Remote Car Starters and Auto Alarm Systems Vehicle Specific - How to Install Car Alarms & Remote Starters

Prerequisite's: ("something that is required in advance"):

The Confidence in Your Ability to Follow and Understand Instructions with the dexterity to comfortably work with the wiring in a Vehicle.
Motivation! You have to Like doing this kind of work! If your only motivation is to save a few bucks and you don't even have an idea of how to get a dash panel down- Please go to your nearest car alarm installation facility and save yourself some time and any possible aggravation!
Time, Patience & Focus! Don't start Your first Installation off with "I'll have this sucker installed in a couple of hours"! -Its probably not going to happen! Set aside a whole day (or two!) for the installation. With enough time set aside for installation your preparing yourself for any technical difficulties that may arise during installation. Most professional installers would say it took them at least 5-6 hours to install their first system.

Tools-of-the-Trade:

Safety Goggles (Looking up under a dash and moving around wiring will cause dust, dirt and metal particles from manufacturing to fall!)
Digital Multi-Meter or "Air-Bag & Computer-Safe" 12-Volt Test Probe (High-Impedance. This design commonly uses Red & Green LEDs to indicate wire polarities)
Drop-Light or Flashlight
Wire Strippers
Pair of Crimpers
Basic Hand-Tools: Pliers, Screwdrivers, Socket-Set etc.
Cordless Drill or Equivalent
Miscellaneous Connectors, Electrical Tape, Nylon "Zip-Ties" and Wire Loom etc. needed for your Specific Installation

Rules-of-the-Trade:

Prepare! Always Completely Read Any and All Manuals that were Supplied with Your System, Including the Owners/Operators Manual BEFORE attempting to install the system.
DO NOT probe any wires of the vehicles SRS or Air-Bag Circuits! These wires will almost always be indicated by a tag or covered by a yellow casing or tape (see example picture's below).
Never Use the "Old-School" 12-Volt (Light-Bulb In-the-Handle Type) Test Lights for Testing Wires in a Vehicle! Use a Digital Muti-Meter or "Air-Bag Safe" (High-Impedance, Polarity Indicating Type) Test Probe. Conventional Test Lights can Send Voltages or Draw to much Current that could Damage Sensitive Circuits in a Vehicle or deploy Air-Bags which can result in serious injury or death.
Obtain a Wiring Guide for Your Specific Vehicle that Indicates the probable Color Codes of the Wires used for Remote Starter & Alarm System Installation (most indicate locations of the wires also). Remember: Vehicle Specific Wiring Guides are Just that: "A Guide" and Not to be Construed as any Percentage of Accuracy. Always Verify the Target Wiring in Your Vehicle Before Any Connections are Made!
Never install a systems main control unit under the hood of the vehicle. These units are designed to be installed inside of a vehicle and most commonly mounted under the driver side dash.
Always Roll the Driver Side Window Down to Prevent Locking the Keys in the Vehicle during Installation!

Lesson #4: Main (or 1st) Accessory Wires
for Remote Starter Installations
by D.Weber

Only a required connection when installing remote starter systems (if you want the Heat or A/C to turn on!), a main accessory wire (or sometimes described as a 1st accessory) is a pretty easy wire to find. Commonly found in the same wiring harness as the 1st (or True) ignition wire, this wire is needed for the remote starter to supply power to the Heater & A/C circuit. Verifying a target wire as a accessory wire requires 4 readings; #1, the target wire will show a ground with AND without the key in the ignition (ignition OFF). #2, the wire will show a positive voltage with the ignition ON. #3, this wire will show NO voltage during crank (or starting) of the vehicle (the voltage will "drop-out" during crank). #4, the wire will show a positive voltage with the ignition in the ACC. position. With all these readings present on your target wire, you can be confident that you located an Accessory wire in the vehicle (i.e. It doesn't matter if the switch on the dash to the heater or AC is ON or OFF to get these readings)

Most vehicles, you will find, have more than one accessory wire in the ignition harness. On average, not all the accessory wires found in a vehicle need to be connected to when installing a remote starter system. This is what is meant by a 1st Accessory wire: A wire that supplies power to the Heater & A/C circuit (this is where a wiring guide comes in handy). 2nd accessory wires (more about these latter), or any additional accessory wires found in a vehicle commonly supply power to the radio, power windows etc. which are not required to be powered during remote starting. So, how do you determine which accessory wire is suppling power to the heater/AC circuit...? Well, without a clue from a vehicle specific wiring guide, its pretty much trial and error: You find an accessory wire that passes all the 4 readings stated above and make your connection to that wire from your remote starter (ACC output wire from your remote starter). After your installation is complete, remote start the vehicle and while the vehicle is running via the remote starter, turn on the heat or A/C. If the blower to the heater/AC circuit comes ON you know your connected to the right wire. If it doesn't, and for example your power windows are working, you need to disconnect this accessory wire and probe for another wire that test the same.

Important note: Most vehicles with mechanical type heating & cooling systems (i.e. no automatic climate control or digital display) are the vehicles that commonly only require one accessory connection to get the heater or AC circuit to work when remote starting. If you find that the blower motor does come ON but the air doesn't get warm or cool (depending on the HVAC/AC setting) you still have the right 1st accessory wire, but you will have to connect to another accessory circuit that also needs to be powered to get the heating & cooling system to work effectively (See 2nd Accessory Wires).

Lesson #5: 2nd Accessory Wires
for Remote Starter Installations
by D. Weber

Only a required connection when installing a remote starter system, but not necessarily a required connection on all vehicles (check your VSWG for indications), a 2^nd accessory connection from a remote starter system commonly supplies power to HVAC circuits in a vehicle that have separate blower motor and climate control circuits. In this situation, you will find that the blower motor comes on, but the air blowing out doesn't get warm or cool (depending on your setting). Another may be that the air-ducts won't adjust with the controls.

On a small amount of vehicles, a 2^nd accessory circuit can also supply power to circuits in a vehicle that monitor engine, electrical or SRS (Safety Restraint System) status while the engine is running. And if the proper power isn't provided to these circuits, could cause the effected system to become inoperable and/or cause "check-engine", "service engine soon" or "Air-Bag/SRS" service lights to activate. This reason for a 2^nd accessory connection does not apply to most installations, but is worth mentioning.

Less than a � of "Off-The-Shelf" remote starter systems supply a dedicated 2^nd accessory output that can be connected directly to the vehicles 2^nd accessory wire. All the rest commonly provide a 2^nd accessory, low current, negative output wire that needs to be wired to an external relay (about relays coming soon). You should check you're remote starters installation manual to verify the type of output your system provides before making any connections.

Verifying a wire as a 2^nd accessory source is the same as identifying a 1^st accessory wire in most circumstances (again, consult a VSWG): #1, the target wire will show a ground with AND without the key in the ignition (ignition OFF). #2, the wire will show a positive voltage with the ignition ON. #3, this wire will show NO voltage during crank (or starting) of the vehicle (the voltage will "drop-out" during crank). #4, the wire will show a positive voltage with the ignition in the ACC. position. With all these readings present on your target wire, you can be confident that you located a 2nd Accessory wire in the vehicle (i.e. It doesn't matter if the switch on the dash to the heater or AC is ON or OFF to get these readings)

Lesson #6 Starter Wires
by D.Weber

Starter wires...the "King" of the ignition harness! A required connection in 99% of car alarm installations and a mandatory connection for all remote car starter installs; the only time you don't need a starter wire connection is if you purchased a car alarm system without some type of "starter-kill" circuit (not recommended).

O.K. I have mentioned the importance of having a VSWG (Vehicle Specific Wiring Guide) on hand to help prepare you for an installation (if you don't have one, you can get one HERE), and with that you should have an indication of what color the starter wire is in the vehicle and its location (commonly found in the ignition harness), so lets verify the information on our VSWG.

In the simplest terms, a vehicles starter wire will only show a positive voltage when the ignition is in the START or "CRANK" position. In any other position this wire will commonly show a ground or "No-Voltage" (Open) signal...and that's it for most installations (2^nd starter & negative starter wires will be covered in later lessons).

Now, depending on what features (or circuits) the system your installing has, you may be required to cut this starter wire in half and connect 2 wires from the system to each end of the cut starter wire. This is commonly found on car alarm systems with a "starter-kill" circuit/relay or on remote starter systems with "Anti-Grind" circuits. Your systems instructions may indicate that the starter wire that you cut in half has to be connected to these 2 wires a specific way. For example, one wire from the system will indicate that it needs to be connected to the end of the cut starter wire that is running from the key cylinder. And the other wire from the system needs to be connected to the other end of the cut starter wire that's running out to the vehicles starter. If its hard to visually tell which end is which, try removing the steering column cover to possibly get a physical view of the wiring running down from behind the ignition switch or you can determine which end is running towards the ignition switch (or key cylinder) with a simple test: the cut end of the starter wire that runs down from the ignition will still show a positive voltage only when the ignition is in the start position as it did when you originally tested this wire for verification. The cut end of the starter wire that's running out to the starter will not show any changes no matter what position the ignition is in (probably will rest at ground the whole time).

Lesson #7: 2nd Starter Wires
by D. Weber

Second starter wire connections only apply to remote starter installations and are not found as a required connection in most situations (most vehicles don't have a 2nd starter wire) but you will find them as a required connection in a few vehicles. Most 2nd starter wires are found to be the same polarity as the vehicles main starter wire and can also be verified (or tested) using the same procedure used to identify the vehicles main (or 1st) starter wire (see "starter wires" above). One difference between 2nd starter wires & 1st starter wires are that the 2nd starter wire does not need to be interrupted (or cut) like the 1st starter wire does to add features like starter-kill or anti-grind. As long as the 1st starter wire is already interrupted, connecting directly to a vehicles 2nd starter wire with a positive 2nd starter output from your remote starter is all that is required. If your installing a system that doesn't require the 1st starter wire to be cut (systems without anti-theft or anti-grind) then both starter outputs from the system are simply connected directly to each of their respective starter wires in the vehicle (see "tech-tip" #7 for wiring example).

Some remote starter systems don't supply a 2nd starter output and if they do, their a negative 200-500ma (milli-amp) outputs that require the use of an external relay ("wired outside of the systems module"). Briefly, the 2nd starter output wire from the system needs to be used to trigger a relay during crank that will supply a positive signal to the 2nd starter wire in the vehicle (see 2nd starter relay wiring).

Most starter wires (1st or main) show a positive polarity when the vehicles ignition is in the start (or crank) position. Some vehicles (like most Chrysler & Dodge Mini Vans) with 2nd starter wires have 2nd starter wires that show opposite the polarity of the main starter wire. These 2nd starter wires can be verified using the same procedure as the 1st starter wire but are found with a negative signal and not a positive signal when the ignition is in the start position. A connection from a remote starter output that supplys only a "negative output during start" is required to interface with these type of negative 2nd starter wires. Some remote starter systems don't supply a 2nd starter output and if they do, their a negative 200-500ma (milli-amp) outputs which cannot be connected directly to a vehicles 2nd starter wire because these type of outputs are not powerful enough to supply the current needed at this wire. Using them directly will cause the vehicle to fail to remote start and possibly burn-out the 2nd starter wire output from the system. A relay must be used. Briefly, the 2nd starter output wire from the system needs to be used to trigger a relay during remote starting that will supply a strong enough ground (or negative) signal to the 2nd starter wire in the vehicle (see 2nd starter relay wiring).

Lesson #8: Constant Power Wire's
by D. Weber

As easy as it is to verify a constant power source, every once in awhile, someone moving a little to fast through an installation is found to get it wrong (they didn't notice that the power "dropped-out" when they turned the ignition ON for example). Avoiding this little mistake is simple (once you know).

First off, I personally always leave the constant power connection to any system I install for very last (and connect the systems ground 1st) to prevent any false triggering, buzzing in the systems module from incomplete connections, or possible activation of the vehicles circuits etc. Now, with a vehicle specific wiring guide in hand to give me the probable color of the vehicles wire and location (commonly found in the vehicles ignition harness) I'll verify that the wire shows CONTINUOUS power through all these 5 tests: 1: Without the key in the ignition. 2: With the key in the ignition. 3: With the ignition ON. 4: With the ignition in the accessory position and 5: With the ignition in the start/crank position. When I see consistent power during all 5 of these readings, I know that the wire I'm on is a constant power source and I would proceed with my needed connection(s).

Lesson #9: Parking Light Wire's
by D. Weber

Even though they can sometimes be hard to find, parking light wires in a vehicle are easy to verify. Commonly found running down from behind the headlight switch or behind the driver side left kick panel (in a wiring harness that runs to the rear of the vehicle) or along the steering column, you can check a vehicle specific wiring guide for the possible location(s).

Most parking light wires found in a vehicle simply need a positive or negative output connected directly to them from a alarm or remote starter systems parking lights output wire, to be activated. To determine if the wire you suspect is the vehicles' parking lights wire, connect your computer & air-bag safe test probes red & black alligator clips to a constant positive and chassis ground, respectively. Both the red & green LED's in the probes handle should now be lit. Push the pointed tip of the probe slightly through the target wires insulation in order to get the probes metal tip to touch the copper wiring that's inside. These are the readings you should get depending on the polarity needed to turn on the vehicles parking lights:

Positive polarity/triggered parking lights: When the probe is inserted into the target wires casing, in most situations, only the probes GREEN LED will light indicating that the vehicles parking light wire "rests" at ground. Some vehicles, it may be found, that the probes LED's show no changes after the probe is inserted (both LED's stay lit). This is normal and usually indicates that this vehicles parking light wire "rests" open or with "no-voltage". Either way, the determining factor is that when you turn on the vehicles parking lights (using the vehicles parking light switch) the probes RED LED will be the only LED lit in the probe when the parking lights are on, indicating a positive polarity is needed to turn the parking lights on. Toggling the vehicles parking light switch on & off a few times and at the same time watching the probes LED's change simultaneously with the switch will confirm you have the right parking light wire.

Negative polarity/triggered parking lights: When the probe is inserted into the target wires casing, in most situations, only the probes RED LED will light indicating that the vehicles parking light wire "rests" at a positive voltage (without the parking lights on). More commonly found in vehicles with a negative polarity parking light wire, is that the probes LED's will show no changes after the probe is inserted (both LED's stay lit). This is normal and usually indicates that this vehicles parking light wire "rests" open or with "no-voltage". Either way, the determining factor is that when you turn on the vehicles parking lights (using the vehicles parking light switch) the probes GREEN LED will be the only LED lit in the probe when the parking lights are on, indicating a negative polarity is needed to turn the parking lights on. Toggling the vehicles parking light switch on & off a few times and at the same time watching the probes LED's change simultaneously with the switch will confirm you have the right parking light wire.

Lesson #10: Open Door Trigger Wire's
by D. Weber

Door input wires are a car alarms main source of monitoring or detecting any opening of the vehicles doors. When any of the vehicles doors are opened, this connection senses the positive or negative signal sent to the vehicles interior lights (or Body Control Module) and in response triggers the alarm system. Nearly all vehicle security systems have separate negative and positive door input wires and these wires are commonly found from a system as a pair of green (negative trigger input) and purple (positive trigger input) wires. Which one you use depends on the year, make & model of the vehicle you're installing the system on.

Verifying the correct door input wire is an easily understood procedure. First, get a vehicle specific wiring guide to provide you with the probable color of the wire your looking for, its polarity (negative or positive) and its location.

Once you have the suspected door input wire in sight, take your test probe (computer & air-bag safe) and with the vehicles doors closed (and the interior lights off) check the polarity of the wire. The polarity should be the OPPOSITE of the polarity indicated in your vehicle specific wiring guide OR no polarity at all (rest open, both LED's in probe are ON). Now, open the vehicles driver door and the test probe should show the polarity indicated in your VSWG. One last test; close the drivers door again (interior lights OFF) and open the passenger door. The readings you seen when testing the drivers door should react the same when opening the passengers door. If it does, your good to go, and can make your door input connection. If not, you may have more than one door input wire...

This will require the use of some diodes (more about diodes later). But if your VSWG indicates a separate "Illuminated Entry" wire, this wire alone (in most applications) can be used as the "all door" trigger wire when independently wiring each door is not desired. Theres 2 considerations before using an illuminated entry wire as the all-door trigger wire though, 1) that if the vehicle has a "dome-light delay" or "fading interior lights" (feature's which causes the vehicles interior lights to stay on for several seconds after the vehicles doors are closed) will delay the alarm system from arming until the interior lights turn off. And the other consideration is if your vehicle has a dome-light override button (a lot of GM vehicles) which can prevent the interior lights from turning on when the vehicles doors are opened. If this is the situation, and if the dome-light override button is ON, it will prevent the vehicles' interior light circuit from triggering the system when a door is opened. So, you would have to make sure that this switch is OFF and that the interior lights turn ON when the vehicles doors are opened to enable the vehicles lighting circuit to trigger the alarm system.