'04 Elantra GLS - Theft System Issues
 

The problem I'm having now is that my theft system will not arm. I have remote key entry which is still functioning properly; I can still lock and unlock my car, and pressing the panic button on the keyless remote will still activate & deactivate the alarm. However, when I use the keyless remote to lock the car, the turn signals do not flash and there is no chime to confirm that the theft system armed after pressing 'lock' a second time. The turn signals flash when I unlock the car, but only then. I have confirmed that the theft system is not arming; sitting in the driver's seat without putting the key in the ignition I used the keyless remote to lock the vehicle, then opened the driver's door while it was locked. Nothing happened. No alarm, not a single sound or anything of the sort.

Thinking this might be the result of a bad fuse, I looked at the labels for the two fuse boxes (under the hood and left of the steering wheel) but could not find a fuse that immediately indicated something relating to the anti-theft system. Looking at the fuses though, I did not see any that seemed to be bad, however I would like to take a better look at the fuse once I know which one is dedicated to the theft system.

I called the service department at my local Hyundai dealership, but the guy I spoke to was worthless. He said he didn't have a service manual for my car, and couldn't say anything without looking at it. He told me I could bring it in and they could run a diagnostics check on the vehicle to find out what's wrong. However, if I choose to do so I will have two options: pay whatever their estimate is to fix it, or decline the repair and pay a $125 diagnostics charge. I have no desire to resign myself to such a money laundering situation unless I absolutely know that this is something beyond my capabilities of fixing.

Can somebody please advise me what I should do to try and resolve this situation myself? Thanks!

One of the doors or the trunk lid or the hood is not closed all the way or the sensor for those things is not working.

Open and then fully close every door along with the trunk and hood. Then try to arm it again. If that doesn't work, one of the sensors is bad or misaligned.

Sorry I should have included this in my original post. I actually tried this already and nothing changed.

You may be right, I hadn't thought about the door sensors. I'll take a look and and see if the car registers each door opening and closing individually. Additionally, the light on the dash to indicate an open door/trunk/hood is not lit when I am in the car with all doors closed. I would think that since the dash light isn't on with all doors closed, I should look for the door that doesn't trigger that dash light when opened.

I'll post another reply shortly after I check this out.

The only door which did not result in a light on the dash is the hood. I believe there is some sort of sensor right next to the power steering reservoir (on the left side), and it still depresses and springs back up like it should. However, if that's the sensor that's the problem I'm not sure which part would need to be replaced as that switch seems to be functioning mechanically, just not the electronically.

Any advice?

PROBLEM SOLVED!

Found that when my father was looking at the headlights which needed to be replaced, he never put the cap back to cover the light fixtures and wiring. The cap was just sitting on top of the engine cover, which seems like it was enough to keep the hood triggering the switch when closed.

After putting the cap back in its proper place, I closed the hood and everything was as it should be. So glad that's all it was!

Thanks for the help, Nova!