Is it possible to add the keyless entry system to a 3rd gen that didnt come with one, like an SE? I already have a GXE donor car, but how much of a b*tch would it be?

Obviously, I know I'd have to change the front door handles with ones that have the keypad cutouts, but what has to be done electronically? Has anyone done it successfully? Thanks...

(USEFUL advice and tips only please)

 

it is possible, but there haven't been too many people to do the swap (if any). you would pretty much need to replace the entire under dash wiring harness, or make your own.
if you make your own, you would need to track down which wires go where, so an fsm for your gxe would be incredibly handy.
I would take the custom route, since it could be made outside of the car, and have the least down time (theoretically).
what most people seem to do, though, is swap out the se suspension onto their gxe's.

What years are the cars? that info may offer the best help.

 

MY GXE donor is an 1989 and i was going to swap the ENTIRE dash harness anyway because when I buy my next 3rd gen (whenever that may be) I am going to the digital cluster swap, because my 89 had that option

 

what about the se? is it a vg? if so, the harness should swap over pretty easily. also, if its a 5 speed, you may want to take a few notes on the electrical side of a 5 speed swap, see if there is anything you should do.

 

The other car, which is yet-to-be-determined, will definitely be an automatic, but im not sure if ill buy a VG or VE. there arent many left out there,so ill take whatever.

What about the wiring inside the 2 front doors? will I have to use my GXE door harness? Im trying to avoid that re-wiring the doors, it will be a mess Im sure.

Do you know of any write-ups out there for this keyless swap?

 

why not just get an aftermarket remote keyless entry system instead?

 

...thank you for the suggestion. Let's drop it right there...back to the subject at hand.

 

no write-ups. like I said, I don't think anyone has done it, yet. if you are determined to do this, I think there are a few of us who will try to help you out, though.

 

u can do it by changing the whole wiring harness and door handle its just time consuming......

 

By "whole wiring harness" you mean just the dash one right?


[thank you to all who are helping by the way...]

 

nah, both the dash and doors.
the se doors have no wiring for the keypads.

really, there is less crap to the door wiring than you seem to think.
easier than swapping a dash harness

btw, this will only work on vg se's. if you wanna get a ve se, you are gonna be in for alot of custom wiring.(fyi warning)

 

+1...agreed

 

i just hate the mess of wiring but love to work on it.

 

and ya wen u really decided to get into this mess just let us know we will try to help u out as much as we could....

 

I'll be doing this swap on the 89SE Superwhite as soon as we find a white GXE at the boneyard to get the keypads from. with a writeup. matt is addicted to my keypads and is sad that his max doesn't have them yet.... but he can hassle me for not having a sunroof...