I want to add keyless entry and an alarm to my car, I already checked and my car does not have the relays for keyless entry. Should I try to install the factory keyless entry system or is the one that comes with an alarm just as good?

I would also like to have power trunk release, right now I just have the remote lever activated one. Can I add a power trunk release, how hard would it be and how much would it cost. Best buy sells a universil add on power trunk release for like $80 installed, are these any good?

 

Alarm with LoJack about $800

LoJack stickers should be much cheaper

Profesionaly installed alarm done locally about $300

Crutchfield alarm w/everything under $200 shipped.

I will probably go with the crutchfield alarm, it has remote outputs so if I do add a power trunk release I should be able to tie it in. I can do pretty good work myself and most of the connections should be through the wireing harnesses that I will get with the alarm.

 

for about $12 and installed it to make my cable-operated trunk be a power trunk. Now my aftermarket alarm/remote can open the trunk on my "plain-Jane" GXE.

 

since you got the solenoid, and removed the bars, does that mean you cant open the trunk from the inside anymore, unless you use the remote?

 

the kits they sell usually come with a button to open it, if they dont, you could easily wire one in and put it wherever inside the car

 

or a button that I installed on the console, or the wireless remote. Works awesome.

 

all for 12 bucks you say? i would like to do that too for 12 bucks. can you give us any info on the exact model of the solenoid you bought plus how you wired it all up to work with the remote? that would be awesome. im sick of hearing my trunk bars rattling when the BAAAAASSSS hits.

 

If you mean the torsion bars that stretch the width of the trunk - these have to remain mounted. They serve as the counter-balance for the trunk to open without there being a lot of weight. The solenoid merely tugs on the trunk-lock similar to what the wire-actuated lever below the driver's seat.

 

Thanks, thats exactly what I am looking for. I will stop by Pep boys tomorrow, does it come with instructions or is it pretty self explanitory? How hard was it to install?

 

that I think they had to order out of a catalog. I mounted it inside the lower panel on the fixed part of the trunk (just next to the bumper). You have to look at how the wire-release level works to figure out how to mount the solenoid. If I remember correctly, the wires were already there - I think. Good luck. It was a sense of enjoyment when it worked. It took some ingenuity to get it to not hang up on the cable. E-mail me if you have any probs.

 

I went to Pep Boys and they were extremly unhelpful ('never heard of it' and made no motions to look it up ) but I should of expected this since they were just as bad on my last quest ('there is no such thing as an amber 1156 bulb' )

Typing 'power trunk release' into google got me this http://www.commandoalarms.com/itm90005.htm , a universil kit for $20 plus about $6 for shipping.

The instructions weren't all that great but it was pretty self explanitory, it is a small motor with a wire comeing out of it and a hook that attaches to the end of the wire. It also comes with a button and assorted screws and mounting hardware. You just have to put the hook around the trunk latch and mount the motor someplace where it has a relatively straight tug on the latch. There is a small bracket to the left of the latch that worked great as a mounting point, it is for one of the 'pop' fasteners that hold the trunk trim in.

I put the hook just above where the wire for the lever activated trunk release is. There is an empty harness for the factory trunk release at the latch (light purple with yellow stripe wire), I just tied into this and tapped into the other end in the drivers kick panel instead of running a new wire. The light purple with a white stripe is a constant 12 volt, so if you want to use a relay in the trunk you can get a power supply there. Since there is a lever to pop the trunk next to the drivers seat I saw no reason to install the button that came with the kit, I just wanted to be able to pop the trunk with my alarm remote.

The kit does not feel like it is the best quality, but it seems to work fine.

Edit - A dash button to pop the trunk would be helpfull when you want someone in the passenger seat to pop the trunk for you, I may add one.