suspendedHatch

1993 Civic DX hatchback

I tapped into the green/red wire at the drivers side kick panel and hooked it up as a negative trigger on my alarm as instructed, but it didn't work. The alarm doesn't trigger when the door opens and it never flashes the dome light like it's supposed to. So I tested the wire and I don't get 12volts at all, door open or closed, dome light on or off. Yes the dome light works. The alarm works fine otherwise. So what is the correct wire to tap into and where do I find it (be descriptive please)?

Thanks in advance.

rjr162

nope, that doesn't seem like the right wire.

If your door trigger is a negitive, then when you have your meter's negitive hooked to ground and the door is closed you should get +12. When the door is open it should read 0 or damn close.

suspendedHatch

Yeah I know. So which one is it? The manual from Crutchfield said it was the green/red in the drivers kick panel, very vague, and the two wires I tested were incorrect.

rjr162

give me a little, I can get the wire info for you. This stupid computer has block ups blocked so I can't log into a website that I can pinpoint it for you

nOOber

test every wire coming from the back of the car up to the drivers kick, and there will only be one that tests as ground when the door(s) are open.
this is the wire.

green/ red <-- should be..., light green, green/ black are the 3 colors I would start with, when in doubt test them all...

suspendedHatch

Well its all fun and games stripping a part of the insulation off, stuffing myself into the car with the doors closed and being able to access the driver's kick. Testing it, then having to reinsulate the wire. Makes quite a mess. I can't find a place that sells the probe ends with the little needles that bite through the insulation without you having to strip the wire.

TurboBumblBee

its a light green w/ red wire in the lower drivers side kick.. it looks like a thicker wire then it is cause of insulation.. if you still cant find it.. go all the way back to the door trigger itself (little black button thing in door jam)

rjr162

You don't have to close the door to test it. Leave the door open, just push in on the rubber switch near where the door latchs. That's your door pin. When you push it in it will seem as if the door is closed.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shaundrake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well its all fun and games stripping a part of the insulation off, stuffing myself into the car with the doors closed and being able to access the driver's kick. Testing it, then having to reinsulate the wire. Makes quite a mess. I can't find a place that sells the probe ends with the little needles that bite through the insulation without you having to strip the wire.</TD></TR></TABLE>

nOOber

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shaundrake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well its all fun and games stripping a part of the insulation off, stuffing myself into the car with the doors closed and being able to access the driver's kick. Testing it, then having to reinsulate the wire. Makes quite a mess. I can't find a place that sells the probe ends with the little needles that bite through the insulation without you having to strip the wire.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's why installers get paid the big bucks.

A brand name of the device you are looking for is "bed of nails" or something close to that. it's an alligator clamp style lead with a bunch of tiny spikes inside the 'mouth'... only problem I found with those , is over time they get clogged with tape goo, and wire bits, so you have to keep it clean.

My trick is using my wire stippers to squeeze the wire so the metal of the strippers contacts the metal of the wire ( but not enough to 'harm the wire') and leave the meter lead touching the strippers. saves a ton of time over skinning the shield back to expose the wire.

suspendedHatch

Yeah that big thick light green wire with the red stripe. I tested that one but got nothing. But the dome light works when the door opens. Fuggit, I'll hook it up and see if it works.

Thanks for your help guys.

TurboBumblBee

check all your fuses, also make sure that the dome light is grounded properly remove the dome light cover and tighten the bolt up there.. also make sure that the passenger door is closed, you will get a wrong reading if you try to test it w/ both doors open..

rjr162

the other option is to take off the rear interior panel and just tag off of the door pin its self. This is the same thing someone posted above.

o_Rage_o

Shaun, If your still having trouble finding the correct wire at the kickpanel, why don't you try taking it at the Drivers C-Pillar? Yea, its higher, but theres only 3 wires or so in there and its impossible to miss is then

-Shane

suspendedHatch

Oh I got it. Its the light light light green wire with the red stripe. It only looks green when you get a bright light on it. I tested it with the door switch squezed in with some large channel locks and a rubber band keeping them closed (no buddies available) and I got over 12volts.

Thanks for the responses guys I finally got this last part of the install done correctly after all these months. I'm a happy guy now I also got some other things taken care of with the car today.