Car won't start - horn keeps honking

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

My son’s 2005 Mazda has been off the road for a little over a year. The car was being started periodically. This winter it wouldn’t start so a new battery was purchased. The car only started when it was jumped. Now it won’t start and the horn keeps honking when you try to jump it. Can’t get to a repair shop - no plates - any idea what’s going on.

2

sounds like the anti-theft system is working ok.

3

Have any idea how to get the anti theft system to shut off

4

I dont know about your Mazda, but my friend had the same problem on her Tercel. the solution was to close and lock all the door, wait 15 min, then unlock the door and start the car. In that case the problem seemed be caused by an attempt of her passenger to unlock the passenger door from the inside manually.

5

You may be able to stop the alarm from going off by using the keyfob to unlock the doors. If the keyfob doesn’t work now you may have to reprogram the keyfob system.

6

…or, if all else fails, you could try reading the section of the Owner’s Manual that deals with the security system.

I know that this is a radical step, but someone should try to summon up the courage to open the glove compartment and take out the manual!

;-))

7

The problem is the key fob will not work there seems to be no power to the car at all. I have looked for answers in the manual, but it seems to be related to a car that has power.

8

First, does the new battery have a full charge? Sounds like it doesn’t. I think I’d put a charger on it overnight and see if you then have power. Also, check the battery terminals carefully to make sure they are making solid connection to the new battery. If the horn starts honking, then you have power back and you can proceed with the alarm issues by locking the doors and/or unlocking using the key fob, etc.

It is possible that during the battery swap a fuse or fusible link went bad. Check for obvious blown fuses both under the dash and under the hood. If that fails, you will need a multi-meter or test light and someone who knows how to troubleshoot electrical circuits to find any bad fusible links.

I suspect this is pretty simple and you could have it towed to a mechanic/dealer.

9

thanks for your response - it’s somewhere to start

10

Try putting new batteries in the key fob to rule out the fob