2005 Ford F350 Diesel

Howdy all, and thanks for putting together this most informative website. I've been reading other threads trying to answer a few questions, but have a few left over.

The vehicle in question is a 2005 Ford F350 Super Duty truck, with the diesel engine and an automatic transmission. Also, the truck has the Advanced Security Group, which adds the remote keyless fobs and the door keypad.

I'm contemplating the installation of a Viper 791XV into the truck. For some background, I've been doing installs for emergency vehicles for years, so I'm well-versed in the basics. However, there are a few specific questions I can't seem to answer:

1. Does the 791XV allow for an auxiliary input for the alarm? I'll be installing pin switches on the doors of the Knapheide topper which will be pulled to ground when any door is opened, and I want that to trip the alarm. The DEI install guide is somewhat unclear about the inputs. Is there a good input for these switches?

2. I would really like to keep the door keypad functional, and have it arm/disarm the alarm. The keyless entry fobs, it would be nice if they would serve as one-way arm/disarm devices, but that's not a requirement. Again, the DEI docs are pretty unclear about how I would configure this. Any ideas?

I'd be tempted to find a good installer to have this thing put on for me - however, the truck will be filled with other communications equipment, making the install a bit of a challenge. I'm hoping I can come up with solutions and end up doing the install myself to avoid other headaches.

Thanks,
Terry

1. You have multiple options. I would use the trunk input wire of the 791xv...since the rear bed could be considered a trunk. It would also show up as the trunk being opened on the remote.

2. Not possible to use the door keypad to arm and disarm the 791xv.

Jworm - thanks for the response. I figured the trunk input would be a good bet, however the install manual is a little confusing in regards to the use of that vs. the shock sensor (which I will not be installing - too much of a chance to false).

The keypad is a bit of a wizer, but I guess I'll deal with it. If all else fails, I suspect I can crack the 791XV brain open and find a way to arm/disarm the alarm... then figure out the keypad and build an interface. Do you know of any other manufacturers/models that offer support for the keypad? I'm not stuck on the 791XV, but it seems to be one of the better units out there (I do want 2-way, remote start, diesel compatible, etc.)

Are there any preferred vendors on these forums for Viper products? I'm going to need to buy the 791XV, along with a BitWriter (I'll need to change the horn output to constant and a couple of other values... I will not be using the stock siren - what's the point when you've got 200watts of real siren and 16 LED heads to activate? )

Thanks.