2002 Grand Prix GT Won't turn over, horn starts honking and i get locked in the car!

[xkalibre]

Hey all!
Three days ago I drove out town to the store and when I came out my 2002 Grand Prix GT would not start... it seemed like there was not even juice to turn over the engine.
I called a friend and he came to boost me. It started right up no problem. We then drove back to his place where I had a visit for 4-5 hours. I left his house with no issues, the car started up just fine.
Yesterday I went to start it up again and the same thing happened. Not enough juice to turn over the engine and then all of a sudden the horn starts to honk and i'm locked in the car!!
I manage to pop the hand lock and get out... the horn is still honking. I pop the hood and disconnect the battery... out of embarrasement...
I hope online to see what the issues could be and many people had noted that it might need a passkey III reset... so, I followed the instructions. 10min on, 10sec off... so on.
I was able to "reset" the system, boost my car and go for a drive. Everything seemed fine. That was yesterday...
Today, the exact same thing happened!!
What could possibly be going on? I can't afford to put anymore money into this thing... it's killing me!
Someone please have some advice

[burgundybullet]

Sounds like a pretty good theft deterant/ catcher. lol. A couple weeks ago I connected the battery but not all the way tight and I experience a similar issue where the car started honking out of the blue. and wouldnt start. I just unhooked the battery and reconnected it and mad sure it was snug and good to go. No problems since. Check for corrosion on the bolts and the terminals that would allow for a bad connection.

[xkalibre]

Lol, ya its great for catching thieves...and owners...
So, I had to disconnect the battery to get the horn to stop. About five minutes ago I hooked the battery back up and checked
to see if there was any corrosion and they are nice and shiny. Then I hooked the battery back up and the horn didnt sound...
I just put the battery on the charger to see if that will give me some juice to start it later.

[Scottydoggs]

test the battery , and the alt, one of them is bad if the battery keeps dying on you.

[xkalibre]

Scottydoggs - Would a bad battery have anything to do with the security system? The battery was also replaced new 4 months ago... hmm.. im stumped.

[burgundybullet]

What brand of battery?

[Scottydoggs]

if you turn the key to crank and start the car, and it does nothing, then the key wont turn back the battery is dead or lost power to the car. so then a jump start gives it the power to start.


take the car to auto zone, have them test the battery in the car when off. it should read 12 volts or higher, then start the car, test the battery again, it should be up over 13 volts now.

[xkalibre]

It's a MotoMaster battery...
When I turned the key to ON all the lights come out and I was able to unlock the door with the key fob.
When I try to start it, I can hear the starter trying to turn over, but then when I take the key out the horn starts to honk and the doors lock...
After I disconnected the battery to stop the horn from honking, I tried to start it again but same thing. All the lights come on but not enough juice to start except this time
the horn didnt honk and the doors didnt lock.

[REDCRAPGP]

test the battery , and the alt, one of them is bad if the battery keeps dying on you.

This. Take them to autozone or advance and test them for free. I bad alt won't charge your battery and a bad battery well won't hold enough charge to crank the car. Don't freak out this is normal maintenance for any car.

[xkalibre]

Thanks for the replies but I think you're missing the real issue... The security system engages and locks me inside the car! It's done this twice. The only way I can seem to temporarily fix it is to disconnect the battery...
How would a dead battery cause my security system to flip out?

[REDCRAPGP]

A bad battery will do all kinds of crap to the security system. Don't try to make it a bigger issue then it is..calm down take a breath and take our advice and have the battery tested.

[xkalibre]

Okay sorry... i'll get it tested asap. Thanks

[REDCRAPGP]

No problem. Lets us know what happens.

[02NavyBlue]

How would a dead battery cause my security system to flip out?

Well it can, and you mentioned that it often dies on you, so that was enough info to have the battery checked as a first step. The auto parts store will perform a conductance test on the battery which is accurate in all fields except in detecting a cold joint in the battery. This can randomly connect and disconnect the power inside of the battery, and possibly make it seem to have a low charge at times. But I'll just wait for the results before saying anything else.

[xkalibre]

It's Canada Day today so everything is closed... i'm gonna have to get the battery checked tomorrow. I dont have a multimeter at home.
The battery was fine until three days ago. It's not that it dies often. It just started dying and horn honking stuff three days ago.
but ya i'll find out what's goin on with the battery tomorrow. Hopefully that's all it is

[BillBoost37]

Everything is fine until it stops working.

Dad called me yesterday and gave a similar scenario.. I thought it over and told him that his wife drives the car only 2 miles, which doesn't give a battery much time to charge. And lately the AC would be blasting etc etc.. using more juice. His battery is also only 6 months old. A newer item doesn't mean it's not bad. Things can go bad...it's what makes working on cars interesting. Because the minute you rule something out based on being new.. you give yourself a potential life lesson to learn.

[xkalibre]

Today I picked up a MotoMaster Eliminator Ultra battery from Canadian Tire. The old battery was still under warranty, so I just paid the difference. $51.00. Pretty happy with that.
The battery installed fine and the car started up as usual. I took it for a drive and everything seems okay. Hopefully I can say that same tomorrow
Thank you all for the advice. I'll keep you posted

[xkalibre]

OH btw, when they tested my old battery he said that it was a little low on charge but the battery itself was fine... either way, I bought a newer, better one. So we'll see.

[REDCRAPGP]

Told you lol. Now bake us all cookies and mail them out to us.

[Scottydoggs]

did they test the alt? cause if the bat was low, and its new, the alt could be the reason why it was low in the first place.

not that batterys dont loose a cell from time to time when new. but the alt test would have been high on the list of the things to check out.