anybody have an idea? (theft light)

Story:
I was pulling into the Wal*Mart parking lot a couple of days ago, right after getting my new BFG A/T KO 31x10.50's put on. I looked down at the speedometer and noticed a light had lit up in a place that I had never seen one before. When I stopped I looked and it was a THEFT light. It is on the bottom side of the speedometer and is white in color. I turned off the X and it stayed lit up. I went inside, bought an oil filter, came back out, and it was off. When I cranked it back up it came on for a couple of seconds and then went back out. This has never happened before and has not happened since. WTF happened?

I have no alarm system. I had not messed with the radio or anything. Why is there even a bulb behind there to light up if I don't have a factory alarm system? Why would the light come on if there is no system? Any ideas? Ever heard of this happening before? Think my Explorer's lights are possessed? (has a problem with interior bulbs burning out CONSTANTLY)

now that the board's back up...

BUMP!

BUMP

I hate to be so persistent on getting an answer, but this is driving me nuts!

Does anyone even have a factory alarm system? Is there a such thing? What would cause it to go off?

I don't know what it does, either. I don't have a factory alarm, however the THEFT light comes on every time I turn my Explorer off. I don't know if it is still on when I get back in, I don't pay that much attention.

my dad has a factory alarm and it has an led on the dashboard and also the theft light on the instrument cluster. the led flashes continually and his theft lite flashes once every 4-5 seconds when his alarm is on. if it matters his truck is a 1998 ranger

So it seems that I am not alone...

Mine has the incessantly blinking theft light as well. It is only on when the key is not in the ignition. I believe it has to do with the keys that have the chip in them that are programmed so that only your keys can start your car. I'm not sure when it was introduced, but it's supposed to make it harder to steal the car. Look at your key, on the butt end of the big plastic part and see if there is a small rectangular seam on it. If there is, that is what this is i would bet.

i think it comes on if your doors are locked. even without an alarm because i think my moms does it too and she only has a factory keyless entry and no alarm. i think it is a dummy anti-theft light warning dont mess with me i have an alarm. shes got a 1996 Xploder

BUT,

I have neither the chip in my key or keyless entry...
I will go check on the doors being locked or not though.

First off, you should open your instructions manual and read it.......sometimes.... lol

If you did you know that Explorers are equiped with something called Passive Alarm System (I believe or something similar) it's there but some people don't even know they have it. When you turn the ignition off, get out of your vehicle locking doors either by the remote or switch on the door the system activates itself and that's what the light on the dash is for, it's on for 30 seconds and then goes out to let you know the alarm has been activated. Try and lock the doors with a remote leaving the window down. After the light goes out try and open the door using the inside handle (opening from the inside), don't do it at night though since you might wake up your neighbors. Lights will flash and siren will go off. Deactivate by pressing unlock on your remote. Well, at least that's what I have on my 94 Limited. I know Eddie Bauers had it too but don't know about others. I have no other explanation to this. Problem that I have though is that overhead map/reading lights are on when I get in my truck in the morning or if it has been sitting outside for some time. Looks like some moisture is playing tricks on me in my overhead console. No worries though since my truck is shutting everything down if left on for a certein period of time. Kind of neat to protect the battery.

Hope this helps clear-out some missunderstanding.

keyless entry////////\\\\\\\\\ were all the trucks equiped with this or not?

I don't know what year this was added to the Explorer, but on my ’99 the THEFT light blinks every two seconds when the ignition is off. This is to let you know that the SecuriLock™ passive anti-theft system is operational. This is the system alluded to earlier about the keys with the chip in them. This system is supposed to prevent starting the truck if you don’t have the right key. It isn't an alarm system.

If you don't have this system in yours, you probably have an electrical gremlin running around. I wouldn't worry about it unless it happens again. If it does happen again, pull the bulb out!! ;-) If you do have this system, the light coming on could mean there is a problem with the system.

I didn't have keyless entry, but I just added it last week with the kit from Explorer Express.

lol, taking the bulb out kind of reminded me of my late BMW. When the Check Engine light came on at 60K miles some goof mechanic suggested taking the bulb out to fix the problem.

That passive thing works different on my rig since I don't have a chip in my key and it just works like I described.

Later,

Originally posted by Dre
First off, you should open your instructions manual and read it.......sometimes.... lol

Click to expand...

Already did that!

Like I mentioned before, I do not have a keyless entry system. The owner's manual states the the theft system works along with the keyless entry system, so I shouldn't have this alarm system.

I tried what you said about opening the door with the inside door handle. It didn't do anything. I also waited 30 seconds to see if the light would flash after locking and closing the doors. Nothing there either.

I must find the answer! I will go nuts thinking about it until I know what's going on!

lock it close doors and see if it blinks if it does then it is normal and you just never noticed it

heck now you have to do what someone has already sugested,,,,,,,take the bulb out!

new thought...

What if it DOES have the keyless entry system, and I just don't have any remotes. Maybe the guy before me lost all of them and didn't mention them when he traded it in.
Maybe someone close to my Explorer was using their remote and somehow triggered mine. I wouldn't have noticed the click of the doors locking with the radio up loud.
Would there have to be a keypad on the door to have a factory keyless entry system?
If I gave the Ford Dealer my VIN#, would they be able to tell me if I had the alarm?

Originally posted by 2mrchio
I don't know what it does, either. I don't have a factory alarm, however the THEFT light comes on every time I turn my Explorer off. I don't know if it is still on when I get back in, I don't pay that much attention.

Click to expand...

You do have the factory alarm 2mrchio! If it was standard on my '97 Sport, it would be standard on the '97 EB. To try it out, turn your key off, open the door, press the lock on the door and then close the door without getting out. Your theft light should stay on for 30 seconds. If you open the door while the light is on nothing will happen. Wait for 30 seconds, your theft light will start flashing. The flash is hard to detect prior to '98 though since the light is off for about 4 units to ever unit it is on. Anyway, open the door now that it is flashing. Your horn will start honking. If it doesn't your factory theft system is not working, but you still have one.

Oh yeah, I believe whenever there is a keypad on the driver's door, then you have keyless entry/alarm system. I hope I'm right, if not, just correct me.

and that's exactly what I suggested you do....... if you have an EB then you have alarm..... just missing remotes. Check your VIN though with the dealer.... don't buy any remotes from a dealer though since they will charge a lot of money for it!! you can buy it and program it yourself.

Later,