what is white wire for? clifford arrow2

i realise the clifford arrow 2 is an old alarm system, but it does what i need it to, and its a good alarm, i've had it on my 90 honda crx since 1999, it was installed at a good professional shop called earmark car audio.

it worked good for long time, but i had problem later where my parking lights (corner signal lights), would stay stuck on after
arming it, and if i did'nt look at the car when arming it, and did'nt notice if the parking lights got stuck on or not, then i end up
coming back and finding my battery is drained !, howie from this forum told me to cut the brown wire going to the brain, to disable the flashing parking light feature, so i did that and no more problem with that.

also i had some problems where it acted weird, something to do with the valet mode toggle switch ?, it was in a spot that was easy for me to hit accidentally, and then i did'nt know if it was hit and it probably was on, in valet mode, so thats why it probably seemed to act weird?, also the toggle switch was'nt mounted on anything, so it was just hanging by the wire its on, hanging real low below the underdash fusebox, and was sometimes in the way of my left leg when driving, so i ended up rolling it up and jamming it up any place around the fusebox area, but later it always seemed to drop back down
again?, then i think i was pulling on it real hard or something, and later the toggle switch came off of the wire, and not sure

what happened to it?, cause don't know where it is?, even know it was pulled and messed with, the wires look ok and not damaged, and are connected good into the harness?

i can't recall why exactly, but there were also a few times (1-3), where i had a problem where i accidentally opened the door triggering the alarm to go off, cause i did'nt know it was armed, and then i could'nt un-arm it ?, and i think messing with the valet mode toggle switch finally let me un-arm it? but another time i could'nt un-arm it even after messing with the valet mode toggle switch and stuff, and when i even disconnected the negative battery cable the alarm was still going off ?, and so i was forced to cut the wire for the siren!, cause it was 1:30am so i was hurrying up to try to turn it off cause i knew all the neighbors heard it!

so now i decided to get the alarm so its working normal again, cause i know its good and just need to figure out what causes it to do certain things?, and check everything to make sure its all good.

first thing i noticed was the batteries inside both remotes were low, and tested 40%, so i bought new ons for them.

i printed out the installation guide for the clifford arrow 3 to use as reference, cause i could'nt find one for the arrow 2 ?, but
they seemed similar enough?   i looked at all the wires good, and they matched all the colors like it showed on the wire chart for the arrow 3, so it was like the arrow 2 a lot, i checked and the couple fuses in fuse holders were still good, i wired the siren back up, using butt connectors and ratcheting crimping tool and put electrical tape and loom covering it, i taped up the ends of the cut wires, the brown wire i cut for flashing parking lights, and there were 4 cut wires taped together, and i found out they were for accessories, power locks and things that were'nt needed.

also, theres a single white wire coming out of the brain control box?, it comes out the side of it, and does'nt come out of the
harness, its just by itself coming out of the box ?, does anyone know what that wire would be for exactly ?, on the chart it said there was a white wire that was for the valet mode input?, would that be it? but i thought i saw the black and white wires for the valet mode toggle switch both going to the harness?, unless it did go to the white wire coming out the brain?

and maybe since i had problems with the valet mode and toggle switch, i just cut it where it connected to the white wire ?   to eliminate any problems with it?, not sure if i did, but if i did, i would'nt of known what i was doing?

there was a yellow wire somewhere mixed in around all the alarm related wires, which had a rubber fuse holder thing on the wire, which a fuse would snap into, but it was empty and had no fuse in it?, not sure what that is for ?, but in the guide for the arrow 3, it just showed 2 different fuse holders and were different amp fuses in them, and had orange and red wires and stuff, so i thought maybe the yellow one was for something other than the alarm?, but i need to make sure if it is for the alarm or not?

so after organizing all the alarm wires, i plugged the brain up and hooked the battery cable back on, and turned the ignition key to "on", and first thing it showed was a blinking led light ?, and i pressed the unarm button on remote and it went off, but did'nt hear siren at all?, then i armed it and was blinking again, then disarmed, then pressed both buttons like arming it silently, and it started blinking again but no siren sound, but then the led went off and was'nt blinking or anything when i pressed any of the remote buttons ?, so i turned the key to "off", and turned back to "on", and now led light was just solid?, and it did'nt react at all to any remote buttons being pressed ?, so i gave up and just unplugged the brain unit until i figure more out about it.

would it act weird if the valet toggle switch was'nt connected to the black and white wires that it supposed to go to ?, cause at the end of the black and white wires, one has a metal plug end and the other wire has a metal hole that a plug on end of wire would connect into, do those connect to the toggle switch somehow?, or do they connect to each other?, where the black wire is connected to the white wire?, cause i just connected them together since i did'nt know what to do with them, but maybe thats wrong and is making it act weird?

just wanted to get some help and guidance on figuring out how i can get this alarm working back to normal, so i can just have a simple alarm to arm my car with, so theres a blinking led and also that would trigger a sound alert if a thieve opened door or broke window, so they be more likely to pass it up, cause i live near downtown and i park on side of house where its real dark and its an older 1990 honda which has the type of doors and locks and windows that are easy for thieves to get into, so thought its worth me getting alarm working normal so i can put it to use again.

there is a white wire coming out of the brain box of the clifford arrow 2,   its seperate from the main wire harness, its just by itself?, not sure what it is for exactly ?   can anyone help me find out what it is for?   cause thats the only part i don't understand?

heres a picture of the wire :
the white wire

heres a picture of the wire diagram for the clifford arrow 2, (i don't see where it shows that white wire anywhere on it?)
wire diagram for arrow 2

The antenna, don't cut it or join it to anything.

-------------
Test before boxing up.

thanks a lot for confirming that for me, someone on a different forum said the same thing, but seemed unsure, and i did'nt know alarms had an antenna wire on the main brain unit ?,   

is it's purpose to recieve signals from your alarm remote from a certain distance range?     

do i just leave it hanging out of the brain ?, or am i supposed to suspend it above it or something somehow ?   cause it did'nt say anything regarding the antenna wire in the installation guide or manual for the alarm i have?    and how does the end of the antenna wire supposed to look ?, cause mine looks just like its cut clean off with scissors or something?, not stripped, just a cut clean end,

i wrapped electrical tape around the end, but how should the end be ?

thanks

This post is a bit late for April fool, 15 questions on a 15 year old alarm?
Just leave it alone.

-------------
Test before boxing up.

well, its on a 23 yr old car,   i know its not a perfect alarm with the latest and greatest up-to-date features, but its a good alarm, so no reason not to put it to use?     cause my car was broken into 2 years ago when that alarm was on, but i did'nt arm it, but i live near a bad area around downtown, and its dark on the side of the street where i park my car, so i just want to use this alarm again, so at least theres a blinking led on the dash, and so it sounds an alert if its triggered by the door opening or window breaking, which would make me feel better than just having nothing.    the alarm also has a starter interrupt and other features that are all usefull also.

but i don't see why i can't use an alarm thats 15 yrs old ? if it still works ?    its like people saying for me to get a new car, just cause my car is 23 yrs old, so i have the newest models that are out at the moment ?, but i like my car and it works fine.

OK you want to stick with it fine but but now half the internal components will be shot or not working properly.
I answered as Howie ll a problem you had some time ago.
Reading between the lines you are trying to bring something back from the dead without the required knowledge.
1) Yellow wire should have a 20 amp fuse, controls the light outputs.
2) You can make it work without the valet switch.
3) PM me your email address and I'll send you a diagram for the 2, it's COMPLETELY different to the 3.
N.B. Look here in the Downloads/Manuals section because so well I. If it's there I won't reply to your PM because you aren't using your own resources properly.

-------------
Test before boxing up.

yes i remember, you helped me a while ago, you told me snip the brown wire for the parking lights, which fixed my problem.

i realise i'm not experienced, but keep in mind i'm not doing a whole alarm system install from scratch, this alarm is already installed, i'm just connecting stuff back up and checking around so its all good, so it works how it should like it did before.

but i do have the wiring diagram for the arrow 2, it took while before i found it, and at first was looking at the arrow 3 diagram.

on the diagram for arrow 2, it shows the yellow wire as the siren wire, so that wire supposed to have a 20amp fuse on it?

i was going to say that i needed to find my valet toggle switch, cause i have a feeling it might just be stuck in valet mode and i don't have the toggle connected to be able to switch to get it out of valet mode?,   but you say i don't need a toggle switch necessarily?

basically when i plugged the brain back in, i pressed arm / disarm on the remote and the led worked and was blinking and then off, ..., but i did'nt hear the siren? i'll double-check the siren connections, since i did have to re-connect it after being forced to cut the siren wire one time when it would'nt disarm late at 1am.

Oh here we go, sorry the yellow is a NEG feed to the siren.
There should be two fuses, a 5 amp on a red and a 20 amp on a WHITE/ red NOT yellow.
I'm guessing the siren has had it.
With your DMM red probe to battery or constant 12 volt source, black probe to yellow wire, try to activate alarm, open door, release hood pin switch if there is one, ground the grey or grey / YELLOW wires.
Your meter should read 12V+.
If not the siren driver is blown bin it.
If yes either the siren is a gonner (any 12V+ siren to replace it) or the connection has failed somewhere.
Take the two siren wires, the black should be connected to the yellow, the red should be 12V+ constant.
If not it connect the red to the battery + and ground the black, if still nothing change the siren.
Ref valet switch. Those switches cost cents from Radio Shack etc. Resolder to new switch OR just touch the wires together to emulate the switch.

-------------
Test before boxing up.

By the way if I was physically there doing the diagnostics you would have already exceeded the cost of its replacement!
Nothing to do with old product in old car, just not cost effective even for an expert.

-------------
Test before boxing up.

no, i really appreciate your help, advise and input on this, and realise you get paid to do similar stuff and that you don't have to do this.

when i re-connected the siren wire back up, i used butt connectors, crimping the stripped wire ends with a ratcheting crimping tool, and i did put match up the right wires.      

i remember seeing two fuse holders, on red wires that were either 10 or 20 amp, and i think there was a yellow wire with a black rubber fuse holder that was empty?, so maybe thats for the siren?   i will check

so until i find or buy new toggle switch, your saying i can just connect the white and black wires for the toggle together ? to emulate the switch ?     

if i were to buy a new toggle switch, do you know what type of toggle switch i would need exactly ?   i know its just one of those metal toggle switches, and i think it had a 2-pin connector on the back possibly ?,   but do i look for one that accepts a certain amount of volts? or anything like that?   cause i know they have them at radio shack and other stores, but i want to make sure i get the right kind that will work with the alarm system?

after looking, i noticed theres a 10amp fuse on the red wire and 10amp fuse on the RED / white wire, and not the 5amp and 20amp like you said?, does that matter?   and theres a rubber fuse holder on the black wire that goes to the siren, with the yellow and red wires, but no fuse is in it?, should it have a fuse there?

The first point is that before crimping you should test, in fact on old dogs like this test everything.
No the yellow wire to siren doesn't have a fuse.
Red = 10amps.
RED / white = 20amps.
Radio shack Model: 275-324.
Frankly any single pole on off switch will suffice, what worries me is your lack of competence/understanding to do this, i.e. the switch questions, it took me less than a minute to Google "Radio Shack Switches".
Also your yellow wire question, trace it, see what it's for; you've told me you have the diagram, look at it translate it to your car.

-------------
Test before boxing up.

i was able to get it working good again,    

i bought a new toggle switch at radio shack, and just guessed on what kind i needed (it was before i saw your reply with the kind i needed), so i got 2 different ones to try, and i stripped the white and black wires and just twisted them through the holes and around the terminals on back of toggle switch, and put a 20amp fuse on the black wire for siren which had a fuseholder that was empty.

i plugged the brain to the harness and hooked the battery back up and, and first thing i saw was blinking led light, then i turned the key to on position, and flipped the toggle switch, and then it was solid led, and the remote was'nt doing anything to it when pressing arm or disarm, then and i think i turned the key to on again and flipped toggle once more, and the led light went off.

then i closed the door and tried pressing remote button to arm it,   and to my surprise it armed and the light was blinking and then disarmed and light went offk,   also the siren was working normal when arming & disarming,   and then when it was armed, i opened the door and it triggered the alarm to go off.    so it worked,   i was kind of surprised, cause i did'nt think it was going to be so easy?,   but i'm glad its working again so i can use it.      

so thanks for helping me out with your advise and opinions

Thank you, phew

-------------
Test before boxing up.

as far as it being hard for me to find what switch i needed, it did'nt say anything anywhere on the manual or wire diagram for the arrow 2 on what kind of toggle switch is needed to work with the system, plus i googled all over the place, just got a bunch of different alarm install pdf guides and i found a bunch of toggle switches on ebay and other sites that were for alarm valet switches but they did'nt say what specs they had or what amps/volts they were for accepting ?,   

keep in mind i did'nt know just any type of single pole on/off switch would work, cause i'm not familiar with toggle switches and alarms, and i was trying to find out the right kind i need for the alarm i had, but i never found that answer, but happened to pick one that works fine.

You're also extremely lucky in that Gen 1 to 4 Cliffords were the Rolls Royce of car alarms, in fact in the early-mid 90s RR used a stripped Clifford Eagle as their only factory fit alarm.
So if you have Alpine Audio and a Clifford Alarm you have the best.

-------------
Test before boxing up.