| I've dealt with the same issue and know that the current draw from the battery increases when the hood is open and that the SECURITY light on the dash flashes. If the switch failed open (ie the car thinks the hood is closed all of the time) it would NOT drain the battery. This situation would NOT set off the alarm whether you pressed the switch or not because it wouldn't see that the hood is opening/closing. If the switch failed closed (ie hood open) you WOULD drain the battery and in this case I don't think the alarm would arm at all. According to the owner's manual, the factory alarm doesn't arm if the light is flashing, even though the doors will lock.
Here's what I'd do to test...
With all of the doors, hatch, and hood closed, the SECURITY light should be OFF on the dash. You can raise the hood with everything else closed and the SECURITY light should flash. If you press the hood switch, the SECURITY light should go back out. If it does, it is working correctly. If with everything closed, the SECURITY light still flashes, you can simply unplug the hood switch. Since the switch is normally closed, unplugging it opens the circuit, the same as the switch being pressed. The light should go out. Just leave it unplugged until you get a new one. If for some reason the SECURITY light STILL flashes, well, I'd start looking elsewhere (ie doors, hatch, etc.) Hope this helps and isn't too confusing!
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