Grrrr... Alarm Wiring

[B94Sport]

I am currently installing a Crime Guard 745i3 in my '94 Sport, and have managed to mount all of the sensors and connect all of the wires, except for a few key wires that I cannot find per the wiring diagrams...

First, I need the 12 volt constant wire. It's supposed to be in the ignition harness (Steering column) and be solid yellow. That's nowhere to be found.

Second, I need the 12 volt ignition wire. Again, it's in the ignition harness and should be red with a light green stripe. Can't find that one in there either.

Does anyone know anything about these wires or where I might find them on a '94? I'm thinking I'll just use the constant from the radio if I can't find the one at the ignition harness... As for the ignition wire, I am stuck...

Thanks

 

[beavis195]

I thought the ignition harness wasn't in the steering column. If I remember correctly, the only wire in the steering column harness is the blue one that controls the horn.

 

[B94Sport]

There is one wire that runs all the way to the horn, it is blue, black, and green or yellow. Then there are three wiring harnesses the plug into electronics up there, right by the ignition.... I am guessing this is where the ignition harness is. Does anyone know differently?

 

[beavis195]

Nevermind, now I remember. I had the same problem as you looking for those wires. At the bottom of the colum were the dash plate mounts there is a grey cover that all the wires run into. There is 4 yellow wires that run into one larger wire. This is your constant 12v. That means there are 4 constant wires! You should be able to find the ignition harness from there.

 

[B94Sport]

I just found an online tutorial that specifically explains how to install an alarm in an explorer and where the wires are. Apparently all of the ignition harness wires can be found in the bundle of wires in that mesh inside the driver's side kick panel. That makes sense... I bet every wire in the car goes through there, there are so many. I'll check it out tonight and let everybody know how it turns out.

 

[beavis195]

Was that the 94-97 Explorer install. I hope it works for ya, because I think they meant 95-97. Good luck!

 

[B94Sport]

Ooh... Yes, it was listed as '94-'97... Well I think only the wire colors might have changed, I was more concerned with the location of the wires. I already have two wiring diagrams that list the colors, I just needed to be sure of the locations. I should be able to figure it all out now.

 

[B94Sport]

Well this is just great...

I ran all of the wires this afternoon, plugged in the brain, valet switch, status indicator, and sensors, and waited to see how it would work.
So far I have discovered these problems:

1. The parking lights do not flash when arming/disarming the system

2. The doors do not lock/unlock

3. The shock sensor does not trigger the alarm

Wow, not such a great outcome... My main concern right now is the door locks. I've been told that the Explorer is a 5 wire reverse polarity system. Anyone know how this gets wired? I tried to follow the diagram but must have done something wrong.

 

[Mainfraim]

I'd be interested in looking at the tutorial that you found for the alarm install... might be helpful have around.

 

[B94Sport]

The tutorial is at:
http://members.tripod.com/~autoalarm/EXPLORER.html

As beavis pointed out, it is for '95-'97, not '94-'97... The only difference I noticed was some of the wires are different colors. They can all still be found in the same locations shown. You'll need a wiring diagram from one of these sites:

http://www.bulldogsecurity.com
Dead Link Removed

Or, if you order through Crutchfield like I did, they also send you a diagram.

I must say that once I get my alarm working fully, I think I will be very pleased with it. Right now the motion sensor works and I love it! You can walk past the car and nothing happens, but if you put your face up to a window it beeps at you twice. Then if you put your arm inside (through a window if it is down), the alarm goes off! It's great.

Now for those other problems. Hopefully someone can help me?

 

[beavis195]

With our explorers, you need to add a relay for the door unlock/lock. It's really easy. Just find the wire in the drivers kick panel and tie in to it. Then plug it in to the relay actuator (87 I believe?) Then wire up the relay with power, ground, etc. Where did you tie into the parking light wire? That's the only reason they wouldn't flash. Also check the fuse that controls the parking lights.

 

[B94Sport]

Well the Crime Guard 745i3, according to its manual, has relays to control any type of door lock system. I think I spliced the constant power lead into the wrong wire ... There are two yellow wires and one of them is not constant power. Figured that out when I had to turn on the ignition to get the alarm to function. Yeah.
As for the parking lights, I spliced into them at the switch (the knob) like it said. There are 3 brown wires up there, and I tried each one - none of them worked. Should I splice in somewhere else?

 

[beavis195]

The only other place to splice would be the fuse box. that would work, but could be awkard trying to route the wires. Just buy a fuse tap. The best way is the way you tried at the switch. Again, check the fuse that controls them. Also, try the wires again. Do you have a multimeter? cut back insulation on each wire if you cut them and turn on the parking lights. Whichever wire shows a voltage jump is your parking light wire. Its got to work.

 

[Mainfraim]

Even after the stuff you've gone through, would you still install it yourself all over again? I ask because my first alarm I had installed, but I always thought it'd be a good project to install it myself.

Just wondering. Thanks for those sites too.

 

[B94Sport]

I got the locks working. Yes, you have to follow directions exactly, no matter how well you think you know electronics. I love the keyless entry features on this system! Not only does it lock/unlock the doors when arming/disarming, it also automatically locks them when you start the car, unlocks them when you shut it off, and then locks them again 30 seconds after you get out and shut the driver's door! The parking light flash still doesn't work right, but I didn't try to fix that since it was raining outside. As for the shock sensor, it has been determined that it was defective, so I sent it back and am getting a new one.

I would still install it myself if I had to do it over again... I just made some dumb mistakes the first time. If you have adequate information and the right tools, it should be very easy to do.

 

[beavis195]

Just curious, how'd ya get the locks working? Glad it has worked out for ya. I'm sure the parking light thing will work. When you find the right wire and splice it, It has to work unless the alarm is defective.

 

[B94Sport]

Well if you don't have a keyless entry explorer with they keypad on the outside, then the power lock system is what's called a "5 wire reverse polarity" system. To get the locks to work, the harness for the door lock portion of the alarm came with 7 wires. One is not needed, two get run to constant +12V, and then, you cut the lock and unlock wires located in the driver's kick panel and strip the ends. This essentialy leaves you with four wires: Lock and Unlock "switch side" and Lock and Unlock "motor side" The switch side is the side closest to the front of the vehicle, the motor side is the side closest to the rear. Once you have these, just connect the 4 remaining wires from the harness to the correct switch or motor side lock or unlock wire per the alarm instructions. Now they work perfectly.

That parking light thing is really pissing me off though! There is no reason for it not to work and I can't imagine only that portion of the alarm being defective. The shock sensor I got was defective though, that is being replaced.

 

[towdriverb]

check the parking light wire coming out of the alaem and check that you get power from it when you activate it if it is working you can try going out under the hood to the back of one of the parking lights and hook it up there instead alot easier because a lot less wires to deal with. i usually go there when i do remote starters because ir is easier

 

[B94Sport]

Well I thought about it on the way home from work to me, and the most obvious (but overlooked) answer came to me... The alarm wire that controls the parking lights has an inline 10 amp fuse. I checked it, and sure enough, it was blown. I replaced it, and the parking lights now flash when arming/disarming/setting off the alarm. Also, since I have my neons wired to come on with my parking lights, they flash too, assuming their kill switch is on.

 

[Mainfraim]

I'm looking at the wiring diagram from Viper on the 550ESP and I'm trying to figure out the door lock procedure. It says that it's a 5 wire system. I understand that it's a reversed polarity system. On the diagram there looks like there is 2 motors (lock and unlock). The motors have one wire going to them. According to viper you have to buy 2 relays. You cut the wire for the lock motor and wire the relay to it with the alarm wire, 2 powers and the motor. Same goes for the unlock motor. What is this 5 wire thing then? Is there just 2 wires for the motors, or are there more? God I feel stupid. hahaha. I just want to make sure I know what I'm doing before I start tearing apart the X.

Thanks a lot guys.