Hofco remote question

[ramonesfreak]

Hi. My 83 has a Hofco alarm in it. works fine as does the remote. But, I wanted to change the battery on the remote and it doesnt appear to open. Anyone else have an old remote? How did you change the battery? thanks

[Jetjockey]

To open the remote, you must pry off the thin back with a knife. The batteries inside are CR1220. There are two of them.

[ramonesfreak]

doesnt look like it can be opened. i see no gap, even slight, where a razor blade could get in but ill check again tomorrow. thanks!

[azasadny]

My old Hoffco Alarm cause me many, many problems so Tab Tanner at Autobahn Garage in Findlay, OH removed it and I don't have any more "no start" problems.

[Jetjockey]

I had a few problems with the Hoffco 3 also. Here is a photo of the remote disassembled.

[ramonesfreak]

that appears to look like my remote. i still done see any joint or space whatsoever to pry apart but will look after work. so far mine seems fine. my car is originally a california car, purchased in L.A. so I assume the first owner had it installed a looooong time ago. Im quite impressed with its sensitivity and horrific siren for such and old alarm system. I just dont want to get trapped with a dead remote battery some day.

[onboost]

Hmmmmm, interesting..

My car has the remnants of a Hofco lll system still hanging around in it. Don't have the remotes, not sure if it even works. Haven't got around to pulling it yet.

Were thes any good or just junk?

[ramonesfreak]

Hofco is still around. they have a website
http://www.hofcoalarms.com/
i assume my alarm is from around 83' since my car didnt spend a lot of time in california....and it still works great after all these years. so....
not sure how it compares to the latest technology

[ramonesfreak]

Jetjocky...i took mine apart and i cant seem to get the circuit board out without forcing it and therefore, I am unable to change the batteries.

is it ok to use force to pry it out? any hints? anybody have one of these?

[azasadny]

Someone on this forum used to install Hofco alarms but I can't remember his name. I'm sure he'll post here soon...

[Jetjockey]

The circuit board fits rather tight into the outer cover. Use the small hole in the corner of the board to put a paper clip, nail or something thin into and pry it off. You can also use the small slot near where the keys connect to pry with a thin screwdriver. There is nothing to disconnect. Only pressure and grime are holding the board in to the cover.
This Hoffco company is still in business and has an office in Los Angeles area. A new battery and then a new remote did not fix my alarm. I ended up sending the alarm brain back and they replaced a circuit board in it to fix the problem.
Someone told me that virtually all of the new cars in SoCal had these alarms installed by the dealer prior to purchase.
Good Luck

[ramonesfreak]

thanks. ill pull it out later. thankfully my alarm still works great, i just dont know how long the batteries have been in the remote. i suspect for many many years

[ramonesfreak]

well i tried to pry out the circuit board and wasnt able to. but, i must have broke something because now the remote does not work. hopefully this will not cause me a problem with the car.

i wonder if Hofco will be able to fix the remote being that it is so old?

[ramonesfreak]

yup. big problem. before breaking the remote, i must have turned on alarm. now, the alarm goesoff when i open the door and i cant shut it off unless i disconnect battery. once i reconnect battery, the alarm resets again, and again goes off when i open the door. not sure what to do. should have left it alone. i could scream im so pissed. does anyone know these alarms well enough to walk me through disconnecting it? im not good with wires. the alarm, i presume is more than 20 years old. i dont even know where it is in the car

[Steve W]

On the remote, unless you broke the board or a component you probably just dislodged the battery battery contact from the battery. Use a razor blade or needle to lift the edge of the board out of the case, examine and reset.

The alarm brain is usually located in the trunk, behind the carpet in the corner behind the fuel gauge. Just disconnect the plug from the brain to turn it off.

The Hofco is a good and reliable alarm if everything is installed properly and working. It's all about the install. The batteries usually last many years before needing replacement. They are still in business in Culver City, CA. You can send them your remote and they have new ones too. Ask them if they need your brain also to match the remote programming.

[Jetjockey]

Did you physically break the circuit board? The batteries are wedged behind the board in a stack that touches a wire so you probably just disconnected the batteries in the remote.
The brain (control unit) can be disconnected by unplugging connections on a black box that is behind left trunk (drivers side) hydraulic actuator. Make sure you mark the connections carefully because it is possible to reinstall them wrong and damage the DME solenoid. The box is marked Hoffco 3 and has a small wire antenna that receives the signal from remote. Disconnecting the brain should get you back on the road. If you haven't physically broken any pieces of the remote, I would concentrate on fixing it instead of disabling the control unit.
I think Hoffco charged me $54 for a new remote.
Sorry for all the troubles. I know how frustrating it can be working on a 20 yr old car. I momentarily reassembled ribbon wires on control unit backwards and it damaged DME solenoid. Car was normal at first then went from intermittant start to no start and it took me a couple of weeks to figure it out.

[ramonesfreak]

i believe i broke the circuit near the small hole when prying up (where i circled in red - pic was taken before i cracked it) i see a crack now. i dont know if I can fix this. i tried calling hofco and they must be closed. no asnwering machine.

looked behind dash and dont see a black box. only see a light blue plastic box with no markings and a white plastic box that as CADDI written on it and seems to be a motion detector. i am lost when it comes to wires. im not even going to attempt to start messing with wires or i will be in a mess of pain.

ill try contacting hofco to see if they can fix or replace the remote. if not, and if the car will drive, ill have to pay the $ to have a professional remove the system.

i cant tell if the alarm is just a noise alarm or if it also disables the fuel pump etc...

live and learn.

[Steve W]

Try to follow a bundle of thin black wires along the side of the trunk from the fuse box to behind the dash to try and locate the black brain. Or you can try to repair your cracked remote first. Scrape away some of the green enamel covering the copper traces and try to solder them back together. In you need a new remote, you'd have to send the brain back to Hofco.

[ramonesfreak]

Do you guys know what these are? Steve, is #1, the brain? it has writing on the top of it but i cant read it without getting a mirror. it seems to have a white plug at the base of it. its screwed and mounted to the side of the car, behind the fuel gauge like you said

i have no idea what the blue box is, #3. the white CADDI box #2, seems to be a motion detector.

are you saying that if #1 is the brain, and i unplug it, the car will run fine?

[Steve W]

Not sure what the blue box is. White box does look like some type of sensor for the alarm. Here's a pic of a brain hidden in the typical location, and one of it pulled out showing the black wires bundled to the brain. Notice theres a harness connector at both ends of the box. It's possible your brain is located somewhere else.