1997-2003 Grand Prix Remote Start Install DIY

[tblake]

Winter is upon us again unforunatly, and if you live in a cold state like MN, you know how bad it sucks to have to get into a cold car in the morning.

I just installed a Remote Starter in my 2000 GTP. Watch my car start on its own on youtube!! Probably the only car with 150k miles on it to ever get a remote starter installed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCxt9YAOHaU

Along the way, I snapped a few pictures of wire locations. Most of these should be standard on all 97-03 GP's, but use a multimeter to figure out for sure before you solder onto your car.

I am going to leave this an open ended thread and ask anyone who has installed a remote starter in their car to post pointers.

The starter I went with was an add on unit. Mainly because the remotes for a lot of the starters out there just look like baby toys to me unless a person wants to spend a small fortune on a touch screen starter. Not to mention with an add on unit, I did not have to run door lock/unlock and trunk wires. The only drawback is the range on the stock remotes. Which I am going to look into trying to increase the range.





Here is a link to the unit I installed.

Scytek Galaxy 2000rs-MDL

Here are the wiring diagrams I used... (click to download)

2000 Grand Prix Remote Start Tech Sheet (courtousy of Bulldogsecurity.com)
2000 Grand Prix BCM Wiring Diagram
2000 Grand Prix Power Door Lock Circuits

The first "tech sheet" I obtained off BullDogsecurity.com. They offer free tech sheets for all makes and models of cars. Thier resourse can be very helpful, but also take it with a grain of salt. For instance, they say the Trunk release wire can be found at the trunk release switch which on our car is all the way across the dash in the glove box. This wire can also be found in the drivers kick panel at the BCM and the Trunk Release Relay is also in that area. Both places are easier to tap into this wire than over at the Glove Box. Also this sheet states certain wires/connections require relays. This is going to depend on the output of your remote starter. So make sure you know your starter before installing relays. Again, if you don't have basic knowledge of electronics and how certain components work, don't attempt this cause you could seriously damage your car to the point it will not start with a key. Fair Warning.

Off to the Install......

Before you begin, test with a multimeter all connections to make sure you found the right wires. Tape and lable them. Then DISCONNECT THE BATTERY!!!! Very Importance!!!

Remember, these pictures are only for reference and different years/makes/models may and are quite possibly different.

Here is the Main Ignition harness. Here is where you will connect most of your wires. Notice the main harness is wrapped in electrical tape from the factory. See that yellow wire running along side it? Its actually a group of wires all inside one casing. Thats the airbag system. DO NOT harm any of these wires. You will not use them for your install.



Here is where you can get your brake input. This wire is used by the remote start unit to cancel once the brake pedal is pressed. The piucture is hard to see, but locate the two wire plug at the brake pedal. One wire is orange, and the other is white. You need the white wire. Again test with a multi-meter to make sure. This wire will show +12V when the brake pedal is pressed.



Here is a grommit I used to run a wire through for my Hood-Pin Switch. This switch is necessary to install for your safety. It inhibits the remote start from starting or shuts off if the hood is open. This grommit was the easies for me to get to. Its the same one the hood latch cable ran through, I just used a metal coathanger to get a single wire through there.



Here is your TACH input so the starter can monitor when the engine starts. You can also find this at your PCM, Coil, and some remote starters can even use a fuel injector pulse. Its the white wire, bottom row on the connector, 3rd spot from the left.



Power Door Lock and Unlock Wires and Factory Disarm Wire can be found inside the drivers door sil. Take off the 4 screws, and peel the carpet back to uncover the split loom tubing.



The Smaller diameter wires are the ones you need. Lock wire will be Light Blue, and Unlock will be White. This is where you will tap into if you are installing a remote start with additional key-fobs that have lock and unlock buttons on them. I didn't need these because I am using the factory fob.

The orange wire with a black stripe is the factory alarm disarm wire. This wire will show ground when the key is inserted into the door and turned to the unlock position.



Additional info on the disarm wire.... Many Remote starters (mine included), the factory dis-arm pulse is too long resulting in all the doors unlocking when the car was remote started. The solution to this is to speed the pulse up. Seems like an easy task. This solution came from a qentleman from another forum which shall not be mentioned for fear of Bob's Banstick. I hear he's a crack shot with that thing, and I don't want to be on the receiving end.

Anyways, First you need to obtain a 1000uF Capacitor, at least 12v. I went with a 35v 1000uf. Then you will need a 1K ohm resistor. Connect these in parallel. Then the positive side of the capacitor connects to the disarm wire on the car, and connect the Negative side of the capacitor to the remote starter disarm wire. I have no clue how this speeds the pulse up, but it works. The supplies you need can be purchased at Radioshack along with diodes for isolating door trigger circuits (which I didn't need). All of which together costed less than ten bucks.



Last but not least is the Parking Light wire. Its the only brown wire at the headlight switch. can't miss it. Its posative polarity, so if your remote starter outputs ground to trigger the parking lights, you will need a relay. Again, make sure to do your homework.



And I bet you are wondering about the VATS PK3 system. I went with a unit made by Fortin called Pats-GM. Its a small box that outputs the same signal a key would when energized, yet no spair key is needed. How neat is that? Basically you remove the lock cylinder and place a small ring around it, Mount the box somewhere inaccessable by theives. The power wire for this unit can be connected to the the red ignition wire from the large harness. Make sure to fuse it with 10A max fuse. The ground wire of this unit connects to an output from the remote starter called "ground when running". If you want more info on removing the lock cylinder, refir to the ignition switch harness post in the Tips and maintenance subforum.

Here is a link to the Pats-GM website.

http://ifar.ca/en/products/alpha/pats-gm/



Only issue I had was with their programming instructions. It says to turn the ignition on with one car key, then off, then turn it on with another car key, then off, then start the car with the remote start. Well that doesn't work because the car needs to "learn" the Pats-GM unit as another key. So you have to program it as such. Start your car with a key, let it run for a minute or so. Then shut the car off and immediatly start the car with the remote start. This should make the BCM learn the new "key".

And that is it for your basic install. Whole process took me 3.5 hours, but I have done a handfull of remote start installs in the past so I knew what I was up against. All the parts and supplies total costed about $80.00. Depending on how ellaborate you want your starter, it will cost more. I am happy with that I have.

Again, test your connections before you connect. Don't come yelling at me because you fried your Body Control Module or your car won't start with a key anymore. Its not my fault. Do this mod at your own risk.

Any further Tips and Tricks Please Post!

I will try to answer any questions as best I can.

[BNaylor]

Good post Tim. After seeing all the work involved I'm glad my GXP came stock with factory remote start.

But you probably need it more than I do living up North. Later.

[tblake]

Thanks Bob, yeah its a pain in the butt, but still cheaper than paying someone 400 bucks in labor just to put it in. The ones with added alarms and door locks are even worse. Plus the aftermarket alarms you can never seem to interface correctly. I put one in Natalies GP last year. It works good, but the unit has no input for factory disarm. So if her remote dies, and she uses the key to enter her car, her car alarm goes off. How retarded is that? I've been trying to let me switch it over to this type, but she likes her touch screen remote with cabin temp readout and Battery voltage display.

[nans_grandprix]

Yes I do love my touch screen remote, its Awesome!

And sorry Timmy I know how much you want me to switch over to the type of remote you have, but I'm already used to the touch screen remote

[tblake]

Originally Posted by nans_grandprix

Yes I do love my touch screen remote, its Awesome!

And sorry Timmy I know how much you want me to switch over to the type of remote you have, but I'm already used to the touch screen remote

Yeah well, then no more setting off your car alarm when you leave at 1am in the morning or I'll just switch it over when your at work some night.

BTW, you need to update your picture so it shows your new GT/GTP rocker moldings. But maybe you should wait until we get a GT back bumper cover and dual exhaust.

[penright]

Not sure what the issue, but the link to image don't work for me. Do you have to join website first?

[Stealthee]

Originally Posted by penright

Not sure what the issue, but the link to image don't work for me. Do you have to join website first?

The thread is 4.5 years old so pics are probably long gone.

[penright]

Originally Posted by Stealthee

The thread is 4.5 years old so pics are probably long gone.

Afraid of that, trying to find the pinout for 97 Grand Prix BCM. Want to create offboard (testbed) to try some things.