"The Chirp"

[sgarlic]

Well, I guess what the point of the thread is, was to find out how to get information about it? Google searches for Tri-Lock result in barely anything.. that paragraph the guy posted above is the most useful I've found.. Ford dealer says they've never heard of it, even though they installed it..

 

[Mike97gt]

try asking the sales deptment if the car had a aftermart alarm put in by a outside company before you bought it.

 

[timeless2]

I'm amazed the dealer knows nothing about it. Sad they don't know the finite detail on vehicles they took delivery upon into inventory.

 

[gargol139]

When I start my car there are three beeps that happen simultaniously when the ingnition starts no idea what it is.

 

[cooter_11]

It was probably a salesman that told you about it right? I've never heard of that either, but we've put in aftermarket systems for customers who request it. It was probably just a salesman that didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.

 

[Mike97gt]

I'm amazed the dealer knows nothing about it. Sad they don't know the finite detail on vehicles they took delivery upon into inventory.

ok i might be able to explain the dealer not knowing.

this car was a canceled sale from another dealer and was swaped in. Dealers swap cars all the time. This would explain them not knowing about the aftermarket alarm.

 

[sgarlic]

The salesman I used told me it had Tri-Lock on it, which I just assumed was a Ford factory alarm. There was no supplementary owners manual or anything with it.. and the guy doesn't work at that dealership anymore.

I do know that they swapped the car from another dealership.. they didn't have one with what I wanted on it (no abs/tc) at the dealership there.

 

[drag0nfan's04GT]

I have it, but I'm not sure what it's called. I think it was called a tri-lock system. All of the local dealers put them on the new cars sold here. That's because we're so close to Mexico...one hour by road, 16 miles as the crow flies. The dealership here factors in the cost, a hefty $800, into the cost of the vehicle. It's not until you get into the financing dept that you find that out.

It's a type of theft deterrent device. This is how it works...You turn the ignition on, but not to the point it starts. You wait for the two chirps, and start it. You have three seconds to start it, or it won't start. If you wait too long or it doesn't start, you have to reset it. You do that by turning the ignition completely off. You then wait a couple of seconds for a single chirp. You can then start the process over.

Basically, the car will only start in that three second window after the two chirps. I'm not sure about all of the electronics behind it, but in theory, it keeps people from being able to hotwire the car. I guess you could somehow bypass this system or remove it. The other alternative is to learn how to hotwire a car in under three seconds.

It's a real pain in the ass when you're in a hurry or have been driving a car that doens't have it. One good thing is that if the car stalls, it will immediately start back up without having to reset it. I guess that was a safety issue in the early development. Imagine stalling in a intersection and having to turn it off, wait for a chirp, turn it back on, wait for two chirps, and then start the car. By that time you've already been t-boned by someone.

 

[DocG]

A bit off-topic, but....
Guess what, the "stand on your head, turn three times, hold your horses, works only on Tuesday" routine is in the owner's manual.

Ok smarty-pants, but mine was missing the manual when I bought it, but there were a few extra nuts/bolts floating around in it to make up for it. I'll google the manual then!

 

[ToplessStang]

First of, great vid to explain exactly what it is doing. Trouble shooting is SO much easier when the problem is clearly presented.

That bird chirp would drive me crazy . Like svttech76 mentioned dealers trade cars quite often for a sale. There is NO way that was factory installed lol. I'm pretty sure when you picked up your car brand new, it had a few extra miles on it. When I took the Ford vehicule security course they had mentioned that some dealers choose to install the basic Ford alarm system (sold afterwards) in some of their new car models before they are even sold. If the dealer that traded your car does that, it may explain your situation

I personally would take that system out and wire it back to stock. I don't see any advantage in keeping it. The PATS system in itself is VERY affective.

 

[sgarlic]

I have it, but I'm not sure what it's called. I think it was called a tri-lock system. All of the local dealers put them on the new cars sold here. That's because we're so close to Mexico...one hour by road, 16 miles as the crow flies. The dealership here factors in the cost, a hefty $800, into the cost of the vehicle. It's not until you get into the financing dept that you find that out.

It's a type of theft deterrent device. This is how it works...You turn the ignition on, but not to the point it starts. You wait for the two chirps, and start it. You have three seconds to start it, or it won't start. If you wait too long or it doesn't start, you have to reset it. You do that by turning the ignition completely off. You then wait a couple of seconds for a single chirp. You can then start the process over.

Basically, the car will only start in that three second window after the two chirps. I'm not sure about all of the electronics behind it, but in theory, it keeps people from being able to hotwire the car. I guess you could somehow bypass this system or remove it. The other alternative is to learn how to hotwire a car in under three seconds.

It's a real pain in the ass when you're in a hurry or have been driving a car that doens't have it. One good thing is that if the car stalls, it will immediately start back up without having to reset it. I guess that was a safety issue in the early development. Imagine stalling in a intersection and having to turn it off, wait for a chirp, turn it back on, wait for two chirps, and then start the car. By that time you've already been t-boned by someone.

Must be a Sierra Vista thing.. I bought it from Lawley's Team Ford

The car had 252 miles on it when I bought it.. I kind of wondered about that, but I guess I somehow managed to convince myself that it just went through a ton of test drives before I got it.

 

[Ernad]

I have it, but I'm not sure what it's called. I think it was called a tri-lock system. All of the local dealers put them on the new cars sold here. That's because we're so close to Mexico...one hour by road, 16 miles as the crow flies. The dealership here factors in the cost, a hefty $800, into the cost of the vehicle. It's not until you get into the financing dept that you find that out.

It's a type of theft deterrent device. This is how it works...You turn the ignition on, but not to the point it starts. You wait for the two chirps, and start it. You have three seconds to start it, or it won't start. If you wait too long or it doesn't start, you have to reset it. You do that by turning the ignition completely off. You then wait a couple of seconds for a single chirp. You can then start the process over.

Basically, the car will only start in that three second window after the two chirps. I'm not sure about all of the electronics behind it, but in theory, it keeps people from being able to hotwire the car. I guess you could somehow bypass this system or remove it. The other alternative is to learn how to hotwire a car in under three seconds.

...

that makes sense looking at your and his location. first time I've heard of thiss too, btw

 

[drag0nfan's04GT]

Yep, I bought mine there too. My wife has a 2003 Silverado with the same thing. My brother and I borrowed my dad's truck to move some furniture one weekend I was home on leave. My dad drove my car and it drove him crazy. I can't tell you how many times he called me complaining.

 

[Mustang5L5]

How do you turn it off? I'm about to go WWII on mine!

It's actually in the owners manual, along with how to make a new key and program a new keyless entry remote

 

[Superhereaux]

Yep, I bought mine there too. My wife has a 2003 Silverado with the same thing. My brother and I borrowed my dad's truck to move some furniture one weekend I was home on leave. My dad drove my car and it drove him crazy. I can't tell you how many times he called me complaining.

sounds like a dealer installed option


my old dealership used to install kill switches in all their vehicles. you had to push the brake pedal to start it, if not you'd turn the key and the horn would honk. another chevy dealer in town had the same thing but you had to hit the left turn signal to start it (not joking)
even worse was another dealer where you had to push two of the cruise control buttons at the same time to start it


some dealerships (like mine) will install crap like this during the pre-delivery inspection so customers don't really have a choice whether they want them or not, all cars get them


i'd take it back and have them take it out, crap like that would drive me up the wall