Printer Friendly Forum Posts - alarm/remote start, 02 ford explorer

i just purchased an alarm (magic alarm). this will be my first alarm installation into my 2002 ford explorer. i have a couple of questions that i need help with. i am looking at the wiring diagram to the alarm and am looking for the wire that is flashing lights. all i see in the wire diagram is "indicator light(+)" and is showing a 10 amp fuse. my question is, do i connect the "parking lamp" or the "headlights" wire or both to that connection of the alarm? the only other option i see in the diagram is channel 3 output(-) which is a negative wire. do i also need a relay? how do i connect the flashing lights? what are usually the flashing lights? with the door locks, i know i have a type "b" system, but the wiring diagram shows two lock and two unlock wires. do i merge both lock wires then both unlock wires and connect it to the relays or do i just use one and connect it to each relay? finally, how do i find the tach signal with my multimeter and the location of the tach signal?

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dustin213

Indicator lights=parking lights..... Check your lock wires ...in the manual it should tell you the polarity of the wires. I will venture a guess that you have both neg. and pos. outputs.

DON'T connect them together.

Read thru the manual.... it "should" tell you what each wire is for.

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Just guessing but your 2 sets of lock wires are NO and NC outputs from onboard lock and unlock relays with a sparate feed which goes to either power or ground depending on the lock configuration. Check your install manual it should give you diagrammes. Everywhere but North America, indicators mean amber hazard flashers, in North America it is the side lights.

I wondered about that as well, but then there would be 6 wires? not just four

Howie, I got a 9 am phone interview this morning. posted_image

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I actually mentioned 5, but DEI run their purple and PURPLE / black commons through a single fuse enabling you to configure them for the different locking types. So sorry 6 is right. N.B. it's now 8:50 your time, good luck!

what is the proper location to put the alarm and relays?

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dustin213

underneath the dash. lol

Just make it nice and neat. Make it look factory. Hide the brain too.

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"dont ground out!"

well yea its usally the dash area (high up) behind glove box, or center consol. the thing is the further u move it away from the driver side, the more length of wires u will run.

i just purchased a remote start car alarm. the alarm came with a relay and a connector for the remote start. would i have to use additional relays? what do you usually need to install an alarm? how and where do i find the tach signal?

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dustin213

depending on the car, realys may not be needed. tach is at the coil.

i dont really like or understand this manual. i have a 2002 ford explorer and the door locking system is a type "b" system. the manual shows six wires. it shows me a diagram of central door locking.what type of central door locking is a type b system? do i need to use relays if the manual doesnt specify? ive seen the viper 550 esp guide, which is highly detailed. the manual for this alarm is not that great.

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dustin213

If your alarm has (-)outputs for the lock & u/lock just connect them directly to the
pink/green and pink / YELLOW wires in the drivers kick panel.

last time u mentioned the extra relay. that extra relay is your starter kill/anti grind. connect it like so. you will end up cutting the starter wire to do a starter kill.

85 - ignition 1
86 - ground when armed from unit
87a - starter wire key cylinder side
87 - starter wire motor side

dustin23 if possible you could scan the manual's pages that actually have the diagrams - I can speak "electrician" as well as "chinglish" pretty fluently.

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C Renner's Auto Electronix
My service is cheap, quick, and good - pick any two

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C Renner's Auto Electronix
My service is cheap, quick, and good - pick any two

Is this a pic of the unit that your installing dustin23?

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Ok...that doorlock diagram is pretty much garbage, so I would suggest you stop using it as a reference for your vehicle; however I can kind of gather what they are trying to say.

Basically if we hadn't mentioned earlier - this alarm has internal relays for the doorlocks which is quite handy when you can use them. The wires and what pins they go to are as follows:

Black - Lock 87a
Green - Lock 30
Pink - Lock 87
White - Unlock 87a
Blue - Unlock 30
Orange - Unlock 87

Note: I translated "up" as "unlock" because every aftermarket actuator I've seen has blue as unlock, green as lock. If it ends up that it works backwards just switch the wires around.

Now: for your car. Green from alarm to pink / YELLOW on the car, blue from alarm to pink/green on the car, orange and pink from alarm to ground and you don't connect the other two wires to anything.

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C Renner's Auto Electronix
My service is cheap, quick, and good - pick any two

Also that starter kill relay diagram is really stupid - the starter output for the remote starter needs to be connected on the motor side, not the switch side. Otherwise your r/s won't work with the alarm activated.

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C Renner's Auto Electronix
My service is cheap, quick, and good - pick any two

Black - Lock 87a
Green - Lock 30
Pink - Lock 87
White - Unlock 87a
Blue - Unlock 30
Orange - Unlock 87

since the unit does have internal relays for all wiring applications, Connect these wires to ground - PINK and ORANGE. Connect the Green and Blue to the lock/unlock wires on the car. before you make sure these are negative outputs, hook up a volt meter and test the outputs on locks by Red to constant 12v and black to lock or unlock wire. when u locl/unlock the DMM should show 12v.

this will be my first install. the 2002 ford explorer has a keyless/alarm that exist. the work that was done to install this alarm was not that great. (1)my first question is, do i directly connect the door lock/unlock wire to the alarm or do i need relays? my (2)second question is when i was studying the previous installation, in the driver side kick panel, there was connects for the lock motor, unlock motor and to the unlock wire but not the lock wire, what is the reason for that? (3) i seen a relay from the alarm, my guess is that relay is for starter kill because the starter wire was cut in two and sent to the relay. (4) how do i open the trunk/hatch or the explorer with the alarm? i ask this question because while looking at the connects to the previous alarm i seen no connect to the trunk/hatch wire. is there any tips that i would need in order to successfully complete my first alarm install.

THANK YOU

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dustin213

how many internal relays does a car alarm have and usually for what functions? normally, for what functions would i need external relays?

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dustin213

depending on the system for the count on built in relays. I guess you would have to clarify your question more. Like some control modules have outputs for both - and + polarities. But some that only have a - polarity you would have to build a relay to make it output + (positive) <--- example. Or is it doesnt produce a good enough ground you can "boost" the signal by wiring up a relay. All sorts of reasons.

i guess is whats your reason.?

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"dont ground out!"

Most alarms, may only have one relay on board for positive parking lights. Most the outputs are transistorized. Relays are designed either to change a positive to a negative or vice versa, or to handle a larger amount of current than the units outputs are designed for. Such items are certain types of door lock circuits, starter/ignition kills, parking lights, trunk releases, etc. Relays are explained in more detail on the left side of this site. They are a very simple switch that can be used for a variety of creative ideas.

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sparky

im installing a fai 8000 unit to my 2002 ford explorer(its my first install).the problem is the instruction manual, its garbage. can anyone help me translate these instructions! i should of purchase a better system.

posted_image

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dustin213

the alarm i have currently in my ford explorer(2002) is malfunctioning because when i hit a dip or a bump, the doors lock and unlock, and the door ajar lights up in my instrument panel. what could be the problem? how can i fix it?

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dustin213

Is this the OEM Ford security sytem or an aftermarket?

If it's aftermarket, jiggle wires under the dash and see if you can reproduce the problem. It might be a loose or shorted connection.

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Prepare your future. It wasn't the lack of stones that killed the stone age.

its the oem ford security system, but the unit is located above the gas peddle and held by velcro straps. what connection would be causing that?

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dustin213

You sure that's the security unit? It's usually in the passenger kick area.

Tap the unit with the handle of a screwdriver - don't be shy. Does it false?

Move the harness around. Does it false?

It might be the door ajar switch itself.

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Prepare your future. It wasn't the lack of stones that killed the stone age.

That may not be "oem" as BigDog is describing. There are CodeAlarm systems out there branded as Ford "PowerCode" systems that have remotes that look identical to the Ford factory remotes. These systems are a dealer installed item, not a factory installed item and as such it would explain the discrepancy in brain location.

It has been my experience with these systems that they are normally installed very poorly. If anyone has had the "pleasure" of perusing the installation manual for these systems, some of them actually tell the technician to 'worm' the wires for connections. I have yet to see one installed in a manner that I would consider professional.

From the description of your problem I would agree with BigDog on this, and look into the connections themselves.

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Installer, IT support, and FFL. I need less hobbies.

There's a good chance your issue is not the alarm. It seems everytime i hear of this issue it ends up being a door latch problem instead. I would try prying gently on the rear hatch a bit while it's closed and see if it doesn't simulate the problem

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Mike M2
Tech Manager
CS Dealer Services

ive studied my 02 ford explorer's current security system. my questions is what's the reason for making a connections to the lock and unlock motors?

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dustin213

To lock and unlock the doors. posted_image

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Prepare your future. It wasn't the lack of stones that killed the stone age.

im trying to locate the trunk/hatch release wire and color of the wire in my 02 ford explorer to make the connection to the fai 8000 plus unit that im installing.

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dustin213

what can i use the unlock and lock motor when installing an alarm? can i connect trunk/hatch release? current alarm system has no trunk/hatch release, but the hatch still opens when i press unlock, why? the only connection i view to the door locking is lock/unlock motor and power unlock.

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dustin213

I'm trying to work out what you are asking. Are you trying to unlock the hatch separately? If so please follow the rules....What car year and model? What alarm/RS system? The hatch unlocks because its part of the vehicle's factory system. You might isolate the hatch UNLOCK MOTOR WIRE (sits on neg then flips to pos on unlock, use an aux on your alarm to control this through a relay). But none of this is germane unless we have the info!

i was checking the current security system in my 2002 ford explorer when i put the unit back i tried to turn on the truck and it would not start. it will just crank. i know the unit has a starter kill relay in which the diode is broken. what can do in order to start my ford explorer?

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dustin213

If you have starter kill and the motor turns over when you attempt to start it, the alarm is not your problem. However, if they used the starter kill relay to interrupt the ignition wire, this could be a problem. Find the relay and follow the 2 larger wires from the relay to see what color wire they connect to. Both wires should connect to the same color wire. Let us know what color wire they are connected to. To disable the relay, reconnect the wire back together. The one you followed the 2 larger wires to.

will your truck start with the key?

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The search function is your friend.

is it possible for the key to stop working?

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dustin213

if i was checking the alarm wiring and press the valet switch would that cause my car not to start?

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dustin213

howie ll wrote:

I'm trying to work out what you are asking. Are you trying to unlock the hatch separately? If so please follow the rules....What car year and model? What alarm/RS system? ....But none of this is germane unless we have the info!

The OP's topics have been merged into this thread.

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posted_image

the12volt • Support the12volt.com

To KTM, Chris,Tedmond Mr. Idiot etc etc,I'm sorry I answered this yesterday , I thought it was a new post when I saw it and fell into the old Mustanggt trap. Certain of you gentlefolk especially the camping enthusiast and the Krazy one will know what I mean.

I learned something new today, I always thought that OP was short for Other People. Seems as though it might mean Original Poster. It is all beginning to make sense now. Thanks 12Volt

howie ll wrote:

To KTM, Chris,Tedmond Mr. Idiot etc etc,I'm sorry I answered this yesterday , I thought it was a new post when I saw it and fell into the old Mustanggt trap. Certain of you gentlefolk especially the camping enthusiast and the Krazy one will know what I mean.

I'm tryin to figure if I might be "Krazy".... or a camping enthusiast? posted_image

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No Gary you're camp (and I sincerely hope that it doesn't mean the same in the US as it does here, if so bad pun) C. Wallace is Krazy Kris Tedmund is the Babe and Craig (did I remember your name OK?) is Mr Idiot

can the pats system be causing the explorer not to start?

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dustin213

Dustin, now is the time to have your car towed to a specialist. Tell them you are sorry but you were stupid enough to try an install yourself without the requisite patience or knowledge. Ask them to exclude you from their workshop because as you have proven, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

Lastly are you by any chance related to 07 mustanggt?