Original Car Alarm

[Pegasys]

In almost every C3 Vette I've seen, the original car alarm is not working.

Did you repair your original alarm, or install a new one?

Mike

 

[Dave L.]

I left mine disconected. It probably doesn't work and would be a pain in the butt to get operating again. My car is secure in the garage anyway.

Dave

 

[dmrodco]

My 75's alarm was inop when I got the car. The battery kept going dead and I traced it to the alarm ciruit. What I found was that the alarm horn under the left rear quarter was shorted ( very common ) after replacing that and hooking up the flasher and relay wa-la it worked. Mine sets in the garage also I just like to have everything in working order. Good luck.

 

[Eric]

I left mine disconected. It probably doesn't work and would be a pain in the butt to get operating again. My car is secure in the garage anyway.

Dave

Ditto with Dave! However, I know my contacts on the doors work as I tested them last year. I do have it disconnected though - too many stories of those shark alarms triggering FIRE alarms and the owner ends up with a grilled shark.

 

[SLICKMAN]

Mine is orginal and is still working fine. The only thing I had to replace was the flasher unit.

 

[jmp]

Actually I haven't done either -- yet. Very soon I'll be buying an aftermarket alarm (part of a Christmas present) and then I'll be looking in to fixing the factory alarm. I'll probably never ever use the factory alarm, but I want as much as possible to be working on my car, as was originally intended!

Oh, and for those who say their car is secure in their garage -- what about when you go out? Do you never leave your car parked someplace?!

 

[MaineShark]

Original alarm doesn't work.

I have a similar switch inside the car, that kills the starter motor. Easy security, and a theif doesn't have time to go looking for the switch, nor could he do much with it if he found it - barrel key locks are pretty hard to pick.

I may put in a real alarm at some point, but I'm not too worried about it.

Joe

 

[Hijinx]

Mine did not work when I got it. However, I am not much of a beliver in car alarms. I replaced it with a kill switch and an inexpensive audible alarm. The audible alarm is just a deterant, the kill switch is my true fail safe. I wired it in such a way as to be very difficult to bypass quickly. Most car theives will not take that much time. They will just move on.

 

[Ala75Vette]

Mine does not work, and hasn't since I got it. I 'discovered' a little red wire that looked like it should be connected to my alternator, connected it, then reconnected my battery (after having done some other repairs on the car). As the alarm siren sounded, I quickly disconnected the battery, then 'unconnected' the mysterious little red wire. I could probably trouble shoot my system and find out where the permanently closed circuit is, but having the alarm system working properly is not a high priority, particularly since the reverse interlock would deter 'stupid' teenagers, and a determined 'professional' thief would steal it otherwise, anyway. JMHO.

 

[BB wowbagger]

I`ve fixed my alarm..I dont use it, but i cant stand having stuff on my car that doesnt work..

 

[baseballcorvette]

I discoverd mine during restoration, when i took off my gauge cluster there was a small red light mounted at the top of the plastic frame.I also found elec. contacts mounted on the drivers side door lock but not on the passengers side. I looked through my orignal manual and found out that ythe car came with anti-theft alarm system.The system arms by locking the drivers side door.It will not arm buy pushing the locking knob inside the door.
An alarm (your horn) will sound if anyone opens either door,removes roof panel or opens the hood.

Thats way down on my corvette to do list

I'm going on year three restoration 6-year ownership 0-year driving almost done! Living in the norteast without a garage. Boo Hoo

Patrick

 

[born2saw]

My goes off when I try to arm it. Being a little anal, I will probably fix it in the next year or two, but it is fairly far down on the list of little things to do.

 

[rpounds]

I voted 'Repaired Original Alarm', although that is not really entirely true. The alarm has always worked fine, but I did have to repair one of the door switches.

I don't know about newer models, but my 75's alarm system is about as worthless as a screen door on a submarine. However, it is present on the car and it would drive me crazy if it didn't work, such as it is . . .

 

[moskovita]

Alarm

I believe in installing better Alarms or safeguards now... as my Vette was stolen recently.
I've since recovered it and am getting it repaired now.
The factory alarm didn't work for me, so I've got to install something different this time!

A better Alarm is NEXT!!!

 

[Nut]

Alarm on the '81 works perfectly. However, the one I had on my old '72 never worked right and I finally disconnected it and put in an aftermarket set up.

.......... Nut

 

[resto75]

I never even tried mine. I don't have a key for it and I assume it doesn't work. The horn is in place under the fender but I never even thought of testing it.

It stays safe in the garage and if the bad guy can get in the garage passed me, my sons, the dog and all the guns I have he deserves it. He will probably need a EMS truck before the vette.

Gee now that I think of it I must have the Redneck alarm system

 

[Red76Vette]

i dont think i have one on my 76

Chuck

 

[Wills79Vette]

If I activate the alarm on my 79, it just goes off. I think the problem is in the T-Top switch. LOL, I am having a prob with power door locks, I would rather have them working for the meanwhile.

 

[WayneLBurnham]

My Theft Protection is an HK51

....and I leave a quarter in the console so somebody who DOES steal that faithless debt-maker actually gets something...

Seriously, theft insurance is your best bet as a front line. Other than that: own nothing you can't afford to lose. Keep your receipts and keep it up to date with replacement costs for the equipment you have - and make sure it's the right kind of insurance. (I hope mine is....) I only have liability and theft, in fact - no collision (couldn't afford it.)

In equal seriousness, prospective car thieves should be sure they really want to risk the rage of someone who spends all their available money, credit, time and thought on a project like restoring a C3 vette before lifting it, especially in a state like Texas. It's only worth $15-40K in perfect shape with good papers - not as much as a garden variety newmobile for parts.

(That HK51 comment was most definitely not a joke - although I'd pick something from the inventory a bit less dramatic to effect the policy...)

If you want to make the most of your theft deterrence systems, you may not want to advertise their particulars - to anyone. "Anyone" especially includes people on the most popular website for collectors of the item in question. Don't think in anyway a professional thief could not penetrate your aliases to discover your identity and address. (BTW, it's easy to change your post with the "Edit" feature. )

I have added a number of non-standard anti-theft measures to mine, and will add more as I get more done in the project. None of them would prevent a determined thief from taking it though.

Fortunately, the stock alarm and whatever else mine does is not connected - although it is all seemingly intact. I tested the switch and found it was good, so I am thinking of using it to activate my Mallory HyFire ignition.

For alarms systems in general, I would like the kind with a secret beeper or dialer which notifies you without annoying everyone everytime the puppy gets rocked by the breeze. I don't believe they are any costlier than a LowJack on a monthly basis and much less initially.

...then I can more reliably effect Policy #1 and PREVENT car theft.

 

[L82Dan]

My factory alarm still functions, but I don't use it. I have a aftermarket system installed that is more inclusive.