I too have a '96 Exploder 4.0L XLT but with the standard anti-theft system,
panic button on the fob, and numeric combo entry pad on driver side door.
There are no "arm/disarm" buttons anywhere, and this security system was
factory installed and listed on the new car window invoice.

A couple days ago I replaced this vehicle's 12V battery (which was quite
weak) with a new one and since then I'm having intermittent incidents of
horn honking alarms. I'll lock the vehicle, go into a store or whatever, and
after 5-10 minutes the horn honking begins for no legitimate reason. This
doesn't happen all the time. It's interesting that only the horn honks --
the head and tail lights do not flash. Putting the key in the ignition and
turning it stops the honking.

When I read your post about this happening after having your battery
changed, I made a connection with my having also installed a new battery.
Sorry to say, I have no fix, but if someone else replies maybe the new
battery issue might be useful in diagnosis.
Len

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> wrote in message
oups.com...
> I have a 1996 Explorer XLT with what I'm calling a "supplemental" alarm
> system installed. It almost looks like an aftermarket install, but as
> far as I can tell it's a Ford alarm, since the remote has the FORD
> emblem on it. The remote has 2 buttons: ARM and DISARM. There's also
> a small red light mounted on the dashboard behind the turn signal
> lever, which flashes red, and a separate siren under the hood on the
> firewall. The problem: I recently had the car's battery changed, and
> ever since then, the supplemental alarm has activated itself (I
> originally had it in some sort of valet mode, where I didn't have to
> bother with it -- until now). Now every time I shut off the car, even
> for a few minutes, I have to press the DISARM button in order to start
> the car. I'd just like to know the procedure to get it either
> DISABLED, or put back into valet mode so I don't have to deal with it.
> There's no mention of this alarm in the owner's manual, and I'm not the
> original owner of the car, so I didn't have it installed. Any help
> with this would be GREATLY appreciated.
>
> Thanks.
>