99 Civic: Key ingnition/door open alarm question
 

I have a 1999 Honda DX sedan with 73,000 miles. It's been a very
reliable car for me, however over the last few months I've encountered a
problem that is more of an annoyance than anything, but now the problem
is constant and extremely annoying.

Normally, when one leaves the key in the ignition and gets out of the
driver's seat and alarm will beep. I assume there's a sensor of some
kind under the seat that attempts to warn the driver of the possibility
of locking the keys in the car. I noticed the problem first when I took
the keys out of the ignition and exited the car, the alarm still beeped.
Close the door, alarms goes off, but the whole thing was random and
intermittent. Now, it beeps even when I open the car door before I get
in! I can't leave my driver side door open to clean the interior
without constant beeping even with the key safely out of the ignition.
Could this be a problem with the ignition keyhole or a sensor of some
kind or both? What might I be looking at in terms of repair? I looked
for a fuse to pull that might temporarily solve the problem, but wasn't
sure which one. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

mb