car alarm

[tphitterlude92]

ok since in every thread i go to there is a car stollen atleast on each page...what is the best car alarm for a good reasonable price? nothing like 2000 for something thats just redic...

[Eclipse99RS]

get something made by dei (directed electrionics). Viper, Python, Avaital, Valet, Clifford, Design Tech, and Hornet, are all DEI alarms. Best Buy sells Viper, Circuit City sells Python and the other ones you can find around at other local shops. If you go to the Best Buy in Brandon (I-75 and S.R. 60) only 3 of the installers put in alarms and they have 30+ years combined at installing alarms. But i'm not sure about any other best buys or curcuit city's.

[SickVette]

You must know that no car alarm is going to stop someone from stealing your car. A car alarm will HOPEFULLY deter a would be car thief so they go onto another easier target. But if they want what you have they are going to take it.

As Eclipse said DEI is the way to go. But the worlds most advanced alarm is not worth squat unless installed correctly. Shop the installers not the product. Make sure the installer has alot of experience with car alarms. Ask them what the underside of your dash is going to look when the installation is complete. It should look the same as it did stock after the alarm is installed. How well the system works is up to the installer.

[jeffronismo]

+1. I'm an installer at Circuit city and love seeing some other people's attempts at alarm installations.

[kender]

another item to get would be a gps tracker, I think clifford has a setup for this. If your car does end up stolen theb you just log on to the internet and see where it is located, then it;s up to you to either call the cops or go kill the fucker first. Don't waste your money on lojack, it bites. whatever you do buy dei, and if you are not going to install it yourself make sure that whoever does it has a clue. I have had nothing but bad experiences with alarm shops all over tampa, from something as easy as telling them DO NOT touch the existing agu fuse holders (which I pointed to) and they cut the 10 gauge wire and but spliced it backtogether, 3 inches from the screw on connector. to an authorized dealer frying the alarm brain and then not taking care of it and leaving me to deal with the problem. So my advice is to do it yourself, if your halfway decent with electrical wiring it's not that hard.

[tphitterlude92]

yes i know if they want it they can have it but it might help could hold up and help me out

[TIM TIM TIM]

go to buzz off on dale mabry... they do nice alarm installs and have a decent selection of alarms as well

[kender]

go to buzz off on dale mabry... they do nice alarm installs and have a decent selection of alarms as well


Do not do this unless you want to waste money. I took my brand new car, 2 days off the lot to them for an alarm install. The first 2 days I had no problems, but after they got ahold of it I had nothing but problems. First they wouldn't give up the owners manual, then they refuse to tell me where they put the components, so I can't even verify they did the install that I paid for. Then for the next week my trunk would pop open while I was driving, atleast once a day every day. I took it back to them and they blamed the factory, so I disabled the trunk pop. and for the next 3 months I had no problem, the day I reconnected it the trunk began opening, on it's own while driving down I75. I called to make and appointment to have it looked at, they said just bring it in, no appointment needed. so took it to buzz off and explained to them what's up, first they berated me for not making an appointment, then they looked at it and said a wire had been pinched during the install but they fixed it. for the next 2 weeks the trunk did the same thing. so I call them again, about 5 minutes before opening time (I didn't know they weren't open yet) in the morning, to make an appt. after the guy sets up the appt. he tells me to never call there again before they open, then he hung up. If they weren't open then it's his fault for answering the phone. they still couldn't fix it. so I just accepted it for the next several months, then just before I sold it I looked at it myself, I re-adjusted the rod that attached to the trunk release, for the next 3 weeks I had no problem with the trunk.

On top of this the other employees are rude, I got a little to close to their precious show car in the store and some fat bastard told me to get away from the car, then he goes to the install bay and leans against my hood while just the hood prop is holding it up. I had to practically beg them to give me a walk through of the alarm functions, they just wanted me to take the keys and leave without any explanation.

I have talked to others who made the mistake of going to buzz off and they agree, it is just about the worst place to go. they sell a good product, but they didn't make the product so they don't get any points for that. There install sucks, troubleshooting is non-existant, and everytime they open their mouth only bull shit comes out. The customer service is the worst I have ever received, you would think they were paying me not the other way around.

If you want to go there, that's up to you, but that's like playing russian roulette with a semi-auto handgun.

[Notladstyle]

Forget that - install it yourself and put the brain as far back from the radio as possible :D I use 14ga red yellow brown and blue bundled wires ran parallel to the ignition harness. you can get the wire at home depot/lowes and when its bundled correctly it will look almost identical to stock and definitely confuse the hell out of anyone trying to bypass it.

[TIM TIM TIM]

I have had 3 alarms done at buzz off... whenever I have a problem i just show up and its taken care of. both of my mustangs have had the trunk pop, glass braker ect.. and they were more then willing to come out and give me a demo of how it all worked, where my valet is and how to use it.

[TBSpyder]

Buzz Off does decent work...but from my experience, their customer service is horrible if you have a problem or issue.

Definetly do some research on a couple shops before making a decision...talk to the actual installer who will be working on it and find out where and how they will run the wires, where the brain and control modules will be hidden, where the siren will be hidden, etc. etc.. If you don't like what he tells you, offer your suggestions.

[TIM TIM TIM]

yeah if your not a regular customer, i dont think there very good with it... the owner is an ass but that is what it usually takes to run a successfull business.

[kender]

yeah if your not a regular customer, i dont think there very good with it... the owner is an ass but that is what it usually takes to run a successfull business.


regular customer or not, after paying for a $400 dollar alarm plus $350 in add ons plus $300 in tint plus labor for install, they got almost $1200. They should have given me a total walkthrough and told me every option available. I didn't find out till 6 months later that I could have had several other options programmed.

I now do all my own installs, and I have the bitwriter so I can do anything the "pros" can do, and more. Don't trust some jerkoff that only want to finish your install quickly, do it yourself so you know it is done by someone who cares about the install.

[TIM TIM TIM]

I Would love to install my alarms myself... but i do not know how, and every alarm install i have seen is trash compared to buzz off's. so ill deal with there bad customer service to feel my car is a little better protected.

[jeffronismo]

I have never dealt with buzz off, but as an installer I can give you an opinion from my point of view. I have had some customers that i installed an alarm for screw around with it, mess stuff up and then try to bring it back and blame me. That voids the lifetime warantee through Circuit City since they made changes to their equipment. For this reason, i do not give them the installation manual anymore. However, i do give them the owners manual with all the vital functions of the system.

As far as functions go, for keyless entry, I normally hook up the locks, p-lights, and trunk release -if the vehicle is equipped with an electronic trunk release (button). Of course, if they want trubk release you can add the selenoid. A lot of customers do not want the horn honk I have found out so I only do that by request. There really is no need for an LED or valet button.

Security and keyless entry would be everything above plus door triggers, siren, valet switch, LED. Any other specific functions or sensors are at owners request and cost extra.

Alarms do take hours to install, but a lot of extras really do not take that much more time to complete because you are already under the dash instaling the main brain and everything. I am not that familiar with other shops work, but I know many of them use T-taps for speed. I think T-taps suck. I am required to solder everything by Circuit City. A lot of installations with t-taps that I have seen are very half-ass and you could literally grab ahold of the brain and yank hard and pull everything out of the car. What's the point? The theif can just rip it all out, bypass the starter kill, and away they go.

[Notladstyle]

I have never dealt with buzz off, but as an installer I can give you an opinion from my point of view. I have had some customers that i installed an alarm for screw around with it, mess stuff up and then try to bring it back and blame me. That voids the lifetime warantee through Circuit City since they made changes to their equipment. For this reason, i do not give them the installation manual anymore. However, i do give them the owners manual with all the vital functions of the system.

As far as functions go, for keyless entry, I normally hook up the locks, p-lights, and trunk release -if the vehicle is equipped with an electronic trunk release (button). Of course, if they want trubk release you can add the selenoid. A lot of customers do not want the horn honk I have found out so I only do that by request. There really is no need for an LED or valet button.

Security and keyless entry would be everything above plus door triggers, siren, valet switch, LED. Any other specific functions or sensors are at owners request and cost extra.

Alarms do take hours to install, but a lot of extras really do not take that much more time to complete because you are already under the dash instaling the main brain and everything. I am not that familiar with other shops work, but I know many of them use T-taps for speed. I think T-taps suck. I am required to solder everything by Circuit City. A lot of installations with t-taps that I have seen are very half-ass and you could literally grab ahold of the brain and yank hard and pull everything out of the car. What's the point? The theif can just rip it all out, bypass the starter kill, and away they go.

You cant easily bypass a properly wired starter kill and you cant 'rip' the brain out if its properly placed(as in not ziptied to the ignition harness under the dash). Which CC do you work at because I've seen a couple of t-splice installs from the store in palm harbor.

[SickVette]

T taps are junk but CC solder connections are not all that much better. Yes a proper solder joint is the best connection but what good is it if it is not properly shielded? All I have seen from CC....and I have seen ALOT...is cheap ass electrical tape wrapped around the joint. That cheap tape does not last long leaving a bare connection to short out.

[kender]

You cant easily bypass a properly wired starter kill .


either jumper the 2 contact tabs on the relay or cut the wire that feeds to the brain, being that it is just a ground when armed by cutting it you make the relay think the alarm turned off the ground and it goes back to the normally closed position. the starter kill relay is nothing but an electrically controlled toggle switch, it is easily fooled and bypassed.

[jeffronismo]

You cant easily bypass a properly wired starter kill and you cant 'rip' the brain out if its properly placed(as in not ziptied to the ignition harness under the dash). Which CC do you work at because I've seen a couple of t-splice installs from the store in palm harbor.

As i stated in another alarm post awhile back, proper installation and placement is the key to a good alarm inastall. What i was getting at with the T-taps is that they are easliy removed, whether the brain is accessable or not, and allow for very bad connections. I have seen the use of t-taps where one strand of wire is all that is allow current to pass through because the t-tap cut through the rest of it. I work at the store in Spring Hill. We are not allowed to use T-taps at my shop. I thought that it was corporate policy but not 100% sure.

If you know what you are doing with a soldering gun, you shouldn't have to worry about cold soldered joints.

Yes, we do use a lot of solder and electrical tape. I know electical tape isn't the best option out there but i personally have never had a problem with any alarms grounding out or other malfunctions due to solder and electrical tape.

[SickVette]

either jumper the 2 contact tabs on the relay or cut the wire that feeds to the brain, being that it is just a ground when armed by cutting it you make the relay think the alarm turned off the ground and it goes back to the normally closed position. the starter kill relay is nothing but an electrically controlled toggle switch, it is easily fooled and bypassed.

I believe what he meant is if the alarm is installed "properly" it would be difficult for the thief to locate the starter kill relay to bypass it. Starter kill, ignition kill, and fuel kill can all be done in other locations besides the steering colume.


I have seen many CC installs with electrical tape falling off.

I agree T taps are junk, poor connection, and leave a sloppy mess of of installation.

[kender]

I believe what he meant is if the alarm is installed "properly" it would be difficult for the thief to locate the starter kill relay to bypass it. Starter kill, ignition kill, and fuel kill can all be done in other locations besides the steering colume.


I have seen many CC installs with electrical tape falling off.

I agree T taps are junk, poor connection, and leave a sloppy mess of of installation.


If he meant properly then I'd have to agree, I was just saying the relay itself is easy tobypass, but your right if hidden well you can't find it to bypass. I myself like to use push button starter switches, so I cut the starter wire about 3 inches from the ign switch ( I leave just enough to reverse installation later if need be) and I actually pull the wire out from the factory loom until the wrie is exposed way up under the dash in a location that the wiring harness splits and goes elsewhere, then I run it inside the factory loom along the alternate path and mount the relay somewhere along the new route, normally tucked far enough in the dash that you have to remove several dash peices to get to it.

I prefer soldering as well, and heat shrink is a must, I just don't trust electrical tape, if the solder joint is close to a factory plug I'll take pin out of the plug inorder to slip the heat shrink on. If you wire tie the alarm wires properly and make your solder joints at different points along the harness, technically you wouldn't need any insulation as the joints would have no chance of shorting, but I am parnoid so I not only wire tie it like this but use heat shrink and either factory loom, or yellow loom ( make it look like airbag loom and most people won't touch it).

I have had issues when I used to use t-taps for just a temporary install of my power window module and I had intermitant issues, as soon as I soldered it the issue went away, the t-tap just made a poor connection.

[Notladstyle]

either jumper the 2 contact tabs on the relay or cut the wire that feeds to the brain, being that it is just a ground when armed by cutting it you make the relay think the alarm turned off the ground and it goes back to the normally closed position. the starter kill relay is nothing but an electrically controlled toggle switch, it is easily fooled and bypassed.


where are you guys tapping the ingition switch?!

[ElkiCrx]

I dumped over 8 bills on Buzz-Off for an install on a brand new car. Later found i could have bought the same system elsewhere for half the price at another DEI dealer. I found their customer service riddled when deciet, arrogance, and missrepresentations. They kept parts of the system i paid for. They blamed the car manufacturer for faults that only occured after they installed the alarm. Their briefing on the use of the alarm, after i had just paid them in full, took 5 minutes. When i asked them to program specific features i had originally asked for and paid for, i was told to call later for an appointment to return the next week. When i asked questions about the system, i was told they could'nt answer them. I was hussled off the lot like they had just given me a free alarm and I should be in awe of their majestic electronic knowledge and presents. When i addressed these problems to the manager i was told to go to Radio Shack next time if i want customer service. They don't respect the customers property and will blame their mistakes on anything other than themselves. For anyone contemplating going to Buzz-Off, i suggest you go elsewhere. They overcharge for professionalism and expertise that just is'nt there. They did negligable work and charged a professional price. They got a decent rep. a few years ago and it went to their heads. They forgot that the only reason they are still in bussines is the customer. Hopefully they will realize this before they go belly up. To bad many people go to them without knowing the crapy work they do. :(

[SickVette]

where are you guys tapping the ingition switch?!

To get the starter wire, the ignition wire, constant power, and often the 2nd starter and 2nd ignition. You will proably say those connections can be made elsewhere...that is true. But it is easy to make all those connections and often more in the same location. Sppeding up the alarm install.

T taps have three possible connections that could and often do fail.

[kender]

where are you guys tapping the ingition switch?!


For the install I just answered that, but if you mean for the bypass you don't need to tap the ign wire. if you jumper the 2 contact tabs then you can just start the car like normal, use a lock punch and a screw driver. if you want to start it at the relay, jumper one of the other wires on the relay to one of the 2 contact tabs. The coil of the relay is hooked to a constant 12v and the alarm, so you will have a constant 12v power source to tap. unfortunately this wont provide power to keep the car running.

[®ôé£vï$]

alright guys so i have a ? for all u know it alls of alarms....whats a good quality shop that can do this for me...
-tint (2 doors and back windshield)
-descent alarm
-tracking thing
-power locks and windows (manual in my car)

if i could get like a package deal that would be great...and i dont have more than 6-700 to spend...so help me out please...

[Notladstyle]

alright guys so i have a ? for all u know it alls of alarms....whats a good quality shop that can do this for me...
-tint (2 doors and back windshield)
-descent alarm
-tracking thing
-power locks and windows (manual in my car)

if i could get like a package deal that would be great...and i dont have more than 6-700 to spend...so help me out please...

600-700 just for labor maybe. converting manual locks/windows is not cheap and the lock actuators and window motors are also pricey. I HATE conversions but maybe theres a shop thats better at them than me. tinting is about 120.

[SickVette]

You are going to have to knock a few things off the list to get in that price range. Power windows alone can run you close to that. Alarm another 300 and tracking is even more.

[TBSpyder]

alright guys so i have a ? for all u know it alls of alarms....whats a good quality shop that can do this for me...
-tint (2 doors and back windshield)
-descent alarm
-tracking thing
-power locks and windows (manual in my car)

if i could get like a package deal that would be great...and i dont have more than 6-700 to spend...so help me out please...

Good luck dude, the satellite tracking will run that much alone. You're looking at easily over $1k for product & install.