ford fiesta 2000 uk w reg alarm wiring

Hey everyone, installed an alarm a few months back and still in the progress of installing it. The alarm system is a Cobra (7910 series) and I've installed everything I want on it apart from the remote lock/unlock feature.

I know the car is a positive lock system and I've wired up to the correct lock/unlock wires in the driver-side kick panel but all that would happen is the car would lock when I disarm and do nothing when I arm.

The alarm has three wires in the door lock loom: lock, unlock and what could only be a positive 12v. The instruction also state that there is no need for fuses.

Tried wiring up a relay system as per the diagram on this site but with the positive 12v for the relays going to the alarm's 12v positive door supply, which is subsequently going to a permanent live 12v + at the fuse loom. Sadly, no activity from the doors at all with the relays.

Can anyone point my in the right direction? So far, I've seen plenty for wiring up a two wire door lock alarm but nothing for one with a positive wire as well and I'm at my wits end with this.

What are the lock wire colours of the Cobra?
Two types, earlier had
ORANGE / white, violet/white.
Later versions violet/orange.
Then common, violet, orange, grey/black and yellow black.
Early version, tie the ORANGE / white and the violet/white to the vehicle red.
Later version, tie the violet/orange to the vehicles red.
Then violet to either yellow/black or yellow/blue*.
Then orange to either WHITE/ violet or WHITE/ green.*
* Colour choices different vehicle batches.
Quick and dirty test method:
With only driver's door open, remove key from ignition and throw over latch at rear of door. Connect the red to each cable in turn, that should lock and unlock (or vice versa) in turn. If t5hat works and the alarm doesn't, recheck your wiring, also see if your getting 12V+_ on lock from the violet and 12v+ on unlock from the orange.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

There's a violet (lock), orange (unlock) and a violet/orange (12v +). I had it wired as this:

Violet from alarm to WHITE/ green on car (lock)
Orange from alarm to yellow/blue on car (unlock)
ORANGE / violet to a fused permanent live 12v + on the car

As a result of this I got lock on disarm and nothing on arm. Tried the relay, as I said, with the wires to the correct pins and with the 12v + for the relay coming from the alarm's 12v + (ORANGE / violet).

What relay? None needed, the alarm has direct relay driven outputs.
Also I think you might have the car colours the wrong way round, that's why you're getting lock on disarm.
Yellow/blue is lock and WHITE/ green unlock. do as I said before about testing, unless you're using rubbish connectors like scotchlocks.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

They're normal large green Ford relays. Dunno if they're the same in the States but the late '90s/early '00s Fords in Europe use them.

Before wiring the relays I did try the lock/unlock wires the other way around but then I got no activity from the doors. I could of course try that way around again.

That model was never sold in the US, only the 78 Mkl and the current version, don't try and lecture me, I've done literally 100's of these vehicles, never any problems, go directly to the driver's kick well and pick up that wiring where it enters the car, forget the relays. Easy enough and if you follow the vertical loom in the kick panel you will pick up the indicators, blue and blue red. All door trigger at the light or left hand side. Try paying attention, I'm posting from the UK!!
Used to take me 3 hours for a Cat 1, inc. bonnet and hatch triggers and boot release.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

I wasn't aware I tried to lecture you. I referenced to the States as most on this site seem to be from there, not to mention that Ford is an American company. I'm not an idiot, I found the two wires just fine and I'm saying that wired one way, nothing happens, and wired the other way, the way I have been told elsewhere, just give locking of disarm and nothing else.

I'm an adult, you're an adult...please communicate to me like one.

Also, pretty sure it isn't a blue and blue/red pair of wires, it's WHITE/ green and yellow/blue.

I wasn't lecturing you I was telling you!
I'll repeat for your benefit what I said before.
Yellow/blue = + unlock
WHITE/ Green = + lock.
Test by throwing over the door lock catch and joining each to the red in that loom. If that works you've either wired it wrong or the alarm is at fault (frankly unlikely rock solid build quality if rather basic).
Test the alarm's outputs on the violet and orange wires when you arm and disarm the alarm. Incidentally don't connect the grey/black or BLACK / YELLOW to anything.
Forget the relays you mentioned, irrelevant.
Incidentally both DEI (Directechs)and Cobra and my memory tell me blue and blue/red but you may be correct, the loom may have come from an earlier year, between 94 and 05 they changed their wiring colours about 4 times.


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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

You said I was trying to lecture you, not the other way around?!

I'll tell you something, there is no red wire, so why keep saying to throw the lock catch (whatever that's supposed to mean) and test each one on the red wire?! On the alarm locking loom there an ORANGE / violet, orange and a violet and on the car there's WHITE/ green and yellow/blue...no red there at all.

Sorry the "red" wire is either ORANGE / black or ORANGE / blue. More colour changes.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

Ok, I'll try the lock/unlock wires the other way around tomorrow again and report back.

Still the same situation as before...lock on disarm and nothing with arm and when I tried the wires the other way around then nothing happens at all.

Have you even bothered to test the alarm's outputs or those wires yet?

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

Not without a multimeter I haven't, no. Regardless, to me it looks like the wiring is the issue and not power coming to and from the alarm unit.

Any other thoughts on this? I will, of course, get the wires tested ASAP in the meantime.

Test the Cobra's violet wire.
No point talking about it. If no output the unit's faulty, if there is an output you've done something wrong.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

So, care to point out what I've done wrong?

No* but let's take this from the top....
Open the driver's door only.
Now use the lever on the inside handle and try and lock it.
It should lock then unlock.
Now take the catch at the rear of the door and with a screwdriver, flick it over.
Now if you use that inside handle it should lock and stay locked. (All European cars have an interlock safety mechanism to prevent the vehicle being locked by mistake when you just want to shut the door).
Now go to your chosen lock and unlock trigger wires. (Called that because they trigger the existing relays).
Touch each in turn for a second with a piece of wire lock first to a 12v+ constant, such as a fuse in the adjacent fuse box.
The worst case if your selection is wrong is a blown fuse.
If that does the lock and unlock proceed to the alarm itself.
With either a DMM, a test light or a 12v bulb with 2 bits of wire joined...it really doesn't matter which, arm the alarm. The violet (purple) wire should show 12v+, the orange wire nothing.
Now disarm the alarm, this time the orange wire should show 12v+, the violet nothing.
That's it.
No* because I haven't a clue as to what you've done.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

Ok, I'll give those steps a shot.

Basically, all I've done in terms of remote locking is that I've wired the three wires up...the lock, unlock and 12v+. There's certainly power going as I've said before but it seems to be messed up somewhere or I'm missing something. In the alarm's door lock loom there's two other wires but the instructions say to only use the three I'm using if the car uses a positive lock system.

And yes I already mentioned them, grey/black and yellow/black, insulate them off unused. I should have mentioned the last phrase before though.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

Hey, still yet to try the methods you mentioned but I certainly will be doing once I get chance. Just wanted to ask, with regards to the 12v positive supply on the lock wiring, I had it wired to the wire going to a 10A fuse for the stereo. Is there a better wire at the back of the fusebox or elsewhere to use?

The ORANGE / black or whatever you decide it is in the loom with the two other lock wires going into the door in the driver's kick panel.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

Whatever I decide it is?! Is there a clean 12v + supply in the kick-panel that can be used as you describe? If so, what is it originally supplying power to? Is 10A enough for an alarm system powered lock supply?

That's why you have to test; something you appear to not be inclined to do but again experience tells ME that's that's where I take it to; let's face it that's the factory lock control pre-fused so a fuse isn't necessary.
Going back to the radio is rather going around the houses since that right hand kick panel is where I mount the alarm control unit.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

I don't have an alarm unit separate though, it's within the siren unit itself. I'll run through what I did...I went from the engine bay, into the car at the near-side where the ECU is and through to the centre console. Wired up the indicator lights in the steering column, the power to the permanent live from the cigarette lighter and then the door lock loom across the the driver-side.

Now, I know you keep telling me to test, and I will...it's just finding the time and getting a multimeter that's the problem. I know it doesn't need a fuse but power is power surely, so took it from the positive for the radio...which isn't permanent though. Maybe this is what I've done wrong and the door lock power to the alarm needs a permanent?

Again depending on year and no I'm not confused it's just the Ford Europe trick of frequently changing their colours, but radio constant is either red or ORANGE / something and ACC is yellow.
Don't bother with a DMM, waster of money since your an amateur, go to a scrap yard and pick up a side light holder with a foot or so of cable and buy a croc clip from Maplin for £1, solder the other end 6mm or so, so it's rigid.
Your whole wiring set -up is rather illogical, you should have pulled main 12v+ from the red wire at the back of the ignition switch via a fuse, grounded it in that vicinity as well.
Against that there's naught wrong in tapping the cig lighter you won't even need a fuse because it's fused at 15 amps and you won't be using the alarm at the same time as the cig lighter, it's just that as a pro I prefer to go to the source.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

Yea, the reason I didn't go to the ignition was because I'm an amateur and didn't want to tamper with ignition. Think I did try going to the ignition though. I'm gonna have to pull the stereo out and get a look at the wiring and get everything permanent positive for sure...and obviously test as you've said.

Ok, just to add further info for you, the links below are scanned images of the relevant pages in the manual for the alarm.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/eBS7ucn0Th9wdAQDn2KR-aAzVqtP14DwB6l1benGHcM?feat=directlink

With the main wiring, I've wired the power to the main unit, the ignition wire and the hazard flashers.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0T0YHEhRGxnf3Y1UwQp-LqAzVqtP14DwB6l1benGHcM?feat=directlink

With this image, you can see that C is for positive locks. Two of them are clearly lock/unlock (+) but the other confused me because of the change in image used. However, I still assumed it's a positive only connection.

Sorry about the multiple posts...here's what I did after taking a refreshing look:

Wired the positive of the alarm to the back of the ignition fuse.
Wired the negative to the negative of the cigar lighter.
Wired the positive only of the alarm door locks to the back of the stereo.

Would you know of any issues with wiring both the power and door lock power from the alarm to the same ignition wire, which is obviously a permanent live?

None but why not go to the cig lighter for main feed and that 12v+ constant going to the door for the locks, that will save you needing fuses, also ground to the cig lighter ground, BLACK/ green?.
Incidentally why go to "ignition fuse" for alarm pos unless you meant the alarm's ignition feed.
The whole issue of colour confusion is why I keep on at you to test, for instance the blue and blue/red indicator colours are the ones I've always seen on Fiestas of that age, Autodata also gives those colours yet the colours you found I've only ever seen on 98-07 Transits!

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

It's not that I wired to the fusebox because it provides fused power but that it just provides power and that most of it is all in the same place. If I were to go straight to the source of ignition power (permanent live), which you suggested, for the main alarm power then where would be best in the car to tap in?

Ignition loom, 12v+ constant, 12v+ ignition, indicators and earth, right hand door entry, lock unlock and power, left hand vertical loom in kick panel, door entry triggers, right hand hatch area, hatch trigger. That's my procedure from doing loads and loads of these over the years, of course do what you have to and if it works fine.
And don't forget I'm on piece rate so it has to be quick work properly and no comebacks or electrical problems.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

Oh and that's the latest Cobra with the awful programming,ignore where it separates left and right door triggers just use the left (which feeds to the dome or interior light) and ignore the other, waste of time, stupid Italian electrics, I refuse to install the latest generation and Cobra know why only too well. Not the product, the installation instructions and programming.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

Yea, the instructions are terrible lol. Not bothering with the door triggers at all to be honest, just want the alarm and locking really. I'll get a good look at it and test a few different wires as you've said when I get chance and hopefully finally get this finished.