So while I'm under the dash on the driver's side, I get the bug to remove the rat's nest of wiring for the (nonfunctional) aftermarket alarm system (it's an Alpine). As the system has not worked in a long time, and I've never been privy to the knowledge of how to turn it on or off (I cut the keypad out of the system two years ago and it didn't affect anything), I just unplugged what was left. Car wouldn't start so I reconnected it all, it starts now.

My question is, what's the mechanism that aftermarket alarms use ie what do I have to fix/bypass to take the alarm out altogether? Any ideas?