I want to do it myself for some reason... maybe because i want it to be done nicely.. i dont know.

Anyone install them? Im sure it cant be too hard to do.
Whats the best way to do it? just splice them onto all the wires?

Any help?

 

have someone walk you through it. whats your installing background?

 

alarm installs is <not> hard at all, but a more advanced then installing a radio. The problem with installing it yourself isn't the knowledge, or the ability, but the damn patience to do the job right vs. paying someone to get frustrated.

I did my alarm myself and it took me two weekends, custom wiring, very well hidden, heavily layered. and I did this while my car (it still is...grr..) was Stripped to the metal, so all wires were run easily, and I STILL ended up swearing and wanting to just say f*ck it.

It's a pain, but to me, if you want it done right, you have to do it yourself or pay large amounts of coin.

Good luck!
-Rage

 

Sounds like me ROFLMA, on the new car I said F it, thats what insurance is for and a tracking device.




[Modified by nsxxtreme, 2:57 PM 9/26/2002]

 

Its not too hard. If youve done a Head Unit you have the necessary experience, that does not mean you have the skill to though. Its going to be interesting, set aside a good 5 hours or so for it the first time, BC you'll need to find all the wires and do the appropriate wiring, and for those which you dont have a location/color on you'll need to probe and explore in any way possible to find out what that wire is. What car is this going to be on?
If youve got any ?'s feel free to PM me, I did mine, and It spurred the install of alarms in all my friends cars, ie 6 in the last year!
OH PS it helps to find a wiring chart online first. With basic wire locations and colors.
Jim

 

I have an Alarm install question for you if you dont mind!
I have a '92 Lude with a already installed DEI Viper that i want to remove and replace with my Alpine system. With the wires already set, is it honestly that hard to just swap them out? I have many years of exp doing misc. audio installs, but have never dealt with alarms thought i want to!
So Q to you is since it already has an alarm in it, how big of a p.i.t.a. would it be to just swap them over?

 

alarms are not hard..there just nerve racking.

 

Actually that is prolly the easiest. I'm not an alarm expert or like MECP cert. but as long as the wiring is generally the same I would just clip the leads going into alarm about halfway and match up the wires to the new alarm. Both alarms should have wire colors and what each is on the alarm itslef, so its just a matter of matching them up. Thats saying that theyre the same. If the new alarm doesnt or does have a starter kill then you would have to hook that up as well. Do you have 2 sirens then?
If so, put one in the passenger compartment, I've only had one person **** with my car and i was someone in my AutoTech Class in high school. M-----f-cker thought he could break into anyones stuff...haha thought he had me til he got in the car and sat down to a ear shattering 140db.....
Well have fun with that...
Jim

 

I did it before...easy, very easy. But, it was an OEM Honda alarm...plug and play. I wouldn't know what to do with an aftermarket one.

 

installing alarms is easy...true. but the ease of the install comes with experience. the biggest advantage of having an alarm installed by a professional is that they are insured, meaning if they f*ck it up they will fix it. and your car will only be tied up for a few hours while the install is taking place instead of how ever long it takes to do it your self. with a paid install comes a warrenty, meaning that if there is a problem with the alarm functioning properly it will get fixed or replaced instead of pulling it out, or trying to trouble shoot it for hours sometimes. bottem line is my recomendation would be take your car in to have the alarm installed professionally.

 

i agree. they just do such a careless job, kinda defeats the point of having an alarm when they install it.

 

I would sure like to know your definition of easy.

A basic alarm minimal security yes easy. An advanced alarm with a well thought out install difficult.

For the other question above yes you should be able to swap alarms fairly easily. Get wiring diagrams for both. Do one wire at a time, pay special attention to multipurpose wires as well as their function.

 

Thanks for all your help. I do understand the liability and all of a shop doing it for me if anything goes wrong with it, but I can not see @$200 everytime i get a diff car to get it taken out of one and put into another. Also, like someone said before, if you want the job done right, do it your damn self! Ya a shop can do a good job and there are many that do. But they also put most alarms in the same place and its easier to unhook that way. About the second siren in the passenger area, i had thought about that before and actually forgotten about it, that would truely be nice to see if and when someone tries to steal something out of my car then! Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

I would sure like to know your definition of easy.

A basic alarm minimal security yes easy. An advanced alarm with a well thought out install difficult
i have 5 years experience installing alarms, as described later in my post it cclarifies that the ease of install comes with experience. sorry about getting defensive but every alarm i install at the shop i work in gets installed as it were my own car. just ask to speak to the installer before the install and let him know your concerns and ask for a stealth install and there should be no problem with them helping you out.

 

peichie is right. i installed for many years. if you talk to the installer before its put in then not only can you get a feel for his/her perfessionalism but also what that person can do. have the installer come out to your car and go over the basic install. every car i did, i worked on it like it was mine.

on the fact of taking the alarm out and puttin it in a new car. most alarms i've worked with only warrenty the unit for the first car its installed in. if your paying 200$ might as well put a new alarm in.

 

Should be very easy if its a newer Alpine alarm...is it a 100s or 150r? They switched to DEI color coding on these newer alarms.

One difference you'll find though is that the Alpine starter kill relay has its own ground...not too difficult. Just switch out the relays. The Green on the DEI will become the Red on the Alpine, and the Black will become Red w/ Yellow...that should be the only difference I can think of if its a newer Alpine...

 

Okay guys lets be honest.....security systems are HARD....it only becomes easy when you do more of them. The problem that I encounter is customers who ask this question then assume all systems are easy..then go out and purchase a high security type system and try to install it themselves. I not saying dont try to do it yourself...just know you limits. I have been installing alarms and radios since i was 16 yrs ( in a shop)...radios since 12yrs .(so i guess i have some experience) but I know my limits. You have to crawl before you can walk...and you guys have a lot more access to info than I have ever had...so start out small. there is nothing wrong with a basic system with keyless entry outputs and 2 extra channels...you can always upgrade. To get better at something you have to understand how the whole reacts with the parts...ie how a door trigger works and whats its polarity...once you know this the rest ( troubleshooting) is a piece of cake.

Ps..just to give an idea..i have an Early scratch code type Viper model 300 sitting at my desk.....with 14 various wire colors including doorlock output(-),led was a singe wire output(+),valet was the same and programming was done by cutting/not cutting wire loops and you had to wire in the shock sensor as well.....man those were the days.. Oh before that there was keyholes in trunks and fenders( with cosmetic covers on them

have fun


[Modified by audioroach, 2:25 PM 9/29/2002]

 

man you are oldschool.just kidding

 

Yeah my co-workers remind me of that constantly....Thanks

 

hey audioroach rocks, he actually recognized my diagram of an old school remote start (like 10 relays all wired by hand!)



-Rage

 

speaking of old school... do yall remember the viper alarm that the siren that would say ARM when armed and said DISARM when disarmed and I'VE BEEN TAMPERED WITH when the shock sensor detected it? does ne one happen to know if viper or ne other alarm company who makes those?

 

I installed mines myself...took a couple of hours, but it was well worth it...I dont have to worry about someone else touching my car and stuff....It was a success although I must admit, there are a couple of "mickey-mouse" wirings going on..but its worth it....

 

yes i do...they offered it in many flavors....english,german,french,spanish....the english voice was that of the founder darrel issa....the model was 516..it would say i was tampered with upon disasrming...but normally arm,diasarm protected by (insert various snake style or insect based name here) or the generic security system...stand back. then came the recordable ones...I have heard so very colorful sayings with that one....I got one for you guys...Does anyone Remember
These products...Invisabeam or Telealarm... for the one who can state what made them special?

 

It is not hard it is just time consuming if you have just started doing them. In you case I would definitely have someone help you. It's easy if you know where to look for what wire. This is something that you learn to perfect the more you do it. The first one I did took like 2 1/2 hours but I've been installing, MECP certified btw, for almost 3 years now and I can knock out a basic alarm in about 30 mins and an alarm with remote start in about 45mins.

 

Wow..way to drive outrageous volume....just pulling ya leg...30 mins huh..thats impressive....i still avg 3 hrs for a basic with keyless and the only sign of the alrm is the led....My old Circuit City pals still hate to get a alarm repair of mine...because the have to find it...

food for thought...glad your Mecp'd though....we need more