U know what? I hate electrical

[graden]

Installing a remote car starter today.

Didint go so great.

I ran all the wires as per the instructions and..........
it doesint work.

It seems like the unit isint even powering up
but if I light test the conections to the ignition, its def getting power.

The one thing I might have messed up on is the connection
of the neutral starter. where is the best place to hook the wire in to?

Also in the process of the install.... I burnt out my alarm box,
lights wont go out, alarm wont stop going off and my stereo is dead. off to the junk yard tomarrow to get a new 1:roll2:

[levey]

I know you don't want to hear this, but....It woulda been cheaper/better to have a pro do it. Gotta give ya props for trying though.

[graden]

how do you figure? Its around $200 to get one installed.
I payed $60 for the starter and maybe 5 to free for the alarm box at the junkers tomarrow?

I agree less hassle but def not cheeper.

I have installed my own car alarm, stereo, amp and amp rack,
fog lights and rear lit spoiler.

I figured.... how much harder for a starter?

[graden]

Theres only about 12 wires that need to be hooked up and I understand ( for the most part ) where they go
Starter harness============= ====G.M harness
2 Reds - Constint power = Red wire on ignition switch
1Yellow- Active only on run= Pink & black on ignition
1 Purple- Active on crank = Yellow Active only on crank
2 Black- Ground = Ground on chas
1 white & black-Pos light = Parking light switch
1 small purple- Tack signal = To cluster white wire
1 green to Pos kill = Brake light switch
1 red & white- Unit power = Red on ignition switch
1 blue to hood pin
1 brown to neutral starter= goes to ?????????????

[levey]

Ok. I'll agree. Still. Less hassle. (we will see about the price)
Again...I did give ya props.

[MantaGreen97]

I don't know what you mean by "alarm box", at all :???: but installing an alarm/RS for a first-timer isn't necessarily hard but it will definitely be time consuming at the very least.

While I don't want to discourage you (I'm actually *for* people doing things on their own as they aren't that hard if you have half a brain, lol)... I would say that you do need to have an understanding of electrical principles, vehicle electrical systems, and proper ways of connecting and fusing things, before you attempt such a project.

In other words, don't go at them haphazardly making make-shift connections and doing guesswork, hoping things will work out. The only thing that is going to come from that is a bad install, blown fuses, headaches and perhaps even a fire if you're really "lucky". With bad/improper connections it's easy to get things "working" but that doesn't mean what you're doing is electrically sound. And it's just as easy to connect everything and just have nothing work, fuses blow, things burning out, etc.

I'm not necessarily doubting your knowledge or abilities with electrical-related stuff like wiring, etc. (I have no clue about what you know) but I am saying that you should have those things down pat before attempting something like an alarm or RS install.

I've seen waaay to many installs done horribly (even by so-called "professionals" in some cases) which result in either immediate problems or problems "down the road" due to the poor install.

Things are indeed colour coded for simplicity (and you can find "vehicle colours" on various websites quite easily), but keep in mind installing an alarm or RS is not just a matter of colour-matching that a 5-year old can do, lol.

If you're encountering things not working, and things "burning out", fuses blowing, etc. and you have no idea why those things are happening? Then I would tend to say that you should take it to someone that knows what they're doing; or learn a bit more before going at it again.

Another tip is to never rely on a test light. Test lights tell you very little. Yes you can get away with them sometimes, but trying to rely on a test light, IMO, just indicates that not enough is known about the basics of what is going on with the wires that are being tinkered with. Get yourself a DMM to start with (or start using it if you have one!).

Personally I'd never use just a test light and I never have. (In a bind I'd probably be able to use one but that's not my point, the point is understading what's going on, not just looking for an ON/OFF on a light.)

[graden]

soooooooooo... nobody going to tell me where the best place to hook up the neutral starter wire??:(

[graden]

Originally posted by MantaGreen97


I'm not necessarily doubting your knowledge or abilities with electrical-related stuff like wiring, etc. (I have no clue about what you know) but I am saying that you should have those things down pat before attempting something like an alarm or RS install.



the alarm box is the little brown box that sits under our dash.

Its the alarm that goes off when you leave your keys in the car or the head lights on. I cant think of the tech term for it.

As for wiring...... I have wired and rewired 87-94 grand am's a few times. I have striped out grand am's compleatly to the shell and re built them from the ground up.

My 9v battery ran out on my volt meter and due to sheer lazyness,
I didint make it to the store to buy another, thus choosing to use a test light.

I bought the car starter with out much though and as a result, did not put much research in to this before I started this project, but with 1/2 my harness hanging out on the floor of my car right now I need to know ......... where in your opinion..... do you think would be the best place to tap in to the neutral starter switch?

I understand where you are coming from with the concern of car fires and such but beleave me. I have the knowlage of what I am doing to be comfertable with this project.

The reason I burnt out the Alarm box was because I did not read the instructions properly on the diagram and hooked a hot wire to the parking lamp switch.

[hamiltonaudio]

what exactly is a "neutral starter" switch? What product did you buy? Can you send me a PDF of the instruction manual? If the car is automatic, it'll have a NEUTRAL SAFETY SWTICH that only allows crank in park or neutral... if manual it'll have a CLUTCH SAFETY SWTICH which only cranks with clutch depressed.

Sounds to me like the unit wants to see the neutral safety working. What polarity input is it expecting? If it wants ground, I'd just ground it all the time and bypass this "feature" (if it wants 12V, hit that instead). Just be sure of what it is before connecting it! And you never make mention of bypassing the Passlock antitheft in the car....you know it has it and know how to bypass it correctly right?

The "alarm box" is the warning chime for the car. If you've already fried that and a radio, I'd SERIOUSLY consider stopping what you're doing, and enlisting the help of a professional. Simple mistakes can be COSTLY....BCM's and ECM's are very expensive, and you seriously don't want an airbag in the face....

bmoney

[graden]

Sweet.

Thats what I was after.

Yes it is a auto.

No, the Stereo is not fried.

The box thats toast is something like the command controll
mod or some thing like that. It has all in one unit, the door chime,
the interior lights, the left and right blinker relay and some thing
to do with power to the stereo.

No air bags in my car.

[graden]

http://www.gaownersclub.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=60676&highlight=bcm


The same problem as this guy

[hamiltonaudio]

sorry man - the sheer fact that YOU FRIED SOMETHING and it hasn't even phased you sort of concerns me. You're not even the least bit curious how you did it? Not concerned that something else (potentially far more expensive) will also be damaged?

Sometimes you just gotta realize when you're touching something you don't understand and let a pro do it. Is saving $75 really worth the hassle, risk and damage?

bmoney

[graden]

Originally posted by hamiltonaudio
sorry man - the sheer fact that YOU FRIED SOMETHING and it hasn't even phased you sort of concerns me. You're not even the least bit curious how you did it? Not concerned that something else (potentially far more expensive) will also be damaged?


Nope. I know what I fried and know how I did it.

I was pissed off from the days events leading up to the install of the car starter and not thinking with a clear head before I started working on the car. I touched a hot wire to the interiour light that was hanging and fried the comand controll mod. Its not the first time I have done it and im sure its proly not the last. Its a p.o.s A.C delco mod that g.m though would be great to use. But its not and every system I can re-wire to get around that box I will do.

I woke this morning, had a fresh look at things, re read the
install manu and started again from scratch.

1 hour latter, im programing the starter to what it is I want it to do.

$60 car starter less $30 mail in rebate = $30 car starter.

$8 and 1/2 hour at the junk yard = new comand mod.

$38 and 2 hours labour minus 1/2 for install of command mod
the car starter is working great!! Its suppost to be cold tomarrow morning and I cant wait to use it.

All that was needed from before was the neutral starter wire to be grounded out.

Once I installed the new command controll mod, the door chime, stereo, abs light and int lights all went back to normal function.

I have tested and re-tested the system a 1/2 dozen times now and every thing I programed in to the remotes for the car starter works great.

I have ensured that the brake and master kill do work.

Thank you every one for your help, car will be warm tomarrow morning when I get in and all through the winter.

Now I just got to get the 18's off the car and go back to my 16 rims and winter tires and then I should be ready for another long, cold winter.

[car audio dave]

well congrats on the install.

bmoney...his car is too old ot have theftlock. its a 93.

[Big Joe]

Originally posted by car audio dave
well congrats on the install.

bmoney...his car is too old ot have theftlock. its a 93.

:agree: I think they started that in 96.

[DJ~KRYSTALFX]

Where did u run your power wire so you could get it through firewall