Need a little diagnostic help:

[GMo]

In the middle of the night our '11 4runner alarm went off in the garage (factory horn) for no reason. Locked garage. No one set it off. Now this AM the battery is dead. My wife is at home and I'm out of town.

Any thoughts on causes? No previous issues at all with the vehicle. Aftermarket amp/sub but it's been in the car for 18k miles.

Thanks guys!

 

[Okki]

She may have had something trigger the (red) alarm button on the key-fob. My wife did that one time when the keyfob was buried in her purse under a bunch of stuff.

beyond that.. get it jump starter and drive it around a bit to get the battery charged again.

Okki

 

[eddiebx]

Did you check if every single door is closed? Perhaps it might have been closed just enough to push the door lock pin down and trick the car into thinking it's closed, but then it later popped open enough to release the pin.

That might explain why the alarm went off by itself, and maybe even why the battery is dead, assuming the dome light would stay on with the door open (not sure if these cars are smart enough to turn it off for you eventually, never tested it out ). I'd especially check the trunk door since it's kind of heavy and possible to close just enough to press the pin down but not latch on fully. Good luck!

 

[GMo]

Hmmm.

According to her, she put it in the garage, didn't lock it or anything, put the keys on the counter and later went to bed.

Neighbor heard the alarm going off at 2am but she didn't.

Now it's completely dead. I asked her if anything was left on or open but nothing she noticed.

Could understand a light killing the battery or something like that, but why the alarm?

 

[Jtraskell]

Starter Solenoid fails in the open position. Attempts to starts the vehicle. Of course, vehicle cannot start as there is no key. Vehicle immobilizer kicks in. Computer reads it as an unauthorized start, sets off alarm. Alarm goes on for a long time until neighbor gets tired of the noise. This runs down the battery. Wife turns off alarm with some juice still there. Solenoid however, is still causing a short, but not enough to turn anything until battery dies.

Just let me have my fantasies....it's more fun that way.

Serious question though, what does happen when and if the immobilizer kicks in? I know the vehicle does not go, but does it cut off the battery? Manual does not say, nor does it indicate when it might turn back on. (I suspect a good key will do it) If you read the manual, it does state a couple of reasons the immobilizer might fail:

Conditions that may cause the system to malfunction
l If the grip portion of the key is in contact with a metallic object
l If the key is in close proximity to or touching a key to the security system
(key with a built-in transponder chip) of another vehicle

Does not sound like any of these occurred with your wife, but was the key on the counter next to another "chipped" key, or anything else metal, like the key chain itself? Hope it all turns out good. Be safe.

 

[GMo]

Woah! lol

The key is on a ring with 1 other key. Counter is granite. No way for small key to touch Toyota key.

I've got a neighbor going over to put a trickle charger on it and see what happens after a few hours. I'll be home tomorrow so I'll have to figure out the next step.

PS. Wife never turned off alarm as she never heard it.

 

[ATL4R]

Did you check if every single door is closed? Perhaps it might have been closed just enough to push the door lock pin down and trick the car into thinking it's closed, but then it later popped open enough to release the pin.

That might explain why the alarm went off by itself, and maybe even why the battery is dead, assuming the dome light would stay on with the door open (not sure if these cars are smart enough to turn it off for you eventually, never tested it out ). I'd especially check the trunk door since it's kind of heavy and possible to close just enough to press the pin down but not latch on fully. Good luck!

I agree with this. Twice I've been driving down the road and hit a small bump when my door ajar light comes on. I pull over and sure enough my rear driver side door is open(not open, but at that first click shut - visually not shut all the way after the bump.). I shut this particular door harder than the others now and haven't experienced lately. Was quite shocked this could happen at all. Chalked it up to the fact the doors weigh like 2 lbs (LOL) and I needed to shut them harder.

 

[mikebontoft]

depending on the system, low battery voltage can trigger the alarm. maybe a door wasn't shut all the way or a module didn't shut down.

try it again... if it goes off, disconnect any after market electrical (in your case the amp) these things can cause a parasitic drain on the battery. that's a bit fast though.