Keyless entry transplant help (92 => 94)

I have a 94 lesabre without keyless entry (but w/ power door locks). my brother had a 92 w/ keyless entry until he wrecked it, now it's sitting in the bushes. I would like to remove the unit from his car and install it into mine.

One specific question I have is in regard to the trunk button. My 94 does not have a an electric "pop" button in the passenger compartment. The only way to open the trunk is with the key. Am I correct in thinking that I will have to run power to the trunk and install the elec. components (relay?) from the 92 as well? If so, can I splice into a system nearby without affecting it, or do I need to run power from the fuse panel (maybe on the pwr dl)?

As far as the main keyless receiver unit, can it just get installed into the wiring of the pwr door locks in the driver's door or kick panel?

For some reason the elec system has never been my strong suit. Maybe it's because you can't "see" what's wrong like most of the mechanical stuff. Thanks for any help anyone can give!

Alright. As no ones else has replied, I guess I shall. I'll do my best not to ramble on and on... I need to go to work after all.

Since you have power door locks, keyless entry was likely an option on your 1994. Which means the wiring is likely already in place for a keyless entry system.

That's going to be about the only feasible way to install the keyless entry off another car. If the wiring doesn't exist, then you must run and splice wires in several places. Without a pin out of the wireless reciever your using, it will become difficult and require a multimeter and a couple weeks. At that point, your best bet is buy an aftermarket system.

We'll assume the wiring exists to add a factory keyless entry system. The first big question is whether or not the keyless entry reciever from your brothers 1992 buick will connect to your 1994. The connectors may be different. As your brothers car has the remote trunk unlock, and my 1995 has the same, I expect your 1994 has all the wiring installed already. The option just wasn't purchased so the components weren't connected.

In my 1995 the reciever is located behind the glove box clipped to a plastic support. It's a black box about 5" wide, 12" tall, and 1.5" deep. It has a connector plugged into both ends of the box. On the box you will find a notation that begins with ABO, i.e. ABO0303R. This is the FCC identification of the frequency the unit operates on. The box from the car will end with an R, your brothers keyless remotes will end with a T (Reciever and Transmitter respectively). The rest of the numbers should be the same on both.

If you can find the mounting location for the keyless entry that wasn't installed on your 1994, you should be able to find the wiring harness that plugs into it. Most likely taped off to the side somewhere. Look for plugs that look like the ones in your brothers 1992. (It's unlikely there are any others that will fit, so if you find them, they are likely the right ones.)

As for the trunk. Here is where crossing your fingers would be good. If you found the wiring harness to plug in the reciever, then there's a good chance the harness to connect the trunk latch also exists. However, who knows where the cable is.

Bundles of wires will likely enter your trunk on both sides of the trunk space, entering through holes located behind the upper corners of the rear seat. From here, the wiring will branch off to smaller harness(es) that run up the trunk hinges and up to things like your tail lights, license plate lights, and trunk latch. Since you don't have the trunk latch installed, it's likely the wiring for it is coiled up in a bundle behind the trunk carpeting near either the left of right wire entry point. There's a good possiblily is it taped to or laying near the power antenna module. (As I believe that's where the programming trigger connect was located on some 1994s.)

If the wiring exists for the trunk latch, wonderful. If not... you likely do not want to approach trying to run and connect it yourself. (As the easiest way would be to cut the entire keyless entry wiring harness out of your brothers car and transplant it into yours. In fact, if you can't locate any of the connectors... that's likely the only way you could get his system connected up in your car.)

If the plug is there, it's just a matter of routing the wires up the latch area. Then you'll have to remove the power trunk release solinoid module from your brothers trunk lid. It's a black unit located opposite the trunk key hole, bolted to the trunk lid with a couple wires plugged into it.

You should be able to simply remove it, and bolt it onto your trunk lid. (Though there's a good chance you'll have to remove a similarly placed part from your trunk lid and replace it with the solinoid module.) If the holes for the bolts don't exist, which is unlikely, get a drill. Doesn't really matter how it's mounted, only that it's mounted inthe right place.

Transplanting the trunk button will involve the removal and moving of two buttons from your brothers car. There's the trunk button, and then there is the power trunk release over-ride switch located in the glove box. If you don't move the switch, the trunk button nor the keyless will work. Alternately, you can short/connect the two wires from the switch in the glove box... this would over-ride the over-ride switch.

Who knows if the wires exist for the trunk button, you'll just have to dig around under the dash. If not, they probably run directly back to the keyless entry unit.

The next hurdle is the trunk release relay, which both the trunk button and the keyless entry reciever will make use of to "pop" the trunk. In my 1995, the relay is located in the fuse/relay center behind the glove box mounted to the passenger wall. The fuel pump and drivers door unlock relays are located here as well.

You'll have to locate the relay in your brother car. Then you need to look at the panel in your car in the same place. HOPEFULLY, there is a open place for a relay that is already wired. That is, not only has the holes, but has wires in the holes. (All the relay spaces are the same, a relay will plug into almost any of them. So look at the same space the the relay is located in on your brothers car.) When you look in the holes, they should have metal contacts in them. All the holes may not have contacts, but your car MUST have contact in all the same positions as your brothers car to be compatible.

If the connectors don't exist for the relay... then it's likely most of the wiring for the trunk release also does not exist. This means you'll have to get the contacts out of your brother relay panel (which is a whole hell of lot more difficult than it should be) and transplant them into your relay panel in the exact same placement they were in his car.

As those contacts likely connect primarily to the trunk release wiring, you'll likely end up removing all that in the process. (Which is for the best, as it likely doesn't exist in your car in this case.)

Alternately, you may choose to install an aftermarket system. Several companies make generic units that you can splice into any car. (There are models for both cars with and without factory power locks, and there are likely trunk release add on kits as well.)

An aftermarket system will come with pre-labeled wires and many times tap connectors as well. Most importantly, they include instuctions for locating the correct lock/unlock wires and tell you which of their wires to splice in how. They also include model/manufactuer specific notes of additional relays or safe-guards that must be overcome to install the system.

Aftermarket instructions will tell you how many wires to run where and which color to connect to what. The use of your brothers system is pretty well completely dependent on the connectors existing in your car and the connectors being the same connectors that his car has.

The 1992 and 1994 LeSabre are not that far apart as far as body changes go. The major changes occured in 1995. So you may very well have the same connectors. However, the manufactuers tend to change the keyless entry operating frequencies every year. (My frequency FCCID: ABO0303 is only found on other 1995 Buicks.) Since they make these changes every year (for security mostly) who knows what other changes they made to the keyless entry system between 1992 and 1994.

In addition, if you go with an aftermarket system and you so desire, for an extra $50 you can get a kit that includes remote start. However... installing that, even with the included instructions becomes... difficult. The reason being that you must disable manufactuer anti-theft features that don't allow the car to be started without the correct key in the ignition. On 90s model GMs, this involves soldering in a very specific resistor that is completely dependant on your key.

In all honesty though, in your situation, I would tear apart the under-side of your brothers dash and see what all I could find. It might take some time to find everything and figure it out, but probably not much more than it would take you to install an aftermarket system.

It's worth at least finding out if his keyless entry will plug-and-play with your car. Why? Because it's FREE and that's the most important thing of all.

Well there went an hour... I thought I said I wasn't going to ramble. LOL Oh well... I should go shower.

Also look for the keyless entry reciever in the trunk. I know on the 1995 Buick Century, the mounted on the drivers side of the trunk, under the rear dash, near the speaker, on the outside of the trunk lid hinge.

At least that's where it's supposed to be on the Century. If not so on your brothers 1992 LeSabre, check the right side of the trunk, and behind the carpeting on each side. I wouldn't be suprised to find it mounted near the power antenna (common wire path).

Also, you'll have to move the drivers door unlock relay. They relay which causes the drivers door to unlock before the other doors when using the keyless entry. Looks the same as the trunk latch release relay and should be located right next to it. Procedure to check for existing wiring or move it with the other components is basically the same as the trunk latch release relay noted in my initial post.