'95 Accord: Keyless Entry Install

Hi all. I'm contemplating installing a keyless entry system on my '95
Accord. Nothing fancy, just the remote lock/unlock system. Does anyone
know how hard it is for a home mechanic to install one? It has standard
power locks and I have Haynes and Chiltons manuals for the car. Also, any
recommendations as which system to get, and where to get it? The local car
stereo shop wants $150 for one installed and I'm trying to save installation
costs (so I can pay it to the gas station @ $2.65 a gallon ).

Thanks for any help.

Ray

 

Yes, I'm near a Wally World. Any clues as to how hard they are to install?

Thanks, Ray

 

Not sure if your car already has power locks?

My 98 Civic didn't and I installed aftermarket
lock actuators. You just need to find where the
wires for the lock actuators go, and splice them
into the unit as per instructions.

For me, I just wired the lock actuators into
my alarm (aftermarket) and the guy who did the
alarm put in an extra relay to control them.

Sorry this isn't more helpful... let me know if
you already have power locks.

t

 

Yes, I already have power locks. I'm just looking to add the remote control
function.
Thanks for the help.

Ray

 

Factory power lock wires can be found in the bundle of wires behind the
drivers side kick panel. IIRC, 20ga white and lt blue are the 2 wires.

 

It is not hard to do, I put keyless entry in a friend's '96 Accord (4
door, don't remember what trim level) a few years back. That car already
had power locks, like yours. My friend is one of those guys who never
allow enough time, so we only had about 2 hours and did it in the
parking lot of a doughnut shop. I have done this kind of work before,
and we didn't add all the bells and whistles. A few weeks later we had
another 45-minute session where I hooked up the priority unlock feature
and the horn. Same parking lot...

I got a $40 unit (part number 330-145) from http://www.partsexpress.com,
see http://tinyurl.com/3eb77. I also put one of these in my brother's
VW. This unit is nice because it has on-board relays that can be
configured to work with pretty much any factor power door lock system.
both the installs have worked fine now for several years.

The basic install gives you keyless lock and unlock with confirmation by
flashing parking lights. By default, the system will lock all doors a
few seconds after you turn on the ignition, but this feature can be
turned off by programming.

You can also connect a wire to the horn relay and get the system to give
confirmation by beeping the horn. If you do connect the horn wire, the
feature can be turned off by programming the system after your next door
neighbor complains about the noise...

With an additional relay, the system will turn on the dome light every
time you use the remote to unlock the car. The dome light will turn off
after 30 seconds or when you turn on the ignition, whichever comes
first. This feature is not programmable, if you wire up the dome light
it will always come on with when you unlock with the remote.

The unit can also be wired for remote trunk release. You will need an
actuator unless the car already has one, most Honda's use a cable
release rather than an electrical actuator for the trunk. A relay is
also needed.

There is an option to add a starter cut relay. If the car was locked
with the remote, the starter cut relay will prevent the starter from
engaging until you unlock the car with the remote. If you lock with the
remote and unlock with the key (or break the window), the car will not
start. I did not install this option, I think of it more as a hassle
than security. Any would-be thief worth his crow bar will easily
hot-wire around the starter-cut relay. Note that the wiring diagram for
the starter cut relay is wrong in the instructions that came with the
keyless entry system.

Lastly, the system can be wired so that only the driver's door unlocks
on the first press of the button, the rest of the doors unlock on the
second press of the button. All doors will always lock on the first
press of the lock button. The wires for this setup are already in your
car, but you will need to open up the driver's door to install a relay
(not a big deal at all). If you opt for a basic installation initially,
you can add this feature later with minimal rewiring.

I mounted the control unit under the dash on the driver's side. I used
tie wraps to mount the control unit to a fat wire harness. The unit is
light weight, so no worries about super secure mounting. To get access,
remove the coin pocket and unscrew the screw located inside the coin
pocket opening. Then pry out the lower dash cover, it is mounted with
clips and that one screw. Then remove the sheet metal knee bolster, one
bolt in each corner, then lift up and pull towards you. Be careful when
removing the bolts on the right hand side, I dropped one and it ended up
deep inside the center console. You can see details of the cover /
bolster removal if you go to
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/instal/aii/pages/accord/1995/16659_01.html
This is a very useful reference, many of the things you need to do are
described here.

Honda has been nice enough to provide options connectors in the fuse box
on your Accord. See
http://www.geocities.com/ng_randolph/Accord/options_accord.pdf for a
drawing of the fuse box in the 94-97 Accord. These connectors are
infinitely useful when installing keyless entry, alarms and other good
stuff. The function of each connector is as follows:

Options connector "A" has battery voltage with the ignition switch in
"ACC" and "RUN" but not "START". You will not need options connector
"A".

"B" has battery voltage with the ignition switch in "RUN" but not
"START". The keyless remote system calls for a connection that is live
in both "START" and "RUN", but unless you are connecting the starter cut
relay (again, I wouldn't bother) you can safely use options connector
"B" for your ignition switched power. "B" already has a 7.5 Amp fuse, so
no absolute need to provide your own in-line fuse.

"C" is connected to the parking lights. The keyless remote receiver can
flash the parking lights to confirm locking and unlocking. The parking
lights wire from the keyless entry can be connected directly to options
connector "C". Inline fuse already provided.

"D" has battery voltage at all times, fused only with a 50 Amp fuse in
the under-hood fuse box. Connect the constant power lead from the
keyless entry system here. You need an in-line fuse which the wiring
harness for the PartsEspress unit already has.

To connect to to options connectors, regular 1/4" quick-connects work
fine. See http://tinyurl.com/2zpux

There are two ways to connect to the power door lock system. someone
else suggested tapping in to the wires to the lock actuators. This
works, and in some cars is your only option. It is better to connect to
the control wires for the power locks rather than the actuator wires,
and in the Accord the control wires are already made available for this.
See point 20 in the instructions at hondaautomotiveparts. For a basic
install, you will need only two of those three wires, ORN for unlock,
BLK/WHT for lock.

When taping into the car wires, most people use wire taps like
http://tinyurl.com/ac5un. They work fine, but you have no easy way of
disconnecting your own wiring from the car. I like to use on of these
http://tinyurl.com/afr9j snapped onto the factory wire. Then I put one
of these http://tinyurl.com/cbrdh on my own wire, and plug the two
together. It is a very snug and secure fit, but it can be unplugged
should there be a need.

So, for a wiring summary, assuming you do not use the priority unlock
feature:

Wire color
in keyless
entry harness Connects to

1. BLACK Body Ground
2. RED Options connector "D"
3. WHITE Options connector "C"
4. VIOLET Body Ground
5. BLUE/BLACK ORANGE, car lock harness
6. BROWN/BLACK Not used. Tape off
7. VIOLET/BLACK Body Ground
8. GREEN/BLACK BLACK/WHITE, car lock harness
9. WHITE/BLACK Not used. Tape off
10. ORANGE Not used. Tape off
11. BLACK/YELLOW Not used. Tape off
12. GRAY Not used. Tape off
13. BROWN/WHITE LIGHT GREEN/ BLUE wire by horn relay
14. BLUE/WHITE Not used. Tape off
15. YELLOW Options Connector "B"

Should you want the dome light feature, get a relay like
http://tinyurl.com/34457. BLACK/YELLOW wire from keyless unit to
terminal 86 of the relay (numbers stamped on bottom of relay), terminal
30 to body ground, terminal 85 to options connector "D" using 10 Amp
in-line fuse and terminal 87 to the dome light wire. This is going to be
a pain, you need the BLACK/WHITE wire that goes between the dome light
and the instrument cluster. You can not use the wires to the door
switches, as this will cause a "door open" alarm and (if using the
driver's door switch) a headlights on alarm during the 30 seconds the
keyless entry unit turns on the dome light.

Should you want to wire it with the priority unlock feature, let me know
and I'll post the wiring for that too.

 

Wow, Randolph! What a great writeup! Thanks for taking the time for
helping me out. I have some replies and questions inline:

This unit looks like what I want.

It's my wife's car, and she likes that feature, so I'll want to include it.

It's an Accord wagon, so it has a power lock for the tailgate. I need an
additional relay for that?

I think I will take your advice and not install this.

I would like to add this perhaps later. I'll just do the basic install now
and see how that goes before tackling anything more complicated.

I'm a little confused here. Step 20 says something about plugging the
connector marked E into the fuse box. Is that what you mean by point 20?
Are the ORN and BLK/WHT wires there?

The dome light feature would be nice but perhaps is not worth the trouble.

I'd like to eventually add this but I'll probably just start with the basic
lock/unlock/flash lights/blow horn/ and perhaps unlock the rear hatch too.
Sounds like I need to order the unit itself, the connectors you suggested,
and a relay for the rear hatch? Anything else I'll need? Several hours of
my time and a trip to the chiropractor? ;-)

Thanks again Randolph. I really appreciate it!
Ray

 

Yes, a relay is needed. http://tinyurl.com/34457 will do the job.
Terminal 86 goes to the gray wire in the remote entry wire harness.
Terminal 85 goes to options connector "D", terminal 87 goes to the wire
that leads to the tail gate actuator. I don't have the wiring diagram
for the wagon, so I don't know the wire color. Most likely one side of
the tail gate actuator is connected to ground, the other side to +12V
through a switch or relay. If this is the case, terminal 30 of your
relay should connect to options connector "D". Haynes will have the
wiring diagram for the wagon so you can find out how it is wired and
what wire colors to look for.

My mistake, I was looking at a the '96 instructions, not the '95 ones.
Point 21 is what you want. This difference is kind of a bummer; The '95
was /not/ pre-wired for the priority unlock feature (driver's door only
on first button press). If you want the priority unlock feature you will
have to pull a new wire into the door. That /can/ be done, but is kind
of a pain.

While you have the lower dash cover off, poke around in there. You might
just find the wire you need. The wires from the dome light should come
down along or inside the driver's side A-pillar. Do you have a sun/moon
roof?

As mentioned above, that feature would be quite a bit more work to
implement on the '95 than it was on the '96.

I'd spring for a good crimping tool. The style you find in most auto
parts stores (looks like http://tinyurl.com/8l33d) makes it very hard to
do good crimps. This type: http://tinyurl.com/92mhu works really well.
The only thing to keep in mind is that this tool is not symmetrical. If
you look at the jaws of the tool, there are colored dots on one side
next to the different size crimp slots (Usually Red, Blue and Yellow).
The back side has no colored dots. You place the connector in the jaws
of the tool in such a way that you insert the wire from the side with
the colored dots. If you reverse this, the crimps won't hold.

One last word of caution: There might be slight differences in wiring in
different body styles and different model years of each generation
Accord. '95 and '96 are the same generation, but some differences occur.
The differences are usually pointed out in the shop manuals (Haynes,
Chilton, Helm etc.) if they are significant.