Sometimes the Immobilizer is still on after unlocking, sometimes its not?

[6i9]

Hello

I've been reading a little bit on the alarms for these cars and it seems that it is possible to program the alarm system so that pressing the big "A" button on the fob arms the alarm but does not activate the immobilizer.

It is also of course possible that both alarm and immobilizer functions are activated when pressing the A button. But both of these programming settings can't be switching arbitrarily unless I change the programming with the alarm code, right?

My problem is that sometimes when unlocking the car and getting in, the immobilizer light is still flashing red and I need to press the A button once more so I can start the car. Other times, both alarm and immobilizer are deactivated together at once.

Is this a wiring/battery issue, or am I doing something that changes the alarm behavior? (I havent messed with any programming)

One thought I have is that it has to do with how I use the fob to lock the car. Sometimes I have to press the A button a few times before I see the door pins move down to the lock position. I would press the button and the parking lights would flash as if the car were locked, but the doors pins were still up. Is this a problem that is contributing to the weird behavior of the alarm?

Also, what is the function of the interior lamp being in the down vs up position? I've read that this may cause the alarm to go off randomly/intermittently without provocation? I'm asking because my landlord called me telling me my alarm was going off for the "last hour" and did't say if it was intermittent or just continuous blaring. But it didn't seem like there was a problem when I went to check on the car. I have it now locked via keys without the alarm function

[TheViper]

Originally Posted by 6i9

Hello

I've been reading a little bit on the alarms for these cars and it seems that it is possible to program the alarm system so that pressing the big "A" button on the fob arms the alarm but does not activate the immobilizer.
It is not possible to arm the alarm without the immobilizer, except accidentally as specified below. It is possible to just arm the immobilizer without the alarm, in fact that is how it is programmed.

It is also of course possible that both alarm and immobilizer functions are activated when pressing the A button. But both of these programming settings can't be switching arbitrarily unless I change the programming with the alarm code, right?
See above

My problem is that sometimes when unlocking the car and getting in, the immobilizer light is still flashing red and I need to press the A button once more so I can start the car. Other times, both alarm and immobilizer are deactivated together at once.
The immobilizer actives passively after 1 minute of getting out of the car. If you don't press button "A" the alarm will not arm. This programming can be changed so that the immobilizer will only arm, actively after pressing button "A".

Is this a wiring/battery issue, or am I doing something that changes the alarm behavior? (I havent messed with any programming) See below

One thought I have is that it has to do with how I use the fob to lock the car. Sometimes I have to press the A button a few times before I see the door pins move down to the lock position. I would press the button and the parking lights would flash as if the car were locked, but the doors pins were still up. Is this a problem that is contributing to the weird behavior of the alarm?
You are either not arming the alarm or pressing "A" after the immobilizer has armed which will now arm the alarm and disarm the immobilizer. Now when you press "A" to disarm the alarm it arms the immobilizer, it is flip flopping

Also, what is the function of the interior lamp being in the down vs up position?
The interior light is in the door pin switch circuit used by the alarm and the system needs to see the resistance of the light to function correctly

Cheers,
Michael

[6i9]

So to get the arming/lock function sync'd with the immobilizer function, I should press the A button within a minute after parking? That way, the door pins lock, alarm is armed, and the immobilizer is active with the first button press. This is assuming I am under the passive immobilizer programming, correct?

In order for the immobilizer to only activate whenever i push the A button, I need to reprogram the immobilizer to active mode (no longer passive) that doesn't activate after a minute on its own?

[TheViper]

Originally Posted by 6i9

So to get the arming/lock function sync'd with the immobilizer function, I should press the A button within a minute after parking? That way, the door pins lock, alarm is armed, and the immobilizer is active with the first button press. This is assuming I am under the passive immobilizer programming, correct? Yes

In order for the immobilizer to only activate whenever i push the A button, I need to reprogram the immobilizer to active mode (no longer passive) that doesn't activate after a minute on its own? Not quite correct, you can only do it accidentally as you found out. When you program the immobilizer for N12 active arming, every time you press "A", both the alarm and immobilizer will arm.

Cheers,
Michael