Problem with Dimming Dome Light

Hello Everyone!

Wanted to start off by saying what a GREAT forum you have here - already I have learned so much by going through old posts!!

Quick Question. . ..

Just purchased a new car ('04 Ford Focus) with a Dealer Installed Alarm ( UltraGuard )

while I am left unimpressed with this alarm - the MAJOR issue I have with it is the "Silent Arming" Feature.

This feature allows you to arm the car without a chirp from the siren - pretty simple.

The problem is that the alarm system is wired into the dome light which has an auto dimming feature of 15 or so seconds so the car alarm actually thinks that a door is open for the 15 seconds while the light dims and chirps 3 warning beeps because it thinks a zone is unarmed.

Any thoughts or suggestions?  -- otherwise this is going back to the dealer to get removed.

Would really appreciate the response time of those who know - we were all newbies once!

Thanks in Advance - JustLeanin007

Thanks for the reply.

YES - THe alarm does have passive arming and WILL work properly with the dome light feature.

Problem is with the silent mode :

The alarm will not arm SILENTLY because it thinks that a zone is still open and chirps 3 times as a safety reminder feature -- it is not that the alarm does not function properly - it does - it is just that it has a fail-safe to alert the driver of an open door durring silent arming and it chirps 3 times.

Any Takers for the solution?

what about an arming delay?  the Omega product I have has a programmable delay of 3 and 30 seconds....this means that the alarm goes into "armed condition" either 3 or 30 seconds after you arm with the remote.  setting to 30 seconds would cause the system to wait for the domelights to go out....

wonder if your ultraguard has the same feature?

b

Hmmm. . .

Those are thoughts to ponder on.

I was NOT looking for a passive arming alarm.  In fact - I would choose NOT to have the alarm arm automatically.

What I want - is an alarm that I can arm from the remote that will arm silently - dome light lit or not.  If I wait 15 seconds for the dome light to dim before hitting the remote everything works fine. . . I just have to wait the 15 seconds and that is not cool.

Lemme Know - JustLearnin007

NowYaKnow,

Thanks for the tips. . .now this is the direction that I am wanting to head!

Any tips on finding the door tirgger wires instead of the domelight?

Thanks in Advance,

  ~  Another Mike ~

Just spoke to the alarm installer and they told me that they are expecting a unit that has this capability in 4 months or so.  However in the mean time - they have no answer.

Now - I was told . . .dont know if it is correct or not (( actually I am hoping that someone here can confirm this or not )) that :

The only way to connect this alarm in this car is through the dome light wire since " the door triggers are not on a ground/non-ground circuit "  This doesnt make sense to me.  The car DOES have an indicator that lights up which tells you if there is a door open (( including the trunk which remains unprotected through the dome light )) however I dont know if this is only a circuit that is functional with total power to the car's computer and what not.

They have agreed to make some improvements to the system - ie - add trunk protection through a pin switch. . .however . . .this is something that I am now very interested in and would like to find the solution for.

I'm trying to get my hands on a wiring diagram for the 2004 Ford Focus.  I have searched the archives and found info on the '02 and '03 ( both different ) and was wondering if anyone has the updated info for the '04 Focus.

TNX Much Everyone !! ~ Michael ~

The car has a GEM which will require a relay and diode combination in order to prevent any false alarm on the door trigger. It works the same way as the expeditions with the factory keyless entry. 

I had this same problem with my expedition and other new ford vehicles with factory keyless entry and auto dome dimming.

John