this light is not blinking, they might assume that your car is easier to break into and do just that.
As the system would be disabled, it would be easier for them to break in and they would be able to drive the car away.
You should keep this system activated to avoid being left without a car once it has been stolen.
We don’t know why you would want to turn your anti-theft system off, but we can assume it is because there is a glitch in your system that is causing it to be more of a hindrance than a help.
This might be that the system keeps turning itself on even though there are no signs of a break in and it is wasting your time every morning to reset the system so that you can start your car and drive it away.
If this is the case, we suggest taking your car to a professional mechanic who can look at the system and troubleshoot it so that this glitch is removed.
By doing this, you can keep your anti-theft system activated while not having it hinder you every day.
Summary
Anti Theft Systems are usually used to protect cars against theft. These systems are designed to prevent unauthorized access to vehicles.
They work by monitoring the vehicle’s security features such as doors, windows, steering wheel locks, etc.
When an attempt to break in is made, the system stops the engine from being able to start.
You can reset this easily enough by using the key in the ignition.
However, you might need to talk to a professional mechanic if your system is not resetting or is causing you more trouble than it should be.
