Remember me mentioning the alarm system on the Carina? Well it's all very good making a car theft proof,not so great when the system turns bandit on the car's owner. Not that the alarm became faulty,not a bit of it,rather it became too good at its job.The battery had shown signs of giving up for a while so it didn't surprise me when the car wouldn't start one day.Tried and checked everything so it was off to the local motor factors for a new battery.And that's where the fun starts,because on this alarm system you're supposed to isolate the control box with a special key otherwise the electronics get confused. Of course,this being an old,second-hand car,the said key hadn't been passed on to me.It mightn't have been the best command decision I ever made but I pressed on and took the old battery off and bolted on the new one.No siren,no disturbing events;maybe all was well.Hah! The car let me in but turning the key in the ignition was a noisy affair,that siren produced some serious decibels.Going back under the bonnet to disconnect the battery wasn't a pleasant experience either.After a few more attempts and getting deafened in the process I gave up and left the battery disconnected.Curiously,the usually helpful local garage rapidly stepped back from this problem and recommended an auto-electrician they knew,who came round in half an hour and removed the entire alarm system, that being the cheapest solution,besides he was going on holiday in an hour or so,and time was of the essence.I wasn't bothered so long as I got the car back in a going condition,which I did.Cheap at the thirty quid it cost.