My father in law left me this 1996 Diamante to drive while he's overseas working. The only thing is that he didn't tell me how to fix it when accidentally something happens like:

1. opening the driver's door (which is already unlocked),
2. being deafened for two minutes by the alarm system going off (again... the car was unlocked),
3. and after inserting the keys in the ignition and starting the motor (which will not shut the alarm the hell up),
4. and then turning off the engine once the alarm finally quits drawing attention from the neighbors,
5. i try to turn the car on again and the ignition is completely locked!

here is what i have already tried:

insert the key in the door and lock the car and keep the key in the lock position for a few seconds (no sounds or anything), then turn the key in the unlock position for another handful of seconds.

In theory i have seen this procedure working on other cars, like the Hyundai Elantra. Well... needless to say it didn't on this one.
Another thing i tried is to locate some sort of switch or button near the pedals, and i found a bunch of relee's but no switches or buttons there... or even LED's.
Third thing i tried was to unlock the trunk and the hood... nope... no dice still.

While i wait for my father in-law to get back to me... does anyone have any idea how to restore the ignition back to normal?

 

The steering lock is the culprit. Move the steering wheel away from its locking point while trying to turn the key. Problem solved.

 

Thanks for the prompt response,

well i gave a call to my brother in law yesterday and after some troubleshooting we came to the conclusion that the battery must be dead... i guess i'll have to dive into the mess in the garage and try to find a charger... only thing that puzzles me is the locks... now i can't even stick the key into any locks, like the trunk or the door...

 

Hahahaha thats odd.

I am pretty sure what I said was accurate as far as not being able to turn the key in the ignition.

 

turn the key? umm... i think i must have not explained myself very well... what i meant was that the key turns just fine in the ignition, it just doesn't turn the motor on.

I was just surprised because everything happened in a matter of seconds. I can only assume that the battery has been dying for a long time and the alarm going off just depleted it completely.

 

Oooh........how did I miss that?

Well, yeah that would be obvious then lol

 

well... i got a good excuse: i'm almost 31 and i just got my driver's license a week ago, lol

Wait till i get that Mitsubishi to run and i'm practically an accident waiting to happen....

 

How the hell did you manage that? Ultimate procrastination?

 

ummh... long story... i could say i used to travel a lot since i was 19 and never thought i'd need a car in the places i lived, as i used to walk everywhere... especially Australia, until i got married and migrated to the US. Here i decided i definitely needed a license.

For some reason it's always a tough one to explain... lol

 

Thats cool as ****.