DIY Network

Remote Car-Start System: Wiring, Part 1 From "Weekend Mechanic" episode WKM-301

In this segment, Weekend Mechanic host Bruce Bonebrake wires the remote car-start receiver to the vehicle's ignition system using a 4-wire and 11-wire harness provided with the car-start kit.

DIY Difficulty Rating for This Project: This job is relatively advanced and should only be undertaken by experienced automotive DIY'ers with some knowledge of automotive electrical systems. We gave it a difficulty rating of 5 on a 5-point intermediate-level scale. Installing the kit on our project vehicle took about 8 hours over a period of 2 days. Installation time may vary according to specific vehicles or the type of kit or options selected.

Important:Altering your car's automotive electronics must be done very carefully or serious damage could result. If installed incorrectly, the device could prevent your car from starting, or could even shut off the car during driving. Every electrical connection in the installation procedure must be made correctly. If you're not comfortable doing electrical work on your car, have this type of unit installed by a professional mechanic.

Important: Included below are the steps in this automotive procedure as shown in the episode. These steps are general guidelines that are applicable to most vehicles. With any particular vehicle, there may be procedures, specifications, settings, tolerances, components, etc. that are specific to that vehicle. There are also variations according to the type and brand of repair-kit you select. Always consult your vehicle's service manual when undertaking significant automotive repairs, and read and follow the manufacturer's directions and precautions that come with your kit or replacement parts.

Materials:

Standard mechanic's tools (wrenches, ratchets, extenders, screwdrivers, nut-drivers, etc.)
Remote car-start system kit
Soldering gun and solder
Electrical tape
Plastic wire-ties
Heat-shrink tubing
Heat gun
Digital volt-ohm meter
Test light
Wire cutters, strippers and crimpers

Safety Alert: Always wear eye protection, and follow proper safety precautions, when working with power tools.

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Remote Starter Wiring, Part 1

• Before beginning work on the electrical system, disconnect the vehicle's negative battery cable.

  Safety Alert: As a standard safety precaution, always disconnect the vehicle's negative battery cable before you begin work on any electrical or mechanical components.

• Begin by removing the seats from the vehicle to give easier access to the area underneath the dash.

• Remove the lower dash-cover on the driver side, and remove the bottom half of the steering-column cover.

• Identify the ignition-switch wiring harness (figure A). This is the wiring harness you'll need to tap into in order to connect the remote-starter receiver.

  Important: The best method for tapping into the wires necessary for this connection is to use solder connections. Avoid using plastic crimp-connectors, butt-connectors or twist-on wire nuts.

  Important: On newer vehicles that contain safety air-bags, avoid disturbing or probing the air-bag connector located near the steering column. Air-bag connectors (figure B) are usually identifiable by their yellow color. Disturbing this connector could deploy the airbag.

  Figure A

  Figure B

  
  

• Position receiver module under the dash (figure C) to determine best placement and the length and route of the remote wiring-harness that will connect to the main ignition wiring-harness.

• Then set the receiver unit aside and double-check the length and route of the wiring harness (figure D) to determine where the cuts will need to be made on the harness wires to achieve the desire fit.

  Figure C

  Figure D

  
  
• Use wire strippers to remove about 1/2-inch of insulation from each ignition-harness wire to be connected. (When making solder connections like this, it's always advisable to remove as little insulation as possible.)

• Once the insulation has been stripped, push a small screwdriver through the center of each wire to separate the strands (figure E).

• Insert the connecting wire from the module and wrap it tightly. This will make it easier to solder the connection.

• Soldering the connection (figure F) makes it a permanent connection.

  Figure E

  Figure F

  
  

  	Figure G
  	Figure H
  	Figure I

• Wrap each newly soldered connection with white electrical tape so that each connection is easy to identify, then secure the connection using a plastic wire-tie (figure G). The wire-tie will help prevent the tape from unraveling.

• Repeat the steps to complete connections for the other three wires.

• With the 4-wire harness installed and soldered into place, you can now begin work on the 11-wire harness. Not all vehicles will require use of all 11 wires. We began our installation with the wires we knew needed to be hooked up. But first, to make more room, we cut off the wires that we knew we wouldn't need to use and sealed them off using heat-shrink tubing and a heat gun (figure H).

• Position and tie down the 11-wire harness according to the kit instructions, and use a bolt on the frame to anchor the ground wire, and secure the connection with a nut (figure I). A clean ground connection is very important.

• Following the manufacturer's instructions, solder the connections for the parking lights and brake switch. On this car-start system, the remote will kill the engine if the brake pedal is depressed without the key in the ignition.
  

RESOURCES :

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Trouble-Free Car Care
Author: Dan Ramsey
ISBN: 0028635833
Alpha Books

Auto Repair for Dummies
Author: Deanna Sclar
ISBN: 0764550896