adding pwr locks and rke: saturn sl1

My daughter's'02 SL1 has an aftermarket (cheap) door lock/RKE system installed that is not working properly.  I installed in a couple years ago and it was  a combination kit that included the door actuators and the key fobs all in on kit.  It never really worked all that great and now it has stopped working all together.

I would like to wire in the factory OEM actuators and switches and am looking for a little advice.  Getting the OEM parts is pretty easy. I already have the switches and a couple of the actuators that I pulled from a parts car at a  local U-Pull yard.  So I need some help with the following:

a) How to best wire in the factory actuators and switches.  I was planning to get one of the dual relay harnesses that I have found for ~$6 from several sources just because that will make wiring in the relays easier.  I am just not sure which wiring diagram I should follow.  There are several diagrams on this (and other sites) but  I was a little confused.  Where the 85/86 terminals are routed to to the "To Alarm Unlock(-)" and "To Alarm Lock(-)",  shoule these go to the switch & RKE ?  Or directly to the door actuators?  The diagram labels just don't seem to be very clear to me.

b) Second question if what is the best aftermarket RKE kit to get.  I already got burned by going with the el-cheapo route.  The install time is tough enough that I really don't want to install another junk unit.  I also don't want to spend +$300++ on this either.  What is a good RKE set up for $75-$175 range that is not going to die on me in a few months?  I also would prefer Key fobs that look sort of OEM.  **I don't need remote start or any other bells & whistles that will just complicate things..

The best aftermarket kits would be from Spal or MES (sold as a DEI kit as well). Using factory parts and those relays might work. The trouble is using those relays if you use a 5 wire master for a front door so that you could key unlock the front doors, those relays would stay latched burning out your motors and draining the battery. You must use a dedicated timer relay, available either in the kits or separately from the above.

How would you wire in the dedicated timer relay?

What if I don't use any 5-wire actuators?  I am pretty sure that all the factory saturn actuators are just two-wire.  The door switches are independant and run off 3-wires.

There are several sources that sell the 2-relay harness that report to be good for wiring in power locks.

http://www./itm/190784107616?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I would really like to use something like this to wire in the factory actuators and switches. (already have switches and 1 actuator)

Then I would just use an aftermarket RKE to triger the system remotely.

Simple you would therefore use the 3 wires in the lock switch instead of the 3 extra wires in a five wire. Guess what, they stay latched so you get a constant NEG on either lock or unlock. So what's going to happen to your relays, your lock motors and your battery? Please lets end this silliness, use a timer relay, i.e. dedicated lock relay. You would get away with it by only using factory switches., i.e. momentary action.

And as an afterthought, that link doesn't work.

Howie, I think the OEM doorlock switch for that car would just be a momentary signal, no? caveeagle, I think you'll want to do it like this: On those two relays, look at the three terminals that run up and down the middle first. 87 (top) goes to fused constant 87a (middle) goes to ground 30 (bottom) the left relay goes to one wire of your actuators, the right relay goes to the other wire on the actuators. OK so if we're making sense so far, BOTH actuator wires should now be getting a ground, because 87a is connected to 30. Next, the objective is to get ONE of the relays to MOMENTARILY energize, which would remove 87a from 30, and instead connect 87 to 30, giving power to that one wire, moving the actuator. And then, when you instead activate the other relay, the OTHER actuator wire gets power, which makes the actuator move in the other direction. ACTIVATING THE RELAYS: Your goal is to momentarily give positive to 85, and ground to 86, on only one relay at a time. Your best bet will be most likely to connect (fused) constant power to 85 on both relays, and then configure both your Saturn switch and your keyless unit to momentarily ground 86 on the relay. Hopefully, your Saturn switch should have three wires. Please post back here with how many wires, and what colors they are. Hopefully you have a multimeter and know how to test things, right? If not, put that on your to-do list. You should hopefully be able to put one wire from the Saturn switch to chassis ground, and then the two other wires will each make a ground when you move the switch in one direction or the other. One wire goes to 86 on the first relay, the other to 86 on the second relay. And then, you'd have your aftermarket keyless entry unit set up to make momentary negative pulses, and also connect those to 86 on the relays. NOTE: You'll likely at first have the doorlocks going backwards from the way you intended. Don't worry about that at first, just get them to move back and forth. After they're all working, you may have to switch around a combination of the two Saturn switch wires going to the 86 terminals, or the keyless unit wires going to the 86 terminals, or maybe the actuator wires going to the 30 terminals. CHOOSING A KEYLESS UNIT: Find a brand that's popular, for several reasons: manufacturer tech support, availability of replacement remotes, and help from us on the forums. $10 extra for something we forum members know and can help you with, is money well spent. Also, you could buy a keyless/remote start unit, hook up only the keyless features, and you'll get more range. Automate AM2 is good, Audiovox PRO9845B, there's also an Avital unit that's just like the AM2 but with Avital remotes.

Howie, I hope I am mistaken, but It sounded like a slight attitude on your part. ??  The link is just to an ebay listing for a two-relay harness that is prewired to connect power to both sides.

Chis, thanks for your thoughtfull reply......  I am pretty handy with cars and have completely rewired my '67 mustang using factory harnesses.  So I can figure stuff out,  I just have not done a lot of wiring up custom stuff and thought I should refer to some experts that might help me start off on the right path.  I was a little confused to find so many different methods to wire in door locks.

[QUOTE]Howie, I think the OEM doorlock switch for that car would just be a momentary signal, no? [/QUOTE]

I am pretty sure they are momentary.  I will test this, but I know that when one of these switches goes bad and limps over to one side, it tries to keep engauging the actuator and will drain the power..

[QUOTE]hopefully, your Saturn switch should have three wires. Please post back here with how many wires, and what colors they are. [/QUOTE]

Yes, there are three wires that plug into the factory switches.  blue, white & orange  (might be faded red)

[QUOTE]Hopefully you have a multimeter and know how to test things, right? If not, put that on your to-do list.[/QUOTE]

Yes, I do have a multimeter.   testing is not a problem.

[QUOTE]You should hopefully be able to put one wire from the Saturn switch to chassis ground, and then the two other wires will each make a ground when you move the switch in one direction or the other. One wire goes to 86 on the first relay, the other to 86 on the second relay. [/QUOTE[

Any chance you could verfy that the Saturn  S-seris use the neg groung to activate the switches.  I will also test asap on my other car.

Any chance you could direct me to one of the wiring digrams that corresponds to what you are describing?  I am sure I will make more sense once I start laying out the wires, but a picture IS worth  1,000 words.

[QUOTE]CHOOSING A KEYLESS UNIT: Find a brand that's popular, for several reasons: manufacturer tech support, availability of replacement remotes, and help from us on the forums. $10 extra for something we forum members know and can help you with, is money well spent. [/QUOTE]

I agree 100%.  I will take a look at the items you listed.

Chris, can you recommend a supplier for either of the two RKE systems you recommended?  I searched around and Googled it but did not find any for sale.

We carry both Chris mentioned, go with the AM2 believe me. Here's one on Ebay...

http://www./itm/AutoMate-AM2-factory-keyless-entry-system-/160904734609?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2576ab6791&vxp=mtr

Neat thing about it is the relays are built right into the unit. You can go from the AM2 right to the auctuators and forget the switches alltogether if you want. You can set it up to lock when the car starts by itself and unlock when you turn it off. Really no need for the switches at all...

Mike M2

Tech Manager

CS Dealer Services

Caveagle you're absolutely right and I was being both stupid and stubborn, my thoughts don't apply if you use 2 wire motors. Contrary to what Chris said if you use 5 wire motors the internal micro-switches latch, hence my dedicated timer relay posts. Except Mike trumped everything with his last post so all is good. I was just against using original parts for compatibility reasons, the actuators are fine if you use them with Mikes suggested answer though I think you will need five terminal switches e.g. Spal to control the motor wires. If you find this confusing there are two alternatives and one will allow you the factory switches if the are SPCO momentary switches with three terminals.