1994 Chevy truck won't start.

[aquariuscsm]

Yes. They will prevent the starter from engaging, just as appears to be the problem.

That was my initial thought,especially given the symptoms she explained to me and how the truck is turning on electrically,but no starter action at all.

 

[JT20]

One detail I just now remembered when cline brought up the aftermarket alarm issues, she'd said after it started shaking and died when she pulled into her driveway,the alarm started going off after she got it restarted. She backed it into the parking spot and turn off the engine, and had to pull the negative terminal on the battery to get it to turn off,and then that's when the truck sat for a week or so.

Can old aftermarket alarms keep vehicles from starting if they get issues?

My Buick used to do the exact same thing. First bought the car, figured out it would only start after 5 sometimes 10 minutes, then start like there was nothing wrong with it.

Alarm had some kind of feature that cut power to the starter wire, or power to the starter, key would act like there was no battery in the car until enabled, then juice would be sent that's power ok and car would start.. this one if those alarms, all digital. You could turn car on, have it running, lock it, beeps three times all doors would lock, beeps twice only driver door would open, beeps once was proximity alarm, tap teice would start the car, tap once would unlock doors, then an alarm button.. so complicated I could not even figure it out. Even had a Carjack mode ? where digital keyfob would display a picture of a gun .

Paid $300 for that car, pretty sure it was a 98 Regal. Sold it for $1000 to someone who assured me fixing it would not be an issue (we agreed it was likely an alarm install that gave the starter wire issues and they probably removed it.) Alarm retailed for about $400. And no it was not a Viper alarm, I don't know what it was.

The short answer is.. yes, it can cause issues. And I am not sure I would ever want an aftermarket alarm on a car, ever. Ever.

If it has a keyfob and can unlock the doors and maybe blip the lights, that's all you need. Test it.. leave the hood open, lock the doors, get out, close hood. Alarm should blare and turn off when you hit Unlock key. And if it gets stuck on, as I've had happen.. locking and then unlocking driver door with the key will shut it off too.

 

[aquariuscsm]

My Buick used to do the exact same thing. First bought the car, figured out it would only start after 5 sometimes 10 minutes, then start like there was nothing wrong with it.

Alarm had some kind of feature that cut power to the starter wire, or power to the starter, key would act like there was no battery in the car until enabled, then juice would be sent that's power ok and car would start.. this one if those alarms, all digital. You could turn car on, have it running, lock it, beeps three times all doors would lock, beeps twice only driver door would open, beeps once was proximity alarm, tap teice would start the car, tap once would unlock doors, then an alarm button.. so complicated I could not even figure it out. Even had a Carjack mode ? where digital keyfob would display a picture of a gun .

Paid $300 for that car, pretty sure it was a 98 Regal. Sold it for $1000 to someone who assured me fixing it would not be an issue (we agreed it was likely an alarm install that gave the starter wire issues and they probably removed it.) Alarm retailed for about $400. And no it was not a Viper alarm, I don't know what it was.

The short answer is.. yes, it can cause issues. And I am not sure I would ever want an aftermarket alarm on a car, ever. Ever.

If it has a keyfob and can unlock the doors and maybe blip the lights, that's all you need. Test it.. leave the hood open, lock the doors, get out, close hood. Alarm should blare and turn off when you hit Unlock key. And if it gets stuck on, as I've had happen.. locking and then unlocking driver door with the key will shut it off too.

Yep she has that key fob thingy. We replaced the battery and the key fob seems like it’s dead. I saw a video on YouTube about how to disable an aftermarket alarm. Maybe has a kill switch,button,or something. That’s what I’m going to look for when I go look at it this afternoon when I get off work.

 

[nthach]

Can old aftermarket alarms keep vehicles from starting if they get issues?

Yep - the relay that handles the starter kill can flake out and the control modules on those are cheaply made in many cases. DEI ones are marginally better than the cheap junk dealers install to make a profit in the F&I office.

look under the driver’s side dash for anything that doesn’t look factory. Aftermarket alarms usually have a orange wire leading to a starter kill relay, and it’s a standard Bosch-style 5-pin ice cube relay. More sophisticated alarms with remote start use a relay pack or integrated relays in the control module. If you see a ribbon cable from the control module to a separate box or multiple heavy-gauge wires from the control module, it’s one of those cases.

As much as DEI wants to restrict sales and install of their alarms to the hoi polloi, the documentation for them is easily had online.

 

[joegreen]

My dad has an 88 chevy truck and it too has an aftermarket alarm that has caused it not to start in the past.

 

[JT20]

OP, let's chase the starter angle.

Does the engine turn?
*either by hand or with a decent ratchet on a turning pulley. 19mm alternator usually gets it, it should spin. Or the pulley itself but that does not need a ratchet. You can usually spin it with a larger socket over the nut. I remember 19mm on alternator when I had to turn mine. May vary slightly. Usually an easy way to spin since it near the top. The belt connects them all. Does it turn by hand? It should.)

Can you jump the relay? (If there is one.)
- Can you manually introduce power to the starter?
Is the starter dead?
EDIT: Is the alarm disabling power to the starter ? (If so, turning the key will not even produce the "click" of a dead starter.)

Answer these questions and your truck should be starting.

 

[aquariuscsm]

OP, let's chase the starter angle.

Does the engine turn?
*either by hand or with a decent ratchet on a turning pulley. 19mm alternator usually gets it, it should spin. Or the pulley itself but that does not need a ratchet. You can usually spin it with a larger socket over the nut. I remember 19mm on alternator when I had to turn mine. May vary slightly. Usually an easy way to spin since it near the top. The belt connects them all. Does it turn by hand? It should.)

Can you jump the relay? (If there is one.)
- Can you manually introduce power to the starter?
Is the starter dead?
EDIT: Is the alarm disabling power to the starter ? (If so, turning the key will not even produce the "click" of a dead starter.)

Answer these questions and your truck should be starting.

I didn't get a chance to go look at it tonight. My plan was to look for an alarm kill switch. She has a jumper box-charger that we tried first the other night,nothing. We then tried to jump it with her Suburban,nothing. I had the battery retested today at a different location,and it's in perfect shape, fully charged. When you turn the key, it does absolutely nothing. Her truck's behavior reminds me of those fleet vehicles that have the manual kill switch that's engaged when you try to start it. My hunch is the aftermarket alarm has issues. I'll post results as soon as I look at it again for her.

 

[wtd]

Make sure the positive battery cable going to the starter is not loose or corroded. About a month ago my fiancee's 94 Cavalier was having symptoms of a bad battery even though the battery was less than a year old and checked out good. You would turn the key and nothing.

I did some voltage drop tests and discovered that the positive battery cable going to the starter was loose and causing the problems. I cleaned all of the contacts and tightened the cable back up and no problems since.