I was looking into getting an alarm and remote start with lcd 2-way pager and was going to install it with one of my friends.... anyone have any advice or input on installing it yourself?? Difficulty?? Extras needed to be bought?? Thanks
Don't do it. You have around 25-30 wires which need to be located and identified in the vehicle. It is not the same thing as throwing a cd player in a car. You have to use a multimeter to test every wire to verify what it does.
If a shop installs a DEI made brand you get a lifetime warranty. You have several items which also need purchasing depending on what kind of vehicle it is.
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Mennitti wrote:Don't do it. You have around 25-30 wires which need to be located and identified in the vehicle. It is not the same thing as throwing a cd player in a car. You have to use a multimeter to test every wire to verify what it does.
If a shop installs a DEI made brand you get a lifetime warranty. You have several items which also need purchasing depending on what kind of vehicle it is.
Yeah what he said.... do NOT do it yourself... don't even think about it if you have never done it before with the help of having someone who knew what they were doing...
I have done several and find it easy now but unless your friend KNOWS what he is doing then just pay to have it installed...
Have fun... I've only assisted with it and it's a pain. Try reading the manual of how to install one and make sence out of this
So much negativity
I'm gonna be the odd one and give a positive note...
If you are at least a little bit electronically inclined, I think you could prolly do it.
I wouldn't dare let best buy try to install my alarm and I wasn't gonna pay close to $150 for another shop to do it. I learned about relays and alarms and the wiring of the car and marked which wires went where and such for about 2 weeks.
Even then, when I went to do install it, it ended up taking 2 days and an almost complete day missed from school, lol.
Granted it was hard and it hurt to fit my fat ass under the dash but it was worth it so I didn't have to pay the money, I didn't have to let somebody work on my car and I learned a bunch.
But, if you have any inclination that you might not know enough about electronics, don't do it.
As far as extra things you are gonna need...
You'll prolly need some relays and some diodes. Thats all the extra things you'll prolly need. Also, you need some way to connect the wires. Either solder them or scotchlock them. However, DON'T scotchlock the wires for the remote start. You need to solder those so you'll need to learn how to solder and get a soldering iron. Many people will say scotchlocks are bad to use but if done right, you'll be fine.
And a tip, bulldogsecurity.com is one of the better places i've seen to get wiring diagrams from and at least for my year, they have pics.
If you do decide to do it on ur own and you need help you can IM me, my info's in my registry.
-Seth
Not to pick on wizkid, but here is a little light on the subject.
wizkiddrummer wrote:You'll prolly need some relays and some diodes.
Actually you will need the DEI 555L module to bypass your key security. If you wish to hook up door locks on this 5 wire GM headache you should also consider a 451M relay module.
wixkiddrummer wrote:Many people will say scotchlocks are bad to use but if done right, you'll be fine.
I'm am definately one of those people. Scotchlocks will cause problems, not today, but down the road. Recently I had to replace a parking light module because of a faulty scotch lock on a Cavalier. I have also replaced steering column ignition switches and repaired faulty connections from scotchlocks from several other shops. Solder your connections or it will cost you more money down the road.
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i would just get remote start only, then its very simple, parking lights , power, ground and ignition harness. done. when you start doing door locks and alarm disable and stuff ti gets iffy...
Mennitti wrote:Not to pick on wizkid, but here is a little light on the subject.
wizkiddrummer wrote:You'll prolly need some relays and some diodes.
Actually you will need the DEI 555L module to bypass your key security. If you wish to hook up door locks on this 5 wire GM headache you should also consider a 451M relay module.
wixkiddrummer wrote:Many people will say scotchlocks are bad to use but if done right, you'll be fine.
I'm am definately one of those people. Scotchlocks will cause problems, not today, but down the road. Recently I had to replace a parking light module because of a faulty scotch lock on a Cavalier. I have also replaced steering column ignition switches and repaired faulty connections from scotchlocks from several other shops. Solder your connections or it will cost you more money down the road.
Ya, I wasn't quite sure if he was gonna need a bypass cause of it being a 97 but i guess so. And I have factory keyless so the door locks were super easy.
I still don't see how the hell you are supposed to be able to solder under the dash. Some of my wires are scotchlocked and I haven't had problems with them but I when I go to replace my interior, I will be pulling the dash and soldering them then.
-Seth
The DEI wiring sheet Corsica Dude posted has the 555L listed at the bottom. I usually unplug the harnesses and pull them out where you have some room to work on them after testing. We actually are lucky though, I think Grand Am platform for ignition wiring, and Impala platform for BCM's wiring are the worst vehicles. GM is retarded (just refer to the 5 wire door lock idea they did for 15 years), as are all American manufacturers. Chrysler products are put together stupid, GM is wired stupid, but Ford is wisely starting to immitate imports. Unfortunately I can't bring myself to buy a Toyota or Honda.....
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Directed Electronics rules.... hehe.
chrysler ignition harness is perfect.........everything else.....@!#$
You'll never learn how to install unless you start somewhere
I've installed 10 or so alarms over the years... not an expert, but with a meter I can figure anything out. I've installed three Compustars now in my cars... including the bypass and remote start. All the info you'd need is readily available, so I don't see what's so difficult about it.
If you come across any problems... just ask! I'm sure someone here will help...
