2001 Dodge Grand Caravan domelight

Hello all!

We're installing a CompuStar 2000AS remote starter / alarm into my 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan.  We've tackled most of the issues with assistance from the forums and information here (THANKS!) and from Bulldog Security's wiring information (once again remember NO 2nd ignition as Bulldog has it, it's a 2nd starter wire!).  We went to the COIL for the tach since the Bulldog info didn't really specify where to find the wire internally. 

The last thing we need to figure out is the domelight.  The Bulldog info says that the domelight is YEL/ORG (-), but we're not sure how to deal with it.  The CompuStar install guide has a '(+/-)Door Trigger or Dome Light Out' and the opposite wire 'Select the Polarity of Door Trigger'.  The Dodge has 12v on the wire when the domelight is on and negative when it wasn't, but we ended up tripping the BCM and had to reset the computer to get the dome light to operate correctly again.  Anyone have any ideas or experience dealing with this?

Everything else is peachy, but the domelight stumped us.

Thanks!

--Chris

There are separate door triggers for each door, they are all in connector 3 at the BCM. The driver door trigger is purple in pin 6, the passenger door is PURPLE / white in pin 7, the left sliding door is PURPLE / gray in pin 8, and the right sliding door is purple / YELLOW in pin 5. Use all four and diode isolate each.The BCM is in the drivers kick panel near the parking brake. It has 5 plugs in it, one 6 pin plug and four 34 pin plugs.

If the doors are closed and you have no power in the wire and if open you have 12 volts, then you have a (+) door trigger system on the van. Have the cathode band on the diodes facing the alarm system and make sure you double diode isolate these wires with dual 6 amp diodes wired in parallel to get 12 amps of blocking diode resistance.

What Jeff said, and the hatch pin is PURPLE / orange, also somewhere in the BCM.  All five of these wires are negative trigger.

However, there is a single wire you can use to catch all doors.  It's the yellow/orange, found in one of the two large bundles in the driver's kick panel.  Or you can find it at the domelight itself.  It's positive trigger, and it is also affected by the factory domelight delay.  This is the wire my shop uses, and I don't think we've ever tripped a BCM with it....but I'll ask around.  (We use regular positive parking lights on these vans too, and I think we've had to reset a BCM once for that.)

So, if you're going to stick with the yellow/orange, you'll want to connect your wire that says "Select Polarity of Door Trigger" to a constant positive source.  If you're going to use the five separate negative wires at the BCM, hook that wire to a ground.  Also, you'll of course be diode-isolating all of these wires as they go into your alarm..........remember to put the alarm's "Door Trigger or Dome Light Out" to the BCM side of one of those diodes, on any of the five door trigger wires; it doesn't matter which one.

Hey guys, thanks for the great information!  We'll try this and report back!

Even though I've been on the Net for nearly 10 years, it constantly amazes me how effective it is for people to help other people!

Thanks again!

--Chris