Hi! I purchased an older Wrangler (1994 with a manual transmission) a few months ago. I've spent the time fixing it up and restoring it to something pretty nice. People in Jeep forums say to keep the windows open, doors unlocked, no top on, to prevent it from getting stolen or damaged. Others will say to pull the distributor, disconnect the battery, etc. Yes, those all work...but it's a PITA to do this all the time.
I've installed two Fortin remote start alarms so far, which went fairly well. I ran into a few hiccups but I worked it out, learned some things, and made it work. I have all the wiring in the Jeep out at this time and think it would be a good time to figure out the alarm situation. Unfortunately though, a lot of alarms don't have diagrams going back all the way to 1994. It seems like most of them stop around 1998/1999 timeframe, which is when a lot of the keyless entry systems started coming into the picture.
To start, I was wondering what people suggest as a simple alarm with a starter kill or fuel pump cutoff. I used Fortin before but not sure if there's something better. Crutchfield sells a Code Alarm CA-1155 for $150. They also sell a Viper 3121V powersports alarm for $199. I don't want to take the car anywhere for them to "activate" the alarm either, which I know a lot of Vipers will make you do.
As for installation, since there's not a lot of information out there, here's what I'm thinking. With using this as a reference...
https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/alarmdetail/1234.html
I would connect the
Jeep wire -> Code Alarm Wire
Constant 12v+ - Red -> Red Battery 12v (+)
Black ground -> black ground
Starter Kill:
Cut the yellow starter wire from the ignition key harness to the starter. Wire it up like the "Normally Open Starter Kill" picture. (12v+ to 86, ignition harness starter wire to 87, starter motor to 30, and 85 to the "armed output (-) {brown} wire on the code alarm. Place a diode across 86 & 85.
-or-
I found another diagram that somebody did to wire it up. They did:
- Armed Output (-) {brown} wire on code alarm to a diode(?) to 85.
- Cut yellow ignition harness wire.
- Yellow Starter Wire on key ignition harness side to 30 & 86
- Yellow Starter wire on starter side to 87a.
- Nothing on 87
I'm just really confused about the starter stuff. And also if I could install it all in the engine bay instead of under the dash, with the heat from the engine and the alarm brains being there.
I think all the other wires are optional, since there's no doors and I could figure out the lights and siren.
Thanks!!