Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2000 09:36:15 -0700
Reply-To: Bill Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Bill Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Subject: Re: Suggestions for car alarm, remote start, keyless entry?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
A year and a half ago I was looking at car alarms. I read a Consumer Reports
review of several car alarm systems... the nuts and bolts of the article
were:
1. the best car alarms are only sold by places that install them.
(they won't sell them to you to install yourself)
2. non of the places that install them do a good job of wiring
(out of about 10 test installs... everything from mom & pop shops to large
chains... Consumer Reports found that none of the got it right... either
they messed up the finish/cosmetics on the car or when they removed dash
access panels they found things like wires just hanging there... not even
twisted together... held together only by electrical tape!)
3. there are very few sources for after market kits that you can install
and these are generally not the best (some were tested as quiet lousy)
systems.
I looked around and educated my self as to all the high tech features of
these things.... decided I didn't need the really high tech stuff/that much
of it was a PITA... found that the most reliable systems for not having
false alarms were the basic ones with just the door sensors and the motion
detectors. also figured the vanagon was not going to be a high profile
target of the professional thief... they're likely after the flashy
expensive cars.... so no need for the highest most expensive technology...
Also, I talked to a couple of shops that specialized in selling and
installing auto audio and car alarms... decided that they are in too much of
a hurry to do a good and neat job of the wiring... especially something like
a vanagon that they rarely see... decided I didn't want the hassle of taking
it back to have the job done right and/or having to figure out their work
and do it over myself.
I found two reputable sources for after market systems:
1. Crutchfield.
2. Autolock http://www.autoloc.com/pages/main/products.html
after grilling both tech departments I decided on the Autolock system...
they specifically mention systems for VWs and someone on the list a couple
of years ago recommended them.
The systems are fairly complicated to install... lots of wires going to lots
of places. You need to have some basic knowledge of auto electrical systems
or be willing to acquire it like I did... also a fair amount of time and
patience... I would say at the VERY minimum a half a day if you're not going
to run wires to the rear hatch and slider... add a full day for that... But
each step is fairly simple... it's just a fairly significant job and I can
see why the shops botch the install if they're trying in install it in an
hour! The tuffest thing is if you want all the doors to be armed you will
have to run wires and install pin switches to the slider door and the rear
hatch... the shops would charge lots of extra $ for this.... (some vanagons
have them but not my 90 Westy). I did ran wires to the rear hatch and
slider, installed pin switches, installed the alarm, and hooked up the
keyless entry... had never done anything like this before.... the Autolock
tech people were very helpful.... and the system has worked flawlessly for a
year and a half now... zero false alarms.
Good Luck,
Bill
----- Original Message -----
From: "K. Taylor" <kentaylor.online@VERIZON.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, October 22, 2000 12:10 AM
Subject: Suggestions for car alarm, remote start, keyless entry?
> Any advice for purchasing a after-market alarm, remote start, and keyless
> entry? is there anything about the design of a Vanagon that would limit
> which brands and models would function in a Vanagon? Looks like the best
> prices are on eBay, with having it installed by a local professional.
>
