calling all electricans..

oredith · 09-13-1999, 12:44 PM

Hi all,
I'm installing an alarm in my 914, and i'm trying to put in the igition kill switch, but i'm having a heck of a time figuring out which wires go to what.. i've looked at the pelican electrical diagram and confirmed i've got the (2) red, (2) gray, and (1) yellow wire, but i'm lost as to which wire does what, can someone give me a pointer?..
I connected the wire from the alarm that's suppose to go to the "true ignition".. which i guessed to be the BIG FAT RED WIRE since when i cut it.. the car doesn't start.. but when i spliced everything together, the car doesn't start at.. is "true ignition" the red wire?..

perhaps this string is better saved for the alpine people, but, maybe someone who's had some experience can help me out?

Thanks in advance,

Jeff

TFI · 09-13-1999, 06:32 PM

Jeff,

what kind of alarm did you get? (or if you dn't want us to know): what wires are you having problems with, just the "true ignition" wire? what are the other wires labeled on the security system?
you can e-mail details to me if you want.
-jim-

JP Noonan · 09-13-1999, 08:57 PM

You mention "Alpine". I don't know if they have gotten any better but they used to be a Royal PITA about giving wiring diagrams or install info to anyone not in the "biz". I got some old 8080 8040 and 8026 stuff I can dig up, but I don't know if they still use the old colors. The newer companies, DEI/Viper, are a little better, but I always call them from my friends car alarm shop. He had (actually, sad to say, he's quit the business so, oh well) a complete data base of most cars built from 75+ with what wire to cut and where it was located.

Anyway back to the question, I think you're cutting the wrong wire. A ignition kill is generally a bad idea, if the alarm goes off (malfunctions) while you're driving the engine dies!!! The standard thing is a "starter kill" that is only energized when the alarm triggers. I think the starter wire on pre 74 is the yellow one (here's a tip: cut the starter wire someplace in the center tunnel, if you do it under the dash most theives will find it. And trust me, a lot of car theives work/worked in car stereo/alarm places.) On 74+ it is a yellow/red wire.

Other tips: Scotch locks are not a good idea, they build up corosion and eventually fail. "strip and wrap" has no place in an electrical system. If it dosen't fail, the tape eventually comes off and it shorts. Test for a constant while the starter is cranking, it is different then just an "assesory" lead. There are the "squish" type wire crimpers and the "lug(?)" type. the squish type look like an oval (and are usally a stripper/crimper combonation), while the lug type look like a "U" (usally only a diaginal cutting head with two sizes of crimps). The lug type is much better, it bites through the PVC and locks the butt splice connector into the wire. Home Depot has some for $8-$10, worth it.

Check on those wire colors, but IMHO it is the starter and not the ignition you want to cut.

oredith · 09-13-1999, 10:01 PM

Thanks Jim and JP,

I wrote Jim an e-mail earlier about this because i didn't want to bog down pelican with something that's not quite 914 related, but some info: i've got the alpine 8081, it WAS a PITA to install, or at least what i've installed so far, and no, alpine actually has a wiring diagram up on their site now at www.alpine1.com -> alpine products -> 8080 (it's the same one for 8081).. it's a PDF file.. I think their site is currently down though.
the red wire i was talking about, i think is the sensor line that the alarm uses to know when the car is on/started, not related to ignition cut (i don't think), sorry about the mistake, the ignition cut is another thing want to install. help in that area?..

thanks again,

Jeff