Printer Friendly Forum Posts - trunk release, 95 saturn sc2

1995 Saturn SC2 - Viper 5900 SST Alarm

Hello everyone,

I purchased the electric trunk release mechanism from saturn that is designed for 00+ saturns, as my car originally came with a standard manual latch. I have everything hooked up correctly, and when I ground the trigger wire (negative trigger) the latch opens.

According to my Viper alarm manual, the AUX trigger output wire is a 200ma (-) signal, and I must use a relay to hook it up to the trunk solenoid.

Hooked up the relay. When I ground the pin of the relay that goes to the viper output wire, the latch opens, so everything is hooked up right.

BUT, if i hook it to the viper otput wire, and hold the AUX button, the remote beeps signalling the signal is being sent, but the latch does not open (although I hear faint click from the latch solenoid). The alarm wire output isn't grounding it?

the relay was just a 40 amp one i got from advance auto... this should work right? Someone said I need a relay that has a low current coil.. but this seems silly to me.

posted_image

which wire are you using off the viper5900 to trigger the trunk release actuator? the RED / whire is channel 2 output for trunk pop, if you are using any other wire as the trigger it is controlled by other buttons on the remote, if your using the RED / white try using your volt meter and verify the output is sending a ground signal (which apperently it is not, u could then just use 1 of the other outputs on harness h2(ch 4(violet/blk controlled by pressing lock and aux at the same time) or ch5(WHITE/ blk controlled by pressing unlock and aux at the same time)

its connected to the RED / white wire.

(newb question) how do i verify the output is sending a ground signal?

ie, using a multimeter, what should the RED / white wire read at rest, and what should it read when the aux button is pressed?

The RED / white wire will test as more-or-less 12 volts at rest, simply because the relay coil (85 to 86) carries enough constant power to trigger the multimeter.

If you disconnect the RED / white from the relay entirely, it should be dead at rest, and put outa ground when you press the correct button on the Viper remote.

TIP: Also, the relay should emit an audible click when it's working.

If it doesn't click, the 85/86 coil terminals need further troubleshooting.

If it clicks, the 87/30 terminals need further troubleshooting.

OTHER TIP: Undo 86 from the alarm, and simply jump 86 to the car's chassis ground. If the trunk opens, the relay must be wired correctly.

wow, this is really frustrating.

Everything is hooked up correctly - when I ground the 85 pin, the relay clicks and the latch opens. When the viper aux output is connected to this pin and the AUX button held, the remote shows the aux is activated, but nothing, no click from the relay.

To make things tricker, I tested the viper aux wire removed the relay. Took multimeter, red on the battery, and i took the negative pin and connected it to the viper wire. No voltage reading, showing no ground. Held AUX, multimeter showed 12 V, indicating ground on the aux wire.

But.. once again, when connected to the relay, it does not work! ideas?

Get another 5900. It could be that the RED / white wire doesnt even have enough current to even drive a relay. Try another channel of the system. Usually you can get another by using a wire on the redish harness and connecting it to the relay.

just try to use 1 of the other outputs on harness h2(ch 4(violet/blk controlled by pressing lock and aux at the same time) or ch5(WHITE/ blk controlled by pressing unlock and aux at the same time)sounds like a problem with the RED / white not having enough power to even open a realy which is cary as it doesnt take much

thanks jim. Tried the violet/black output, and it worked great.

However, having to press lock and aux at the same time is kind of annoying lol. The violet/black wire is (-) 200ma wire, just like the RED / white one.

Could the viper module be damaged internally? In the manual it specifies to NEVER HOOK THE TRIGGER WIRE DIRECTLY TO THE SOLENOID, DAMAGE TO THE TRANSISTOR WILL OCCUR.

When I first hooked it up, I did not read the manual ( posted_image

) and hence did this. Does the module really damage this easily?

ralliart16 wrote:

thanks jim. Tried the violet/black output, and it worked great.

However, having to press lock and aux at the same time is kind of annoying lol. The violet/black wire is (-) 200ma wire, just like the RED / white one.

Could the viper module be damaged internally? In the manual it specifies to NEVER HOOK THE TRIGGER WIRE DIRECTLY TO THE SOLENOID, DAMAGE TO THE TRANSISTOR WILL OCCUR.

When I first hooked it up, I did not read the manual ( ) and hence did this. Does the module really damage this easily?

You fried the output. You had an output capable of .2 amps attempt to put out a burst of current that was probably 5 - 10 amps.

You can reprogram the remote to have the AUX button control the violet/black wire instead. Read the part of the manual about programming individual channels/buttons on the remote. If you still need help I can explain better tomorrow.

I think that if he connected the wire directly then it would possibly FAIL and not damage the transistor. You misread the manual. It states that the transistorized output will only supply 200ma. This would not damage the output. If you connect it directly then it just might not work. The unit could have already been defective. Only other way the output would of damaged is if the output wire(which is negative) was connect to a wire that always had positive and you triggered it thus causing negative and positive to meet and FRY.

well I contacted DEI about this, i'm waiting on their response.

I'm sure i'm screwed though. (for the warranty to be valid it had to be installed at a DEI certified place)

yep, i'm screwed. I simply got a "copy and paste" reply stating they will replace it provided a receipt of installation from an authorized dealer is provided.

Anyway, i'm just going to use the channel 4 output. Jworm stated that I can reprogram the module so that the AUX button will control channel 4 instead of channel 2, how do i do this? I didn't see it in the manual.

One other question. For the door trigger wire, i tapped directly into the wire going to the trigger on the drivers side. However, On the PASSENGERS side, I tested the wires coming DIRECTLY off the trigger itself, and neither of them are giving me the correct signal. It should be 12V door closed, and 0V when the door is open. This doesnt make sense, as once again I tested both wires directly off the trigger.

ok? so whats your question. If it gives you 12v when its closed and 0v when its open then that means that is a negative trigger. If its the opposite then its positive. Either way, the alarm accomodates this with either its green wire for negative coming off the main harness or purple wire for positive.

enice] wrote:

ok? so whats your question. If it gives you 12v when its closed and 0v when its open then that means that is a negative trigger. If its the opposite then its positive. Either way, the alarm accomodates this with either its green wire for negative coming off the main harness or purple wire for positive.

yes, and i'm using the negative trigger. My question is, why do BOTH wires coming off the passenger side trigger give NO voltage at all whether the door is open or closed. The drivers side trigger gives me the correct signal, but the passenger side does not.

Nevermind, figured it out. I had the dome lamp unplugged... plugged it back in. Now the pass trigger reads as it should. I suppose the way the circuit is set up, it needs the dome lamp plugged in for the pass trigger to get power. anyway, one last question as I asked before.

ralliart16 wrote:

Anyway, i'm just going to use the channel 4 output. Jworm stated that I can reprogram the module so that the AUX button will control channel 4 instead of channel 2, how do i do this? I didn't see it in the manual.

LOL i spoke too soon.

So get this.

Passenger side trigger wire. Reads 12V door closed, 0 V open, all good right? WRONG.

When I take the wire splice off the viper (which is connected to the driver's side trigger wire) and connect it to the passenger side trigger wire, it screws everything up.

Whenever the dome light is on (read: door open) the trigger wires read 0V on the passenger side. NORMALLY there is no dome light delay on the passenger side. however If i open the passenger side door and close it, apparently being hooked to the drivers side trigger wire via the viper wire loves it all to hell, because the dome light NEVER TURNS Off (the dome lamp wire is set to "DOOR"). Keep in the mind the drivers side door is closed the whole time.

Therefore.. the viper will always think the passenger side is open.

Ideas?

if you pull up on the cupholders/ashtray and remove them there is a harness down there, pull up on it and you can get it up a little bit higher than the opening, and inside there there will be a white wire that will trigger all 4 doors, just meter it like you do the pin switches and any door that turns on the domelight will cause meter to drop to 0 volts make sure you meter it cause there are 3 whites or so in there and 1 is door unlock, and im not sure what the othrs are but one is the common domelamp feed

bumping an old thread here. I got everything else figured out, including the door triggers.

Only one thing is bugging me though, that the trunk release is set to channel 4. Its annoying pressing lock+aux simultaneously, as if you dont press it just right it either reads just lock or just aux.

Jworm stated that I can reprogram the module so that the AUX button will control channel 4 instead of channel 2, how do i do this? I didn't see it in the manual.