1995 subaru legacy lsi keyless options

Background: The 1995 Subaru Legacy LSi has a built-in factory alarm system - old school, not a keyless-entry system that doubles as an alarm. Locking the doors with the key or the power locks arms it.

There was an OEM keyless entry add-on available (manufactured by Code Alarm). That setup includes a relay on the add-on harness that is involved in arming/disarming the built-into-the-vehicle alarm system when the keyfob is used to lock/unlock the car. How it does that (pulse vs. steady voltage, what voltage, etc.), I don't quite know.

Fast forward to 2010. Here's the rub. Keyless entry systems for other cars are setting off the panic alert for my OEM add-on. For example, folks who have PT Cruisers set it off when they unlock their cars. Fun huh? It's really charming when in front of a restaurant.

So I need to replace my keyless entry with something that isn't going to be set off by the guy next to me. Bugger is, that system is going to have to interface somehow with the factory alarm arm/disarm. I have shop wiring diagrams to help me out, but can anyone recommend a system? And any thoughts on what that relay might be all about?

Start by testing the wires at that relay, see what occurs when you arm and disarm, and what the wires are conected to.

I'd reccoment a Viper 211HV.  Around 55-60 bux and very full featured.

In either kick panel you should find:
Unlock = WHITE/ Green
Lock = GREEN/ YELLOW

These wires will arm and disarm when you lock and unlock your doors.
The security module is behind the right side of the glove box and you can also access the wires there.

Mark, thanks for the recommendation. One thing that the factory alarm doesn't have is a shock sensor, and I am thinking that I might opt for one of the Viper alarm systems (vs. straight keyless) as a consequence. Any thoughts on the Viper 3203?

91stt - I have been eyeballing those wires. Know exactly where they are. What I'm not clear on is exactly how they interact with the security module. Do you send a pulse down one to arm the factory security module, and one to disarm? Or supply constant +12V to the wire in question? Or something else?

You would just send a pulse on the wire to lock or unlock.

I've never been a fan of the LED Responder remotes.  The models with the LCD screen are much more functional, and easier to use,  in my opinion.

Mark Mizenko wrote:

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I've never been a fan of the LED Responder remotes.  The models with the LCD screen are much more functional, and easier to use,  in my opinion.

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Thanks. Got a specific model number you'd suggest?

3305V looks interesting... anyone know where to find an install manual for that baby to see how it wires in?

Ha, I got impatient.

Found the manuals for the Viper Responder 350 and ordered one. We'll see how it turns out... time to grab the voltmeter :)

I'm back! :)

Need a little help here guys, just to clarify some things.

The factory keyless entry module I'm swapping out appears to provide:

- Direct dome light supervision via on-module switched (-) for the lighting circuit.

- Direct voltage for the motor(s?) in the driver's door actuator, supplying whatever polarity required.

If I am understanding what I read in the Viper manual correctly, the Viper Responder's module provides neither one of these, working this way instead:

- Dome light supervision circuit will drive a relay, which in turn handles the actual current for the lighting circuit.

- Lock pulse drives an offboard relay(s) (not supplied), which will in turn supply voltage to the actuator as required, in whatever polarity required.

Can someone confirm/deny?

I am also thinking that the actuator, which if I recall is a 2-wire, uses polarity reversal - apply +12V to one wire with (-) to the other and it locks, reverse and it unlocks.

Can someone confirm/deny this as well?

Thanks for any insight...

Well, I finally took on the install. Took some doing but I figured out... eh... most of it.

The dome lamp supervision is giving me a problem and I could use some input. The module provides ground, max current 200mA, for a relay coil, with the relay providing the actual path to ground for the dome light.

There doesn't seem to be enough voltage coming through the coil for pull-in to take place. I have tried 2 different Bosch-equivalent SPDT relays, so relay failure does not appear to be the problem.

I also took a voltmeter to pins 86 (+12V fused) and 85 (the module's dome lamp supervision wire) on the relay socket. When the module is providing ground, there is only 0.7V going from pin 86 to pin 85, with about 31mA of current.

Any thoughts? There is a blocking diode running from pin 86 to 85, but I can't imagine that the diode is somehow gobbling up all that voltage... could it?

Meh, snipped the diode, no effect.

sounds like you tapped into a source that is not a true 12V.
you may have possibly tapped into the cold side of another relay.

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This information is provided only as a reference.
All circuits should be verified with a digital multi-meter prior to making any connections.

91stt] wrote:

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sounds like you tapped into a source that is not a true 12V.
you may have possibly tapped into the cold side of another relay.

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Doesn't look like it, but here's what I've got.

The constant +12V is a YELLOW /GREEN wire in the driver kick panel. It comes off of fuse #11 in the passenger compartment (20A) according to the shop manual diagrams, and is in turn fed by one of the main 30A fused circuits in the main fusebox.

It's actually the same source my OEM keyless entry used to use - rather than tapping something new, figured I'd use the tap I knew had been working for the last 10 years.

I've got that tap feeding the following:

- 15A fuse --> constant +12V to Viper module (red)
- 15A fuse --> constant +12V to DEI 451M actuators (violet/black)
- 10A fuse --> constant +12V to DEI 451M relay coil (red)
           \--> constant +12V to dome relay pin 86

This is how the OEM keyless was wired, come to think of it. The only difference now is that the lock and dome relays are offboard and the module/actuator +12V sharing is via a wire nut instead of soldered under friction tape.

The +12V seems to be working just great for everything listed *except* for the dome relay. I dragged out another multimeter because of some issues with the first - don't have current readings, but if I pull the relay and put the meter across the socket contacts for 86 and 85, I now see 12V 86 --> 85 when the module is providing ground, 4V when it is not. The 12V makes sense, the 4V has me as confused as the fact that the relay just doesn't seem (apparently) to be getting enough pull-in voltage.

As an aside, I would not have expected the Viper dome supervisor wire to have +12V on it when it is *not* trying to have the lights on. Tested it separately, with the multimeter between the dome supervisor wire and ground (nothing else connected to the supervisor wire, of course) and that's what I found. I would have expected a zero reading. But I guess they designed it that way intentionally.

Well, it seems I had a problem with my constant +12V supply. I've resolved that, but still have the issue with the dome lamp supervision.

In further troubleshooting I've determined that:

- The dome lamp relay itself is fine, as is the relay socket wiring. +12V is appropriately getting to the coil (pin 86). When ground is applied (via socket wiring) to pin 85, the relay clicks, and my dome light comes on.

- If I insert my meter between pin 85 and the module BLACK/ white wire, I see +12V across the meter, with the appropriate polarity, when the dome lamp supervision circuit is engaged. However, current flow is negligible (0.15 mA). When the dome lamp supervision circuit is disengaged, current flow drops to flat zero, as expected. Voltage when dome lamp supervision is disengaged is down to about +0.25V.

I'm beginning to wonder if the ground that this BLACK/ white wire is supposed to supply isn't really being supplied. Clearly, something is happening, but the resistance in the module has got to be pretty high to be causing this.

Does anyone, by chance, know what the coil resistance is on a DEI 8616? On the relays I'm working with, it's 100 ohms.

Bought a DEI 8616. Dome lamp supervision circuit still shows the same problem. So... module is going back to the place I bought it for repair/replace. :(

Got the module replacement and installed it - alongside installing a 200mA fuse on the dome lamp supervision wire to the module, just to be safe. No other wiring changes.

Works like a charm. :)