01 cavalier 2.2l remote starter

This is a bit of a continual on the project, but if I want to get the horn and the parking lights working with the remote, do I have to use relay's or can I just directly connect the horn wire to the remote starter "horn output" wire and the parking lights wire to the remote starter "parking light relay output" wire. Also, is there a way to add the rear defrost as a function to turn on when you start the car? If so, do I use relay's for that as well or is there a wire on the remote starter I could use and would anyone know what wire it may be for the rear defrost on a 01 cavalier and it's approx locastion? If no one knows, is there a way to find out with a volt meter? Thanks guys!

Parking lights are Brown and Positive at the Switch. If your unit supports positive parking lights either by changing a jumper or using a polarity wire then yes connect it directly to the brain. For defroster out put you can use the Ground when running output from the remote starter since your using D2D for the bypass. Use a relay to change the negative output from the remote start to a positive and make sure you use a good 12v source the defroster can pull allot of power. Sorry I don't have the colors or polarity of the defroster or the horn.

sneakycyber wrote: Parking lights are Brown and Positive at the Switch. If your unit supports positive parking lights either by changing a jumper or using a polarity wire then yes connect it directly to the brain. For defroster out put you can use the Ground when running output from the remote starter since your using D2D for the bypass. Use a relay to change the negative output from the remote start to a positive and make sure you use a good 12v source the defroster can pull allot of power. Sorry I don't have the colors or polarity of the defroster or the horn.

So in sense I am using a the "(-) 200mA Ground When Running Output" wire from the RS. But, I have to switch it's polarity with a relay and then connect it to the (+) defrost wire. Is that right? Also, to check wires for the defrost, do I tap into wires and check for voltage when the defrost is off (which should read 0) and then check for voltage again when the defrost is on (which should read 12v then, I think)...? Does that sound right? Thanks again : )

Happy to hear you got it going. I wouldn't use the negative out when running wire to activate the rear defrost because it will activate any time the remote starter is used. If your remote starter has a programmable timed output activated with a specific press of a remote button, you can use it to power a relay to power the rear defogger. It depends on your remote starter. I would suggest a time of 5 - 8 minutes would be suffiecient. Another way would be to use a free channel on the remote starter to activate a relay to simulate pushing the rear defogger button. This would mean adding wires to the circuits directly on the HVAC controls. For your horn connection, there is a thin black wire in the ignition harness that requires a ground to activate the horn.sparky

sparkie wrote: Happy to hear you got it going. I wouldn't use the negative out when running wire to activate the rear defrost because it will activate any time the remote starter is used. If your remote starter has a programmable timed output activated with a specific press of a remote button, you can use it to power a relay to power the rear defogger. It depends on your remote starter. I would suggest a time of 5 - 8 minutes would be suffiecient. Another way would be to use a free channel on the remote starter to activate a relay to simulate pushing the rear defogger button. This would mean adding wires to the circuits directly on the HVAC controls. For your horn connection, there is a thin black wire in the ignition harness that requires a ground to activate the horn.

So I got the parking lights and the horn to sync with the remote starter. Found the right wires. It worked out great. The only thing that puzzled me is, when I was testing the parking lights wire, I was reading 0 volts the whole time, even when turning on the parking lights and when turning on the headlights...nothing. But, I was attaching a lead to a ground (car chassis) and another lead to the parking lights wire. Now should I have been testing it differently? Should I have been having one lead go to a 12v source and another lead go to the parking light wire? Would that have been the correct way to test this wire possibly? Also, the rear defrost is activated for a timed duration when you press the button in the car and then it turns off by itself. So does that mean, all I have to find is that specific wire which gives the command for the rear defrost to turn on and then splice into this wire with a wire from the RS that only sends one pulse? I assume that this pulse must trigger a relay system that is timed, allowing the rear defrost to turn off by itself after so long....hmmm....any thoughts? Also, how would you go testing for this wire? So, lets say, when you press the rear defrost button, should the right wire only show a voltage for a second or two and then go back to 0 volts? To me this would make sense, as this wire sends a signal to have the rear defrost activated through a relay system (I think at least)? Thanks again. I feel like I am getting an electrical engineering degree through all this trial and error and learning proces....haha...well maybe not...but it's definitely fun stuff! I'm liking it, even though it can be a headache.

I personally use whats called a logic probe/test light it test for positive and negative polarity at the same time this is the one I have. With a DMM keep the Black probe grounded and when your testing for 12v + us the 12vdc selection when your testing for ground use continuity test (it beeps when you have a complete ground circuit or you can use an OHM test and it should zero out or come close to it). For your defrost test yes that's what sparky is recommending find the button on your HVAC controls and test it with your DMM to find out if its a neg or positive pulse and then wire up a relay for which ever it is. Most newer starters have a Dedicated defroster out put. Personally I see no problem in using the GWR wire since when your driving in really wet weather you use your defogger to keep your rear window from fogging up allot longer then the duration of the remote starter so I see no harm in having run for 15-20 min every time you remote start. I would say it is better to use a dedicated output but if there isn't one use what you got.

I don't know why you didn't get a reading on the correct parking light wire, unless your test equipment is at fault. The Brown parking light wire will show 12 volts on it when you turn on the parking lights or the headlights. For the rear defogger, I have always connected directly to the HVAC controls. You will need to isolate the correct circuits on the circuit board to connect to. I usually use a relay to simulate the connection of pushing the rear defogger button. Doing it this way keeps the timer and fusing the same as factory. I also usually get fancier and connect the circuit through the use of the ground out when running circuit and a free cahnnel from the remote starter. This way the only way the rear defogger will work is if the remote starter is activated and you activate the designated channel of the remote starter. It's a bit more work, but safer. This way the rear defogger can't be activated accidentally. Again it really depends on your system if it has these capabilities or you know how to get creative with relays and use one to transfer a channel function to two different uses.sparky