Thirdgen F-Body Alarm Install Info

1982-1992 Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird
Alarm Installation Color Code Guide

Item	Wire Color	Polarity	Location	Notes
+12V	Red	+	Ignition Switch Harness	Constant Live
Ignition1 Electronic Fuel and Ignition Systems, Instrument Cluster Guages, Turn Signal & Backup Lights, Rear Window Defroster, Airbag Computer	Pink	+	Ignition Switch Harness	Hot with key in the "run" and "start" positions
Accessory1 Heater/Air Conditioner Blower Motor, Power Windows, Rear Windshield Wiper, Radiator Fan	Orange	+	Ignition Switch Harness	Hot with key in the "run" position only. Not powered with key in the "start" position. Alternator will not charge without this powering this wire
Accessory2 Radio and Front Windshield Wipers	Brown	+	Ignition Switch Harness	Hot with key in the "run" or "accessory" positions. Not powered with key in the "start" position. Optional. Do not need to power this wire during remote starts
Starter	Yellow	+	Ignition Switch Harness	Hot with the key in the "start" position only.
Power Door Locks (Lock)	Light Blue	+	Behind Driver or Passenger Kickpanel
Power Door Locks (Unlock)	Black	+	Behind Drivers or Passengers Kickpanel
Parking Lights	Brown	+	At headlight switch Or behind drivers kickpanel Or in bundle of wires above drivers rocker panel
Headlights	Yellow	+	At Headlight Switch
Ignition Key Warning	Light Green	-	Base of steering column	Provides a ground path when the ignition key is in the lock cylinder and the key is not in the "run" position
Door Trigger	White	-	At underdash courtesy light
Neutral Safety	Orange/Black	-	At gear selector switch	Provides ground path when gear selector is in park or neutral
Horn	Black	-	At base of steering column
Hatch Ajar Switch	Black/Orange Orange/Black	-	At light socket.	Only present on vehicles with light that turns on when hatch opened
Hatch Release Solenoid	Black	+	At hatch release relay or in bundle of wires above drivers side rocker panel
Reverse Lights	Light Green	+	At gear selector switch in center console or in bundle of wires above drivers rocker panel
Tachometer	White, Purple/White		At ignition coil in engine eompartment
Brake Light Switch	Light Blue or Yellow	+	At brake light wwitch or in bundle of wires above drivers rocker panel
Windshield Wipers	Purple	+	Base of steering column
Drivers Window UP/DOWN	Dark Blue - Brown		At window switch in center console
Passengers Window UP/DOWN	Dark Blue/White - Tan		At window switch in center console

Notes:

Front dashboard speakers are 4"x6", watch mounting depth as many aftermarket speakers will be too deep for air conditioning equipped f-bodies. Rear speakers are 6x9's. On firebirds equipped with the factory subwoofer system, there will be a 4"x6" and a 5" speaker in place of each 6"x9" speaker.

The factory power hatch release system has a relay that recieves a ground path for the coil through the park/neutral and starter solenoid on automatic transmission equipped vehicles. Since the wire in question has +12V present while the starter is cranking, do not connect directly to the hatch release switch instead connect to the output of the hatch release relay. This avoids the possibility of having a direct short to ground if the hatch release button is pressed on the keyless entry remote control while the starter is cranking.

If installing a "starter kill" relay, one can splice into the purple wire on the neutral safety switch inside the center console on automatic tranny vehicles. This location is not a typical place for starter kill relays to be spliced into the vehicles harness which will likely frustrate a potential theif and help you keep your vehicle where you parked it. However, do not splice the output wire of a remote start unit to the purple wire as this will allow the remote starter to crank the engine even if the transmission is "in gear".

Remote start is basically a way of emulating the ignition switch by remote control. Press a button on the remote and the vehicle's engine will start along with any accessories that were left on such as the window defroster or air conditioner. When the ignition key is inserted into the ignition lock cylinder and turned to start the vehicle, parts inside the steering column physically move which mechanically unlocks the column so that the steering wheel can be turned and the gear selector shifted out of park. Turning the key also move contacts inside an electrical switch concealed under the dashboard towards the base of the steering column. Remote start emulates the electrical switch by using relays to first power the ignition and fuel circuits and then momentarily engaging the starter. Steering column and gear selector lever remain mechanically locked when remote started so that the vehicle cannot be shifted out of park nor the steering wheel turned.

Since the operator is not physically present inside the vehicle when remote started to depress the accelerator pedal, to install a remote starter into a carberated vehicle one would need to add additional parts to actuate the throttle linkage while taking appropriate precautions that the setup did not cause linkage to bind during normal vehicle operation. Additionally, carberated vehicles tend to run rich mixtures at idle compared to their fuel injected counterparts. Which means that if you use the remote start feature frequently on a carberated vehicle, you'll also be spending significantly more money at the gas station for fuel.

Also thirdgens are older cars and some fuel injected f-bodies have mechanical problems which cause them to frequently stall and not idle without depressing the gas pedal. If you have such mechanical problems, fix them prior to installing a remote car starter.

Remote start is intended only for vehicles with automatic transmissions. Do not attempt to install remote start on a manual tranny equipped thirdgen. Regardless of what safety precautions are taken, installing a remote car starter into a manual tranny vehicle is dangerous and carries very real risks of personal injury and property damage.

Starting in 1987, some thirdgens became VATS equipped. If the proper resistor pellet on the key is not present, the starter is not allowed to crank and the fuel injectors will not pulse. For more information on this topic see the vats related page .

To engage the rear window defroster on firebirds, send a +12V pulse to the light blue wire of the control switch on the dash. Alternatively, one could catch the light blue wire at the outboard timer assembly located on the passenger's side of the car under the trim panel above the footwell area immediately below the "glovebox".

Camaros use a defroster switch with the timer contained inside the actual switch assembly. To engage the rear window defroster on camaros with a pulsed remote start channel output, one could remove the switch assembly from the dashboard and solder two wires to the switch contacts inside the timer assembly to emulate the switch being depressed. If the remote start unit has a timed latching output, one can use a relay to electrically connect the orange/black wire with the purple/white wire to bypass the factory switch all together and send +12V directly to the rear defroster elements.

Questions or Comments?

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