ok, so i got rid of the bronco and bought an 02 f150 4x4 flareside with the 5.4l Triton and an alarm system , assumedly from the dealer. i say assumedly since it has the key chain w/ 2 buttons (lock/unlock) and a panic button. two presses on the lock sets the alarm, headlights flash and horn chirps. the dash has the flashing "theft" light. anyhow. it's bitterly cold here and i had a tune up to do on my works 98 f150 4.2l, so i had my 02 running, with the heat full blast while i was workin on the 98. this way i could get warm when i started gettin too cold, outside environemnt sucks. i finished the tune up, got in the 02, put it in gear and drove to my house, a block away, parked it, shut it off and set the alarm. alarms chirps, doors lock, everything is ok. go to get in the 02 25 minutes later using the keyfob, doors unlock, put the key in the ignition and nothing. try again..nothing. dash lights are dim so i checked the battery. 5volts. on a whim, i disconnect the battery terminals and check it again.......12volts. now i'm gettin angry.
after a while of playing with the keychain and door lock switch on the door panel, i notice the door locks aren't actuating and there's a noise from the left side of the dash at the relay center. it's a clicking noise and there's another noise from behind the radio, a whinning noise. when the two noises stop after about 2-5 minutes, the dome light works as do my door locks from the keyfob and the door panel switch, but the truck still won't start. however if i have the drivers door open, all previous attempts were with door shut, the dome light and locks will work after about 10 tries on the keyfob to reset the alarm. I'm suspecting that the alarm, dealer or factory installed, either has a short or something goin on or thinks the truck is bein stolen, i dunno. I'm at a complete loss here. any ideas, or thoughts on how to diagnose/repair this issue?

 

checked the truck again after 25 minutes and the keyfob won't do anything. no dome light, no chirping horn flashing lights, nada. after thinking about the 5volt battey load, could the alarm be drawing battery power and not leaving enough juice in the battery to start the truck or is this thing in lockdown? electrical diagnostics was never a big thing for me so iam near clueless where to begin here. the clicking noise in the left lower dash relay center is a relay, (top relay on left). as for the whining noise coming from the radio/center dash area, i have no clues what it is or could be, perhaps a module assembly? any help would be appreciated.

 

Sounds like the classic water in the GEM problem caused by a leaking windshield seal. Good luck!

 

i retraced my steps today and started with the battery. lo and behold it's a 7 yr old motorcraft battery, reads 12 volts, and what do i forget..the age old rule that with batteries, 12volts does not mean good battery.... took it into the part store and sure enough, under load the battery drops to less than 6 volts.......(.26 to be exact) bad battery. i'll give it a cpl days to see and make sure the alternator still charges. i've got 14.44 volts off the primary wire from the alternator on my dvom , so far so good. last night i was just to aggravated and cold to think straight.