hey guys,
sorry if this has been posted before but I wanted to find out the range of difficulty of installing an alarm. In addition, not only installing an alarm, but installing remote start as well. I only have experience doing easy jobs like installing decks, wideband sensors, SAFC, msd knock meter and yeah. with my experience, should I not even attempt it or should I give it a go? ranging from 1-10, how difficult will it be?
I have a 5 speed 91 240sx KA-T
remote start alarm
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Craving4Boost
- Posts: 1495
- Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2004 10:44 am
- Car: 91 240sx fastback
Re: remote start alarm (Craving4Boost)
Well, first observation is the 5-speed. As a shop we will never do remote starts on them. Just too much room for a lawsuit.
As far as DIY alarm/remote start I would say if you have a good basic knowledge of electronics you can do it. You will no doubt be really intimidated by all the wires when you open up the box but remember a couple things. Probably about 1/3 or more of the wires will not be used. Many are for applications on various types of vehicles and won't apply to you while many other wires are optional and you really don't have to connect them unless you want. Before you begin the install gather all the information you can find for the vehicle, wire colors, size, location, how to test for proper operation of the wire, etc. Then when you do dive in and start the install just take them one wire at a time. If you focus on the huge pile of wires you will probably give up before you start.
Here is some information to get you started. First link is an install guide from Omega R&D for your car that I have dealer access to. Second one is from Bulldog Security that anyone can get. Compare the two as sometimes the info conflicts as they occasionally get it from installers that find wires in different locations or with different colors.
http://i78.photobucket.com/alb...X.jpg
http://bulldogsecurity.com/New...4.htm
Take your time and you can do it. Just take your time. You must have the right tools. Good wiring tools (wire strippers/crimpers), good assorment of connectors, and you must have a decent multimeter or test light. You should be pretty safe with a test light since your car is a little older. If you are nervous of the test light messing up the ECU or triggering an airbag get a computer safe test light or use a digital multimeter. The only time you really have to worry about messing something up is if you just start blindly poking and testing wires. Find the right wires and try to narrow it down before you just start poking, stripping, and cutting wires.
Good luck!
Oh ya, on the Omega wiring guide (the blue one on my photobucket page) any references to diagrams #200-#239 can be seen on my web site.
Quality Soundhttp://www.c4caraudio.com/diagrams.htm
As far as DIY alarm/remote start I would say if you have a good basic knowledge of electronics you can do it. You will no doubt be really intimidated by all the wires when you open up the box but remember a couple things. Probably about 1/3 or more of the wires will not be used. Many are for applications on various types of vehicles and won't apply to you while many other wires are optional and you really don't have to connect them unless you want. Before you begin the install gather all the information you can find for the vehicle, wire colors, size, location, how to test for proper operation of the wire, etc. Then when you do dive in and start the install just take them one wire at a time. If you focus on the huge pile of wires you will probably give up before you start.
Here is some information to get you started. First link is an install guide from Omega R&D for your car that I have dealer access to. Second one is from Bulldog Security that anyone can get. Compare the two as sometimes the info conflicts as they occasionally get it from installers that find wires in different locations or with different colors.
http://i78.photobucket.com/alb...X.jpg
http://bulldogsecurity.com/New...4.htm
Take your time and you can do it. Just take your time. You must have the right tools. Good wiring tools (wire strippers/crimpers), good assorment of connectors, and you must have a decent multimeter or test light. You should be pretty safe with a test light since your car is a little older. If you are nervous of the test light messing up the ECU or triggering an airbag get a computer safe test light or use a digital multimeter. The only time you really have to worry about messing something up is if you just start blindly poking and testing wires. Find the right wires and try to narrow it down before you just start poking, stripping, and cutting wires.
Good luck!
Oh ya, on the Omega wiring guide (the blue one on my photobucket page) any references to diagrams #200-#239 can be seen on my web site.
Quality Soundhttp://www.c4caraudio.com/diagrams.htm
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Craving4Boost
- Posts: 1495
- Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2004 10:44 am
- Car: 91 240sx fastback
Re: remote start alarm (qsiguy)
thanks a lot man. It's research time
Re: (EW)
Remote starts are installed on manuals all the time and probably rarely have issues. As a shop owner I just made the decision that we won't do them. Only takes one customer that doesn't follow the "manual transmission procedure" to put me out of business.
Quote from the Intellistart4 manual:
"For safety reasons, the transmission must be left in neutral if the enginewill be remotely started. To assure safe remote starting, you must performthese steps before exiting:1. Park and, while the engine is running, place the transmissionin neutral and set the hand brake.2. Without touching the brake, transmit channel 11 (LevelShiftbutton twice, then button 3) on the Radar 2 remote or thebutton combination on the other remote assigned by yourAuthorized Directed Dealer. Two parking light flashes willconfirm this action.3. Turn the ignition off and remove your keys. The engine willcontinue to idle.4. Exit and arm. The engine will shut down. This prepares thesystem to later accept your remote starting command."
This is a hastle and there are some customers who won't follow proper instructions because it takes too much time. I'm not really worried about it and will keep referring the manual trans cars elsewhere. You want the referrals? Where's your shop
Quote from the Intellistart4 manual:
"For safety reasons, the transmission must be left in neutral if the enginewill be remotely started. To assure safe remote starting, you must performthese steps before exiting:1. Park and, while the engine is running, place the transmissionin neutral and set the hand brake.2. Without touching the brake, transmit channel 11 (LevelShiftbutton twice, then button 3) on the Radar 2 remote or thebutton combination on the other remote assigned by yourAuthorized Directed Dealer. Two parking light flashes willconfirm this action.3. Turn the ignition off and remove your keys. The engine willcontinue to idle.4. Exit and arm. The engine will shut down. This prepares thesystem to later accept your remote starting command."
This is a hastle and there are some customers who won't follow proper instructions because it takes too much time. I'm not really worried about it and will keep referring the manual trans cars elsewhere. You want the referrals? Where's your shop
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EW
- Posts: 914
- Joined: Fri May 20, 2005 2:29 pm
- Car: 95 S14
98 Cobra
06 F150 supercrew - Location: DFW, TX
Re: (qsiguy)
Just so you know, if you don't perform the exit procedure, the car WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO START. While the directions look like a hassle, it takes literally one second to do it. None of my customers have ever complained about pushing a button on their remote before taking the key out.Shop is in DFW, TX.qsiguy wrote:Remote starts are installed on manuals all the time and probably rarely have issues. As a shop owner I just made the decision that we won't do them. Only takes one customer that doesn't follow the "manual transmission procedure" to put me out of business.
Quote from the Intellistart4 manual:
"For safety reasons, the transmission must be left in neutral if the enginewill be remotely started. To assure safe remote starting, you must performthese steps before exiting:1. Park and, while the engine is running, place the transmissionin neutral and set the hand brake.2. Without touching the brake, transmit channel 11 (LevelShiftbutton twice, then button 3) on the Radar 2 remote or thebutton combination on the other remote assigned by yourAuthorized Directed Dealer. Two parking light flashes willconfirm this action.3. Turn the ignition off and remove your keys. The engine willcontinue to idle.4. Exit and arm. The engine will shut down. This prepares thesystem to later accept your remote starting command."
This is a hastle and there are some customers who won't follow proper instructions because it takes too much time. I'm not really worried about it and will keep referring the manual trans cars elsewhere. You want the referrals? Where's your shop
If you already have an alarm with an available output you can get addon remote starts pretty cheap. A little more with it's own transmitter. There are tons of them on e-bay if you know how to install it yourself. I don't personally like the addon remote starts because your range isn't very good which kind of defeats the purpose of installing the remote start in the first place.
I like the 2-way paging remote start systems. There are many of these types on e-bay as well. One I sell a lot of is the Marksman M11a. Nice features, several extra outputs for optional "bells and whistles" and we've had 0 returns on that one. I sell it retail for about $500-550 installed. I would sell it for about $250 for just the unit. You can get similar models for less through e-bay. They are just names nobody's heard of. Had a few people bring some in for installs they bought off e-bay and the seem to work ok. They just have no warranty on them.
I like the 2-way paging remote start systems. There are many of these types on e-bay as well. One I sell a lot of is the Marksman M11a. Nice features, several extra outputs for optional "bells and whistles" and we've had 0 returns on that one. I sell it retail for about $500-550 installed. I would sell it for about $250 for just the unit. You can get similar models for less through e-bay. They are just names nobody's heard of. Had a few people bring some in for installs they bought off e-bay and the seem to work ok. They just have no warranty on them.