Car Alarm

[cruzincivic]

Hey, how hard is it to install a car alarm? Has anyone done this themselves? Is it anything like installing a car audio system?

Thanks

[pdiggitydogg]

depends on the level of the alarm
some just have a wire that connects to the dome light fuse under the hood and youre done (my old kind was like that)
others are really involved and will take time. Personally, that kind should be installed by a pro to get all the stuff perfect (imHo)

[IALuder]

depends on the company who makes it 2.

[blind34_1]

those cheapo ones that detect current drain only work with varied success. my friend put one in his saturn, armed it, and I was able to pop his trunk and walk away with whatever I wanted (with his permission of course, it was a test!), so dont get one of those.

I installed my own alarm system. my uncle had an old alpine system, but lost the instructions. so after trial and LOUD error, i pigured out the pinouts, and how the door pins worked. In my case, when doors are closed, this opens the door switch. when the door is opened, this completes the current path, and turns on your dome light. I hooked my alarm sensors to the door switch wires. Meaning I ran wire from both side doors and the trunk, and wire nutted them together to one of the door sensor inputs on the alarm brain. from there you just hook up power direct from battery, attach a ground, and run wire for your siren.

the siren was the hardest part, but since I had already installed my short ram intake, I had already removed my resonator, which is a perfect spot to mount a siren. after drilling into the engine bay (nerve racking), it mounted just fine.

so to answer your question, YES it is most definatly a do it yourself project. and if you've had experience with installing stereos, then you are already familar with running wire, making good connections, etc. if you buy an alarm new, then you get pinouts and instructions, you lucky dog!

[thermal]

Dude, I agree with pdigg. On an average, you have to rig the relays to your door and trunk switches, along with your ignition. I tried doing that before on my Mazda. I ended up scrapping it. Your choice tho. As mention, it also depends on the level of security.....