anti theft system drains battery
Asked by migraine95815 Jan 09, 2024 at 03:15 PM about the 2008 Ford Escape Limited AWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I had the negative battery disconnected while replacing the radio.battey cable,
When I reattached the battery cable, the anti theft warning light now flashes in lower left corner of instrument panel. Prior to this, that light never flashed. I now have a parasytic draw and I believe its that system that may have been disarmed by the previous owner... any suggestions on how to permanently disarm that system?
4 Answers
You should have plugged in a memory saver device before you disconnected the battery. Now you have to get the computers flashed (reprogrammed) at your local Ford Dealer. Hope that helps! Jim
GuruDZG8WQ answered 9 months ago
I had removed the battery by the instructions the company that sold the stereo equipment (Crutchfield). The reason was to prevent issues with airbag deployment...if that is really a thing?
Air bag deployment is a real thing but you deactivate it via fuse removal. But battery disconnect without a memory saver tool is asking for problems, so now you need the dealer to flash the computer systems to get everything back on line.
Airbag deployment is a real concern and can kill you. But as G A said, you don't disconnect the battery, you remove the airbag (SRS) fuse and wait 5 minutes for the airbag system to discharge. So, again, you need to have the computers flashed. Jim
