ilm currently in the market looking for an alarm system for my CRX...anyone know where i can find a good deal online for cheap alarms...i don't need remote start, or the pager style ones...just a basic clifford, python or watever. just to arm it, lock the doors and stuff...and activate when someone hits my car or trys to steal it.

the crx has no power windows so i would need actuators for the door locks? would it come with the alarm system? for wiring how much wiring are we lookijg at? this will be my first alarm system installand i want to learn how to do it. does the brain jsut wire to power and ignition? or wat? and wat about the door locks? any help would be great...THANKS

 

Ebay is probably your best bet if your not being picky with alarms, you need actuators for the door locks, relays for the locks also. look on "the12volt.com" for a bit more info such as you cars wire diagram and how to wire the relays. You also want to keep in mind how you install your alarm will determine how well everything works. PM me if you would like any further info.

 

Most alarms now have onboard door lock relays. That's something you'll want on your first alarm install.

The hardest thing when doing it yourself is connecting to the ignition harness. Crutchfield and directwholesale.net sell plug-in harnesses ("security T harness" or "interconnect harness") that make this a lot easier. That takes care of your constant 12v, Ignition 12v, and starter interrupt. I cover everything else on my website on the "wiring" page.

You're going to need a digital voltmeter to verify wires. A cheap one is fine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Most alarms now have onboard door lock relays. That's something you'll want on your first alarm install.</TD></TR></TABLE>

True, but they won't power actuators, so he will need relays.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18C_EJ8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

True, but they won't power actuators, so he will need relays. </TD></TR></TABLE> Oops I have to agree with suspendedHatch on this one, kind of, if door lock relays are on-board they will run up to 5 or 6 actuators, however most alarms now a days do not come with on-board door lock relays.

It's easy to tell if the alarm can or can't drive actuators, if the alarms door lock harness has less then 5 wires, it can't drive any actuators, most alarms have 250mA (-) pulsed output for door locks, some have 250mA (-/+) pulsed outputs, [both lock and unlock output wires pulse at the same time, one is neg. (-) and the other is pos. (+) and reverse depending if your arming or disarming.

supracrx your best bet is to get a "central door lock kit" it will come with 2 door lock actuators, [at least one will be a "5 wire actuator" the other may be a 5 or 2 wire actuator] it will also come with a "control box", you plug the actuators into the "control box" connect power and ground for the box, once the "kit" is installed your power door locks will work, your stock door lock button/lever will still work normally but if it is connected to a 5 wire actuator it will also work like a power door lock switch, [lock the door = both doors lock, unlock the door =both doors unlock] this will be the same if you use the key on a door with a 5 wire actuator, it will lock and unlock both doors.
The control box will also have key-less entry/alarm inputs on it, almost always neg. (-) inputs, [normally min. 250mA] something like this
http://www.a1electric.com/mes.htm

And if your not worried about warranty, if you Google car alarms you get 5,280,000 hits for car alarms and if you Google cheap car alarms it narrows it down to 932,000 hits and if you Google cheap DEI car alarms, your down to 336,000 and a Python car alarms Google gets you 302,000 hits, so as you can see, there is not a lack of online places that sell alarms cheap.

Here is some advice that in the long run may save you money, and will definitely save you grief, when you buy your alarm, get it at an authorized dealer, so you can get the manufacturers warranty. 94

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18C_EJ8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">True, but they won't power actuators, so he will need relays. </TD></TR></TABLE>


Or a 451m

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Or a 451m </TD></TR></TABLE>

Um, that's a box containing two microRELAYS...

And fcm, I haven't seen many alarm/starters with "onboard" lock relays... I'm sure they exist, but even the high end Viper only have 200mA outputs... :shrugs:

 

Yeap! The reason I say that is I know when i worked at best buy back in the day all the alarms came with 451m's. Also the 451m comes with instructions and is prety easy to figure out. Because this is his first time wiring up an alarm the easier the better. But either way do as you please. I use the 451m's tho.

 

Like I said not many, now a days, some older Alpines did, my Alpine SEC-8048 does, [25A circuit] some of the older DEIs did, like the Avital 2000, [also 25A] but as I said very few now, for 2 reasons I believe, number one, less and less cars use direct 5 wire polarity reversing door lock systems anymore, and cost, it is cheaper to build an alarm without on board relays. 94

 

Just about every alarm I have dealt with has had them onboard.

Compustar 2W900FM (3300) onboard
Crime Guard 745i onboard
Viper 5000 onboard
Viper 791XV onboard
Viper 1000 onboard
(That includes their Python and Clifford equivalents)
Autopage RS855 onboard

If I got any of those wrong it means I probably installed it on a manual lock car without any request for interfacing the door locks. So that should be at least 90% accurate. On the other hand, this is a very narrow range of the industry so my idea of "most" is not the same as the more prolific installers idea of "most".

 

The Compustar CM3300 does not have door lock relays on board it as other Compustar units use a 250mA switching (+/-) output or just 250mA (-) outphttp://www.staub.ca/tech/Manuals/Firstech/CM3300_wiring_manual.pdfuts We are a Compustar dealer and I have yet to see a Compustar with door lock relays built in.

The Viper 791XV also does not have door lock relays built in, it also has 250mA switching (+/-) , now you are correct about the older Viper 5000, however the slightly newer Avital 2000 is a 250mA switching (+/-) output.

The Autopage RS-855LCD also only has 250mA switching (+/-) door lock outputs and like many of the newer alarms/starters/key-less entry a 250mA (-) priority door output http://www.autopageusa.com/t_i...5f2ac

I think you may have misunderstood what we are talking about, door lock outputs and on-board door lock relays are not the same thing, one, [door lock outputs] are found on all alarms, alarm/starters and key-less entry units, they are normally 250mA (+/-) switching outputs some are only 250mA (-) outputs, the units with on-board relays, [fewer models every year] are high currant, (25A) and can be used for both pos. and neg. low current, [relay controlled] systems but also on older cars 5 wire polarity reversing systems or if you are adding actuators.
But I bet you know that and just misunderstood what we were talking about. 94

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think you may have misunderstood what we are talking about, door lock outputs and on-board door lock relays are not the same thing</TD></TR></TABLE>

+1

 

Yeah I'm not sure what the distinction is. I was under the impression that if the alarm can drive the door locks directly without me having to add relays, that the relays were onboard.