car alarm

[d_jay1]

I'm thinking of getting a car alarm for my rocco, as it doesnt have one. it has had one at some point, but it is disconnected. the loom etc still seems all in tact and i'm wondering if i could plug a new new system into the existing wiring. either that or wire it up myself, though i'm not sure it thats a great idea! anyone fitted their own alarm system?

[ianaudia4]

I have fitted several alarms over the years, not too difficult if you have a bit of electrical knowledge and a few tools.
You may be able to use some of the wiring, such as earth and live.
Good luck.

[nordoff]

Personally I'd strip the lower dash trim out and see what standard the current wiring is.
You don't know the previous alarm was installed professionally.
You don't know if the alarm was removed professionally, given that there's wiring still in there then I would doubt it so use this as a chance to tidy it all up.

[Tim_R]

Having removed a few "professionally" fitted alarms and immobilisers I'd say you need to spend some time fixing what may have been bodged in the first place and wrapped in insulation tape. Usually I find that everything has been hacked in around the ignition barrel cos it's easy to get to, which is great news for the wannabe car thief. It took me about 5 minutes to remove the immobiliser i'd had to have fitted for insurance purposes and put the wiring back to standard on my rocco. I then fitted my own alarm when i had the dash out and could get to the whole loom and fuse box so could run wires where i wanted.

This link on club gti may be of interest.

http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread ... toad+ai606

[jonkennedy]

This link on club gti may be of interest.

http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread ... toad+ai606

AMAZINGLY handy !

[james butler]

make sure you dont leave any obvious wiring laying about around under the dash or even under the bonnet for the siren. anyone worth their salt will give the car a kick first to see if its alarmed then 15mins later go to work with side cutters to the siren under the bonnet. mount it high out of the way and run cables next to existing looms so its much harder to distinguish which wire to cut.

[Funky Diver]

I redid mine after losing my keys... the old alarm / immobiliser? It was literally just connected in the fuse box and with one wire cut in the ignition barrel AND all conveniently colour coded.

If you get a Thatcham approved one (they aren't that expensive really) you'll find the wire will be all black anyways. It took me about 4 hours to fit mine, taking my time AND removing the dash, stripping out the loom from it's casings, and rewrapping the loom. I also did a coupla other jobs too, like reinstall the ISO connector for the stereo, etc. All in all though, a job well worth doing, especially as it aint THAT hard to take the dash out of a Rocco!

[Nate]

the loom etc still seems all in tact and i'm wondering if i could plug a new new system into the existing wiring.

as tim said, you'll be best off removing all traces of any old installations and starting afresh. make sure all connections are soldered and covered in heat shrink. don't use crimps, choccieblock of worst of all, scotchloks.