I got a BOA remote starter system w/ keyless entry for xmas from my brother. How hard is it to install one of these? looking at the wiring it looks like a major major pita. Anyone else done this before?

 

haha, have fun, it is a pita, took me about 4 hours the first time i did it on a toyota, the kit i had gave you a voltage tester and told you what wires to tap into but there was some guess and check with the voltmeter, lots of wires to hook up....i would say finding all the wires was the biggest pain.

 

is the passkey going to be a problem or will it be ok?

 

hmm, you might need to get a modual or someting to get around that, depends on the car and kit u got, check in the intructions. Mine was on an 89 so there wasn't any anti-theft stuff to mess with.

 

dangit I think it is prolly going to be a problem, im gona have to do some searching

 

I bought one of these for my mom for xmas. I was going to install it myself, but after reading the instructions, I decided to bite the bullet and have it done at a shop. It looked like a pain in the butt to install, and this is coming from a guy who was too cheap to pay somebody else to change sparkplugs/wires and install headers on an LT1 f-body!

I think the shop I went to normally charges $80-100 cdn to install a remote starter and key-less entry, but I paid $50 b/c my friend referred me to the place. Well worth it.

 

damn if I could find a place around here to do it for 100$ id deffintly do it, but I dont think thats gona happen. Ive done a lot of pitas in my days like sparkplugs/wires(factory wiring!), and valve seals. I duno if I can tackle this one, I watched a movie on it and it d oesnt look tooo hard but there is going to be a lot of disamebling of panels, and can I even hook up my tach to it? Arnt the 93's tach's not digital.

 

You would only need to remove two panels for an f-body install, which is the one underneath the steering column, which comes off with two screws, and the pillar panel to install the antenna for the module. The real PITA would be figuring out which wire is which. This is where the voltmeter comes into play - some wires need to be energized when the key is switched to accessory while others when the key is in the "on" position. You will also need a bypass module to get around the GM theft deterrent system. AFAIK, the tach signal comes from the coil? Doesnt matter if its not digital.

 

The passkey system is going to be a problem, but it's easy to get around. You'll need to use a digital multi-meter (if you don't already have one, it's a good addition to your toolset) and test the resistance (ohm) of the resistor in your key. It's that small rectangular black plastic piece with the small bit of metal on each side. Once you get a resistance reading from that you'll need to get a resistor as close to the value as you can. Don't be surprised if the resistance is up in the thousands. Now, coming from under the steering column, locate two small gauge white wires in an orange tube. Do NOT cut anything in yellow wire loom, or with yellow connectors as those are airbag. When you find the small white wires in the orange tubing, cut them both- now you have two sides 1) switch side, and 2) chassis side. The resistor needs to connect the two chassis side wires together. All you are doing is fooling the computer into thinking the key is in the ignition (resistor sends the correct ohm reading in).

Your wire colors may vary a little, but going on the wire colors for mine-

Tachometer- purple w/ white stripe. Found on the passenger side bundle of wires underhood at the intake manifold. The wire may also be white on some models. It's easy to test- get your digital multi-meter, set it to "AC" voltage. Strip back a little insulation on the wire you're going to test, ground the black lead on the meter, put the white lead to the exposed wire. Have a friend start the car and rev the engine- voltage should go up with RPM.

Heavy gauge power under the dash-
12 volt constant- red (there are multiple red wires, use the heavy gauge ones)
Ignition- pink
Accessory- orange *note, you must get the ignition and accessory wires in the right order, if you switch them the remote start will not work.
Starter- yellow, maybe purple.
*all of these wires will be heavier gauge, about 10 gauge, you can test these with the multi-meter set to "DC" voltage.

Parking lights are solid white, you can find those on the left side driver's side underdash running in a harness forward towards the firewall.

Most remote start systems require you to hook up a wire to the brake switch, so when you hit the brake it shuts the system down. There are three wires (I think) at the brakeswitch, you'll just have to test these because I can't remember which one it is.

You're also supposed to hook up the neutral start switch, I've never done that, that wire looks for ground as an ok to start, so you can just ground it.

If your locks were like mine, I do not recommend messing with them. My car has keyless entry, and the doorlock setup was a "5 wire" system, which required two extra relays, cutting the doorlock wires and splicing into each side of the cut. You can buy a DEI (maker of Viper) module that would be the easiest thing to use, but for someone without any experience I think it would be a rough task. My advice- just worry about getting the remote start going, if you get that part, PM me and I'll see if I can help you with the doorlocks.

One last word of advice- bad connections are a major pain in the *** to troubleshoot- spend the extra time and make sure all your connections are good when you make them.

 

FastZinTennessee - great write up!!!

 

Thanks, I used to work in car stereo shops throughout college. Other than the VATS system (key resistor) and doorlocks, these cars are fairly straightforward as far as remote start installs go.

 

Damn, that was a good writeup. Thanks man. I watched a video on the install today it talked about most of the things you did, didnt look that bad. So I really only need to remove the panels under the steering wheel, and the driverside kick panel? not too bad then. I have powerlocks on my car but it has no keyless entry. Dont know if that makes a difference. The locks dont really matter too much, tho it would be nice to have remote locks, but I am used to not having them. Thanks for the help, I am probably going to try and tackle this w/ my brother some weekend.

EDIT: Also when you say you have to cut both the white wires for the passkey system, but then you say you only need to put the resistor on the chassis side wire, how do you tell which one is the chassis side wire, and or why are you cutting both? Thanks.

 

Let me know if you have any problems, and get in touch with me later about those doorlocks. I still keep in touch with the guys I used to work with, so I'll be able to find out about the locks- you might not need any extra parts since you don't have keyless. Or, it's possible that the car does have keyless and a previous owner just lost the remote.

 

I have done a couple on some f-bodies and everything he stated is correct. Our cars our one of the worst to do if you plan on installing the keyless locks and wiring the relays correctly and going into the door. It is just a pain.

Besides that it is straight forward. You will be looking at sometime and you will need patience. If you want to do it fast use scotchlock connectors and inline fuse anything that is getting 12V.

HAVE FUN.