car killed, wont start. alarm wire blame?

**main questions**

can 1 faulty wire associated with an aftermarket car alarm cause the vehicle not to start as well as die while running?

if so would it be as simple as fixing the wire, or could it have messed up something more serious with the car
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i dont know much about car alarms but something happened today. i have a 2006 scion TC with a clifford matrix 3 alarm put in about 10 months ago. i was driving and i heard something that sounded like crackling. possibly a wire shorting out. the car died in traffic. just stopped running. wouldnt start.

after i pushed it to the side i noticed all the power was working fine. console would show lights like normal when i'd turn the key to start it (manual transmission by the way). headlights are fine. my carpc is running fine. so the battery was ok. but i try to crank engine and theres just silence. so after a few hours of looking under the dash area where i thought i heard the crackling i found a RED wire that had gotten lodged in part of the steering wheel mechanism that caused it to rub away the rubber shielding. it looked like it was a little bit charred and the copper wire strands had started to break. but the wire is probably 2/3rds in tact. i cannot trace the wire because its hard to see where it goes with everything tucked away and ran well out of view.

i think its a wire thats something to do with the alarm because my shock sensor is not being powered (it shows a red light when i tap it normally). im hoping this is the root of my problems and all i have to do is cut off the burnt part of the wire and splice it back. i do have a starter kill option on the alarm or whatever the proper term is for the car not starting if something is breaking in to it

i checked fueses on the alarm wire and all the car fuses and they looked ok at first inspection



i will be contacting the place that installed the alarm but i might have to get it towed there for them to look at it. kind of sucks

any help is greatly appreciated

goo

You probably blew one of the fuses going to the ignition. Check the larger fuses under the hood. The alarm can keep your alarm from cranking but not kill it while driving.

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Certified Security Specialist
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i checked the large fuses (30amp and up i think) and they looked fine. i will check again. the smaller fuses 10, 20, and maybe 30a are pretty small so i didnt pull every one out to inspect. maybe i will.

BUT the alarm is not active. like i said, i tap the shock sensor and nothing happens. and the alarm remote doesnt work. it acted up from day one (sometimes having to hold it down for a few seconds to arm) but i dont think its related. is there a chance i could have blown something else besides a fuse? i know theres a couple of relays in the fuse box. or maybe damaged something else?

for example, i have a carpc powersupply that seems to be picky.. it hase fuses, yet i blew the entire power supply out simply by reversing ground/lead output wires used to power on the LCD screen. this is a case of fuses not doing their job, which im hoping is NOT the case with my car.

thank you

goo boy wrote:

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i checked the large fuses (30amp and up i think) and they looked fine.

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Never trust your eyes on that, use a fuse checker or DMM.

good luck!!

got it working. the wire that was lodged in the steering wheel that got worn to the insulation shorted out a 30amp fuse which i replaced today. the fuse controlled the ingition. replaced the fuse, put some electrical tape on the frayed wire, and drove it over to the alarm place where they spliced the wire together and made sure to tie everything off in an out of the way location. i think this was just a case of sloppy installation. the place is fairly reputable. oh well. i came out of it only being without a running care for about 17 hours and didnt have to shell out a dime except for the fuse which i had spares of. could have been a lot worse.

thanks guys