audiovox prestige 996 going off no reason

The first step in figuring out the problem is to tell us what kind of car it is installed in.Kevin Pierson

Any time an Audiovox alarm loses power and gets it back, it powers on in the alarmed state.  If it came on and was not even armed, I would check the constant feed for the alarm.  I am pretty sure it is the red wire.

It's a 2004 Impala. Well, I sort of cheated. I don't know why. I was just going to uninstall the alarm. I don't ever use the remote starter and there's almost never anything in my car that I care is stolen. Well, I swore in the past that I had a reason to go under my dash and I found the alarm box. So I figured I'd just unplug it. I went under there today and I couldn't find it. I followed the wires from the switch and button that are under my dash that supposedly go to the alarm. They just went into the main body harness. I found another box that I "thought" was the alarm. I unplugged it and noticed it was the body control module. Oops, I plugged that right back in. I tried arming and disarming the alarm and I could hear it making a clicking noise but couldn't find it. So, I cheated and just cut the wire to the horn. The other problem I've had with the alarm is every few months, my car won't start because it thinks it's being stolen. The installer that put it in said it was because the factory ignition disable was a variable resistance. If the remote starter guesses the resistance wrong, the car thinks it's being stolen and disables the ignition. So, once in a while, it does that and takes me about 15 minutes to start my car. I was hoping if I yanked the brain, I'd never have to worry about that again. I verified today the installer that installed the alarm for me did go out of business, so taking it back to them to take it out is not an option.

1. Wait until next time the alarm falses. Disarm the alarm, open the door and get into the car, but don't turn the ignition on. Look at the alarm LED, count how many times it's flashing. That will tell you which "zone" (door, trunk/hood, or shock sensor) was violated. That's the first step to troubleshooting false alarms. Impalas have a known issue with the factory door trigger wires falsing, and even the alarm companies are too lazy to update their wiring diagrams. Use the search feature here, the solution is somewhere in the archives. 2. The factory Passlock II anti-theft system in those cars sometimes does go bad all by itself, but also, if the remote starter's Passlock interface was not well-installed, that could also create the problems you describe. 3. Probably almost any local alarm-install shop could remove the system for you, if desired. You'd probably pay from around 35 to maybe 75 at the most. Make it very clear that you want everything 100% removed and cleaned up, not just disconnected or disabled. However, the falsing and the Passlock parts are both fixable. Paying to have them fixed might cost nearly as much as getting a whole new system.........but, if you can find a good shop in your area, the 996 is a good product, if the installation errors can be fixed. 5. If you do want to try removing it yourself, just make the alarm go off and then drop the dash and listen for the clicking sounds inside the brain. You could open a window, arm the alarm, then reach inside and open the door....that'll make it go off. Or just put it in Panic mode by pressing the Lock or Unlock button and holding it in.