Hey Guys, I've been fooling with cars for over 40 years and just ran across a situation that I've never encountered before. A college kid is offering to sell his 626 to me for a grand because he tried to put a new battery in it and the car alarm keeps going off when he hooks up the cables. He doesn't know how to stop it and to be honest with you, I don't either. I'd like to have this car because it's in pretty good shape with 189,000 miles or so on it and just a couple of door dents that I'm pretty sure I can fix. I just need to know what the procedure is for replacing the battery and reactivating the car alarm so I can drive it home. Any help would be greatly appreciated and any advice for things to look for before purchasing would be appreciated too. Thanks and I'm looking forward to being a functioning member of the forum here.

 

If it's an automatic transmission RUNAWAY

 

I have no idea about alarms, aftermarket or original. It can be a real PITA.

I do not understand why the 626 automatic transmissions are so prone to failure but it is a well established fact. The same transmission is used in Ford Contour, Mercury Mystique, Escape and Tribute. It is named CD4E. It cannot be the engine power because the Contour/Mystique with V6 engine is no slouch. Maybe Mazda didn't get the cooling right.

 

Im guessing he no longer has the alarm remote. If it is the factory Mazda alarm it can be reset by the dealership.

 

Thank you for the information, gentlemen. It IS an automatic and since this is a college kid, I'm going to take a pass on this car. Odds are very good that it's never been maintained properly.

 

A wise decision.
I hope you find another, better, deal.

 

I'll third that decision as a good one!