Alarm Install myself? (1 Viewer)

[slowgrowler]

So Circuit City closes down for good on the 8th. I was waiting till last day, so they have a $300 viper remote/alarm/keyless system that out the door I pay about $50 bucks. Two options I see here. 1 - buy it ad install it myself as the is install shop is no more or to hire some guys floating around craigslist to install it at a tune of $100. Not having done it before, is it something I can install myself no problem with some time and patience? Trying to be cheap, but afraid it might come back to bite me hahaha

 

[CactusCruiser]

I've installed many an alarm back when I was putting myself through college and the worst that can happen is you trigger your airbag while probing for the right wires (power, starter, etc.) in the ignition harness. Using a DVM instead of a test-light should avoid such a catostrophy. Never had that happen to me but have heard stories of things going badly. There's really not much to it as long as you have a basic understanding of DC electronics. The toughest part is usually interfaceing the door locks (I believe our trucks use a negative trigger) followed by the starter interrupt - may need to use a SPDT relay if it is not built into the alarm.

Good luck if you do go for it.

 

[Blueegg]

If you have not done this kind of thing before, alarm installs can be difficult. Finding the the right wire can be time consuming and . Agree that the door locks are the most tricky.
Do you really need a new alarm? Having been there, I would rather pay to have it installed than doing it myself.

 

[Colorado80]

I wouldn't attempt it and I spent a good amount of time in the 12v industry. However if you do plan on doing it, the door locks are negative trigger as someone said earlier and you also need to diode isolate those wires. If you don't do it that way and simply do a negative trigger you have some funky things happen. For example, if you lock your doors with the lock button and step out of the vehicle and then arm the alarm, it will not unlock the doors when you disable it; you will have to unlock them manually with the key. Other than that i haven't found other quirks if you fail to isolate it; at least on the lx450.

Good Luck.
Q

 

[slowgrowler]

Hahahha, I gave up the idea. Just going to go to best buy and have them put in a system. $300, but I guess my time saved is worth it.