Post by vojtazbrna on Jan 17, 2007 23:54:16 GMT -6
Ok, here we go. This topic seems to be pretty hot right now and since I just finished doing mine last week here's the write up. I will describe installation of my model (Audiovox AS9075a) that I bought on cardomain.com. They do not have them anymore and I didn't find any on ebay or in other stores eihter. It's the standard type, however, that works with the factory alarm. Mind you, this is for the 1st Gens only. The 2nd have a different antitheft system and different wiring...much more sophisticated.
Most pro shops will charge anywhere from $250-$300 for this type of install. I got the starter for $40. With this type you will need a set of VATS bypass resistors (ebay for up to $10 - DEI part # 652t) and optionally a 8618 relay. You can pick up the set of the resistor kit and the relay for $30 here: www.drdetailshop.com/652T.htm Or like I did, buy it seperately. It was a little cheaper that way (resistors - $5 and relay $5) but I had to modify the relay a little - one wire had to be added.
Like I said, this is installation for this specific model, but in general, this is how you're gonna install most of the starters (at least the cheap $50 ones made in China or Taiwan). After all, they all work on the same principle. You will always get the owner's manual with the starter that will be your ultimate guide. This is more just to show you how it works and that it really isn't all that difficult.
Tools you'll need:
Volt meter!!! very important. You will need it to test all the wires before you connect them and to measure the resistance of your key. Digital is better, but I did fine with analog.
Soldering gun. I highly recommend soldering at least the thicker gauge wires. I soldered most of the wiring, but I did use some butt connectors as well.
If you're lazy then the butt connectors. Mostly red ones(18-22awg) and possibly some blue ones(12-16?awg). You'll be mostly tapping into the wiring, that's why I recommend soldering. Butt connectors in this case may not hold very well.
Wire cutter, stripper and crimper, some screwdrivers, some extra wire(16-18awg).
8mm socket to unplug the negative battery cable, 7mm socket for the door panels. Maybe some other sizes.
Electrical tape! Always tape up all the connection.
Factory service manual(FSM) for your specific year is highly recommended. It helped me a lot!
This is how I started: I planned everything ahead. The night before the install read the instal. manual of the starter. Read every little bit of it until you understand it. You will need to know exactly which wire goes where. I found the right connectors in the FSM and drew a little sketch of which wires will go where.
The next morning: Take the black plastic cover off from under the dashboard (3 screws) and take it out of the car. Move the driver's seat all the way back and the steering wheel all the way up. You are about to spend many hours under there and you want to make sure you have as much room as possible.
Now it's the turn for testing the wires under there so do not disconnect the battery just yet. Try to find a "comfortable" way of getting yourself under the dashboard. You need to find the C202 connector, which is one of the biggest ones down there. All the wires from the ignition cylinder lead there, plus many others. It's right by the firewall and has one screw in the middle. When you unscrew it, you can then unplug it. Try to pull it out and locate the wires that you will be testing. Then plug it back in so you can test it.
These are the wires that you will need to test: All of these are 10awg that lead to the ign.switch and will be connected with a separate 6pin main power harness of the remote starter unit.
Red is 12V battery 1 source it should have 12 volts at all times.
Another Red (possibly w/white stripe) is the 2 source. It should also have 12V at all times
Yellow - the starter output - will have 12V with ign.switch in START only.
Pink - Ignition 1 output - this wire will show 12V when in RUN and START positions.
Orange - Ignition 2 output - this wire will show 12V when in RUN and might show 12V in START (I forgot already - doesn't make a difference).
Brown - Accessory output - 12V only when in ACCESSORY.
If all these tested right then you can test other wires from this connector. You will only need two more on this C202 connector. Both are for lights. This feature will turn the lights on when the remote start is engaged. This feature is optional only. You really don't need it. I can hear the engine go on...no need for lights really.
One of them will be Black w/white and that is the Ground. The second one is I believe Tan (I forgot again - I marked this one wrong and found the right one by testing it).
That's it for the C202 connector. Make sure you have a sketch of these wires that you will need because it will get more and more confusing. The two lights wires are part of wires that will be connected with the 12 pin Input/Output harness of the remote starter unit.
These are other wires you will need to test:
Wire that leads to the brake pedal. This wire will have 12V when the brake pedal is pushed down. It leads right to the brake pedal (this wire is kinda short, so be careful when cutting it or tapping into it). I forgot the color again, but there's only 2 in one connector at the brake pedal. Test these two. There's another connector at the brake pedal, but that one has more wires(no need to check that).
If you're using the same unit or similar one as I am then you will need to locate wires that operate door locks (driver's and passenger's). The driver's door was a PITA because it is impossible to lead a wire all the way to the lock and then hide it. The access to the driver's door wiring is behind the Park brake and it's impossible to get to. So I decided to locate these wires in the car. They are Tan and Grey. I took off the plastic door sill, pulled the carpet a little found like 50 wires of different colors. I figured two of these had to go to the locks. There is about 5 tans and 5 greys. So I grabbed the volt meter and started stripping wires randomly. It took only a couple of minutes until I found them. The Tan has 12V when you press the LOCK button and grey has 12V when you press the UNLOCK.
The manual says you need to do the same for the pass. door, even though when I think about it now I don't think it's necessary. Anyway, I did it and it's much easier to get to. You can just take the door panel off, then unplug one of the three connectors by the door lock (you need the one with tan and grey wires). You might wanna test this wire before connecting, too. You can then lead this wire through the black rubber booth with other door wiring...it's easy to get to, unlike the driver's door.
At this point you can disconnect the battery and start connecting wires. Just match the colors and solder everything up. Tape it up with el. tape when done.
This is the color scheme I used for this model, but you will use the installation manual to match these.
For the 6 pin power harness:
Red goes to the first Red in the car
Red w/White goes to the 2nd Red in the car
Yellow goes to Yellow in the car
Blue goes to Pink in the car
Green goes to Orange in the car
Violet goes to Brown in the car
For the 12 Pin Input/Output harness:
White is ground
2nd White is lights (I think Tan)
Black is ground - you will need to find a good ground somewhere.
Grey will go to Hood Pin Switch that will come with the remote starter - safety feature that will disable the RS when the hood opens. I did not install this one because I'm usually the only one working on the car so I am aware of the RS and also there's another manual switch that turns the RS on and off.
Grey w/Black has no use
Brown has no use
Black w/white is the manual control switch. This switch comes with the RS and you will mount this switch somewhere inside where you can easiy access it and turn it off when somebody works on the car. I have it right by the parking brake. It's just a safety feature. Also needed for programming!
Brown w/Black - is for the brake pedal. Another safety feature. Also needed when programing the RS, though. You need this one.
Yellow w/Black - this wire was my major problem - will explain at the end. Currently has no use
Light Blue will go to the VATS bypass circuit. see below
Green w/Orange will go to the coil pack to sense the Tach rate. It should go through the firewall, but that seemed like a PITA to me so I have it wired around the firewall. Just try to find a way to get it to the coil pack. There you will connect it to the white wire of the C2 connector. The C2 is the one on the driver's side more towards front of the vehicle. It will have also a black/white wire and a pink one.
Green w/Yellow has no use
Here's the VATS bypass. You will need to locate two white wires that go from the ign. switch to the C202 connector mentioned above. These two wires run in black sleeve and in older models might be white/black and purple/white. They are white in the 99. One is the resistor feed and the other is the resistor return. Here's a diagram of how to bypass the whole thing: www.drdetailshop.com/gmpellet.htm
Now you will need to measure the resistance of your key. Mine was 11.6k so I used the resistor with the highest resistance of 11.9k. It should be within 5%. Also, these two wires are really thin gauge. Be careful when stripping them! The rubber sleeve around them is also a major pain to strip without cutting the actual wires.
This is when you connect the last 4pin harness from the RS. In my case, the red wire taps into the unlock motor leg of the driver's door (I think it's the grey one), the green one taps into the lock motor leg (should be the tan one) and the red/black taps into the pass.unlock motor leg(again,I think it's the grey one) Test them all before connecting.
Now I can explain the dilemma I had wit the yellow/black wire. This wire is supposed to bypass the factory alarm so you could start the car up. This is when I'll remind you to read the manual carefully again because it took me some time to figure this out until I finally foud out that this wire does not have to be connected at all. The only thing this wire should do is to engage the alarm after it has been started with the RS. This way the car is protected. Well, to tell you the truth, all I need is to have the car locked while the car is running. Even if somebody tried to brake in and steal the car, the second he steps on the brake to put it in gear the car will shut off and that's it!
Honestly, I could not get this wire to work properly with the alarm. I tried a couple of options (including the one described in the manual), but every time I connected this wire to the alarm it would either not start at all or throw SES codes (I got cooling fan error?!?!?!). So I decided to let it go. Many people don't trun their alarms on anyway. I do, but the 5 mins that it will have the alarm off will not make a difference. I feel the car is secured enough and that's all I need to know. If you feel brave enough to tackle this problem, go ahead and let me know how you did it:) I gave up:)
At this point you can connect all three harnesses into the RS unit. You will need to get the unit to learn the Tach rate first. It will not start without it. This procedure takes a couple of seconds and is described in the manual. Once that's done, just step outside the vehicle. Close the door, press lock, unlock and lock and the car should start within 3 seconds. That's all I can say.
It may not look easy, but it's really not bad. It's gonna take some time, but I had fun doing this. Plus, I can't even describe the feeling when you hear the car start while standing next to it. It's priceless!
I hope this all makes sense. It's 1am right now and I might have missed something. If so, please let me know and I will gladly edit this post. Good luck!
Most pro shops will charge anywhere from $250-$300 for this type of install. I got the starter for $40. With this type you will need a set of VATS bypass resistors (ebay for up to $10 - DEI part # 652t) and optionally a 8618 relay. You can pick up the set of the resistor kit and the relay for $30 here: www.drdetailshop.com/652T.htm Or like I did, buy it seperately. It was a little cheaper that way (resistors - $5 and relay $5) but I had to modify the relay a little - one wire had to be added.
Like I said, this is installation for this specific model, but in general, this is how you're gonna install most of the starters (at least the cheap $50 ones made in China or Taiwan). After all, they all work on the same principle. You will always get the owner's manual with the starter that will be your ultimate guide. This is more just to show you how it works and that it really isn't all that difficult.
Tools you'll need:
Volt meter!!! very important. You will need it to test all the wires before you connect them and to measure the resistance of your key. Digital is better, but I did fine with analog.
Soldering gun. I highly recommend soldering at least the thicker gauge wires. I soldered most of the wiring, but I did use some butt connectors as well.
If you're lazy then the butt connectors. Mostly red ones(18-22awg) and possibly some blue ones(12-16?awg). You'll be mostly tapping into the wiring, that's why I recommend soldering. Butt connectors in this case may not hold very well.
Wire cutter, stripper and crimper, some screwdrivers, some extra wire(16-18awg).
8mm socket to unplug the negative battery cable, 7mm socket for the door panels. Maybe some other sizes.
Electrical tape! Always tape up all the connection.
Factory service manual(FSM) for your specific year is highly recommended. It helped me a lot!
This is how I started: I planned everything ahead. The night before the install read the instal. manual of the starter. Read every little bit of it until you understand it. You will need to know exactly which wire goes where. I found the right connectors in the FSM and drew a little sketch of which wires will go where.
The next morning: Take the black plastic cover off from under the dashboard (3 screws) and take it out of the car. Move the driver's seat all the way back and the steering wheel all the way up. You are about to spend many hours under there and you want to make sure you have as much room as possible.
Now it's the turn for testing the wires under there so do not disconnect the battery just yet. Try to find a "comfortable" way of getting yourself under the dashboard. You need to find the C202 connector, which is one of the biggest ones down there. All the wires from the ignition cylinder lead there, plus many others. It's right by the firewall and has one screw in the middle. When you unscrew it, you can then unplug it. Try to pull it out and locate the wires that you will be testing. Then plug it back in so you can test it.
These are the wires that you will need to test: All of these are 10awg that lead to the ign.switch and will be connected with a separate 6pin main power harness of the remote starter unit.
Red is 12V battery 1 source it should have 12 volts at all times.
Another Red (possibly w/white stripe) is the 2 source. It should also have 12V at all times
Yellow - the starter output - will have 12V with ign.switch in START only.
Pink - Ignition 1 output - this wire will show 12V when in RUN and START positions.
Orange - Ignition 2 output - this wire will show 12V when in RUN and might show 12V in START (I forgot already - doesn't make a difference).
Brown - Accessory output - 12V only when in ACCESSORY.
If all these tested right then you can test other wires from this connector. You will only need two more on this C202 connector. Both are for lights. This feature will turn the lights on when the remote start is engaged. This feature is optional only. You really don't need it. I can hear the engine go on...no need for lights really.
One of them will be Black w/white and that is the Ground. The second one is I believe Tan (I forgot again - I marked this one wrong and found the right one by testing it).
That's it for the C202 connector. Make sure you have a sketch of these wires that you will need because it will get more and more confusing. The two lights wires are part of wires that will be connected with the 12 pin Input/Output harness of the remote starter unit.
These are other wires you will need to test:
Wire that leads to the brake pedal. This wire will have 12V when the brake pedal is pushed down. It leads right to the brake pedal (this wire is kinda short, so be careful when cutting it or tapping into it). I forgot the color again, but there's only 2 in one connector at the brake pedal. Test these two. There's another connector at the brake pedal, but that one has more wires(no need to check that).
If you're using the same unit or similar one as I am then you will need to locate wires that operate door locks (driver's and passenger's). The driver's door was a PITA because it is impossible to lead a wire all the way to the lock and then hide it. The access to the driver's door wiring is behind the Park brake and it's impossible to get to. So I decided to locate these wires in the car. They are Tan and Grey. I took off the plastic door sill, pulled the carpet a little found like 50 wires of different colors. I figured two of these had to go to the locks. There is about 5 tans and 5 greys. So I grabbed the volt meter and started stripping wires randomly. It took only a couple of minutes until I found them. The Tan has 12V when you press the LOCK button and grey has 12V when you press the UNLOCK.
The manual says you need to do the same for the pass. door, even though when I think about it now I don't think it's necessary. Anyway, I did it and it's much easier to get to. You can just take the door panel off, then unplug one of the three connectors by the door lock (you need the one with tan and grey wires). You might wanna test this wire before connecting, too. You can then lead this wire through the black rubber booth with other door wiring...it's easy to get to, unlike the driver's door.
At this point you can disconnect the battery and start connecting wires. Just match the colors and solder everything up. Tape it up with el. tape when done.
This is the color scheme I used for this model, but you will use the installation manual to match these.
For the 6 pin power harness:
Red goes to the first Red in the car
Red w/White goes to the 2nd Red in the car
Yellow goes to Yellow in the car
Blue goes to Pink in the car
Green goes to Orange in the car
Violet goes to Brown in the car
For the 12 Pin Input/Output harness:
White is ground
2nd White is lights (I think Tan)
Black is ground - you will need to find a good ground somewhere.
Grey will go to Hood Pin Switch that will come with the remote starter - safety feature that will disable the RS when the hood opens. I did not install this one because I'm usually the only one working on the car so I am aware of the RS and also there's another manual switch that turns the RS on and off.
Grey w/Black has no use
Brown has no use
Black w/white is the manual control switch. This switch comes with the RS and you will mount this switch somewhere inside where you can easiy access it and turn it off when somebody works on the car. I have it right by the parking brake. It's just a safety feature. Also needed for programming!
Brown w/Black - is for the brake pedal. Another safety feature. Also needed when programing the RS, though. You need this one.
Yellow w/Black - this wire was my major problem - will explain at the end. Currently has no use
Light Blue will go to the VATS bypass circuit. see below
Green w/Orange will go to the coil pack to sense the Tach rate. It should go through the firewall, but that seemed like a PITA to me so I have it wired around the firewall. Just try to find a way to get it to the coil pack. There you will connect it to the white wire of the C2 connector. The C2 is the one on the driver's side more towards front of the vehicle. It will have also a black/white wire and a pink one.
Green w/Yellow has no use
Here's the VATS bypass. You will need to locate two white wires that go from the ign. switch to the C202 connector mentioned above. These two wires run in black sleeve and in older models might be white/black and purple/white. They are white in the 99. One is the resistor feed and the other is the resistor return. Here's a diagram of how to bypass the whole thing: www.drdetailshop.com/gmpellet.htm
Now you will need to measure the resistance of your key. Mine was 11.6k so I used the resistor with the highest resistance of 11.9k. It should be within 5%. Also, these two wires are really thin gauge. Be careful when stripping them! The rubber sleeve around them is also a major pain to strip without cutting the actual wires.
This is when you connect the last 4pin harness from the RS. In my case, the red wire taps into the unlock motor leg of the driver's door (I think it's the grey one), the green one taps into the lock motor leg (should be the tan one) and the red/black taps into the pass.unlock motor leg(again,I think it's the grey one) Test them all before connecting.
Now I can explain the dilemma I had wit the yellow/black wire. This wire is supposed to bypass the factory alarm so you could start the car up. This is when I'll remind you to read the manual carefully again because it took me some time to figure this out until I finally foud out that this wire does not have to be connected at all. The only thing this wire should do is to engage the alarm after it has been started with the RS. This way the car is protected. Well, to tell you the truth, all I need is to have the car locked while the car is running. Even if somebody tried to brake in and steal the car, the second he steps on the brake to put it in gear the car will shut off and that's it!
Honestly, I could not get this wire to work properly with the alarm. I tried a couple of options (including the one described in the manual), but every time I connected this wire to the alarm it would either not start at all or throw SES codes (I got cooling fan error?!?!?!). So I decided to let it go. Many people don't trun their alarms on anyway. I do, but the 5 mins that it will have the alarm off will not make a difference. I feel the car is secured enough and that's all I need to know. If you feel brave enough to tackle this problem, go ahead and let me know how you did it:) I gave up:)
At this point you can connect all three harnesses into the RS unit. You will need to get the unit to learn the Tach rate first. It will not start without it. This procedure takes a couple of seconds and is described in the manual. Once that's done, just step outside the vehicle. Close the door, press lock, unlock and lock and the car should start within 3 seconds. That's all I can say.
It may not look easy, but it's really not bad. It's gonna take some time, but I had fun doing this. Plus, I can't even describe the feeling when you hear the car start while standing next to it. It's priceless!
I hope this all makes sense. It's 1am right now and I might have missed something. If so, please let me know and I will gladly edit this post. Good luck!