Alarm Install

Ok, this was a pretty easy project.  Took a little over an hour.  The alarm kit comes in 4 parts: the motion sensor, the tilt sensor, the siren, and the wiper stalk.  If you have an 03 model or later, the vehicle is pre-wired for these components - you just need to install and connect them.  If you have an 02 model, you vehicle isn't prewired and it's a major hassle to do it.  I wouldn't recommend it.

The Motion Sensor

Take a small flathead screwdriver and get in the backseat (hey, I've never sat back here - it's pretty nice!).  Pry the cover from the ceiling fixture located right in front of the rear hatch:

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It should pop out very easily - no need to dig into the headliner with the screwdriver.  Look on the underside of the cover:

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Some people have reported that the motion sensor was already attached.   Mine wasn't, so I snapped it in:

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To make sure you snap it in correctly, there are two arrows, one on the sensor and one on the underside of the cover (both visible in the pic above), that you should line up next to each other.   Back up in the ceiling there will be a coiled up cable with a connector on the end which is secured on the side of the opening.  Detach the connector and pull it out of the opening:

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Snap the connector into the sensor just below the two arrows:

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Now snap the cover back into the ceiling, with the two arrows pointing toward the front of the car, and this part is done.

 

The Tilt Sensor

In the rear cargo area, remove the left access panel and find the sensor cable that's taped to the brake wiring.  In this picture, the cable is in the lower left:

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Remove the tape necessary to free the cable and connector:

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Here's a picture of the tilt sensor:

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Snap the connector to the sensor:

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  The sensor will be attached above the wheel well using two supplied hex bolts and two holes:

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Position the sensor so the bracket is behind the two holes and screw the hex bolts in to secure it.  I found it was easier to attach it by feel rather than trying to look up into the opening.  A nutdriver will help tighten them up:

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The Siren

The siren is connected and attached in the rear left corner of the engine compartment as you face it from the front, just to the left of the brake lines.   Here's where I encountered the hardest part of the whole project: untaping the siren cable and connector.  There's not much room for fingers in there.  Be patient and don't use a utility knife unless you're very careful not to cut the wires under the tape.  Unwrap the tape as far back as possible, because there isn't as much excess cable to play with here as with the other components.  In this picture, the taped connector has the orange wire coming from it:

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Here the untaped cable and connector extends into the lower right corner of the picture:

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Here's a picture of the siren attached to it's bracket:

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Just in front of where the brake cylinder is secured with a bolt, there is a hole that the siren bracket will be bolted to:

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But first you have to remove the clear plastic sticker that covers it:

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Now if you have as little slack in the cable as I did, you'll need to maneuver the siren into the compartment first and then snap the connector to it.   Slide the hole at the top of the bracket onto the bolt at the top of the compartment (left center in the picture).  Then position the hole at the bottom of the bracket over the hole the clear sticker covered and secure it with the supplied hex bolt.  Now tighten the supplied hex nut onto the bolt at the top of the bracket and tighten it.

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The Wiper Stalk

Start by removing the bottom half of the steering column cover.  To do this, first remove the rubber guard from around the ignition, then remove the two screws from the bottom just below it:

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To remove the cover, squeeze the top half of the cover just behind the wheel while pulling down on the bottom half.  Set bottom half aside.  Use the wheel tilting mechanism to lower the wheel to its lowest position.  This will reveal two screws behind the tachometer.  Remove these two screws, carefully maneuver out the black cover, and disconnect the tachometer:

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Now you can remove the top half of the steering wheel cover which will expose the connecting point of the wiper stalk:

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Remove the gold-colored screw which secures the wiper stalk, and slide the wiper stalk horizontally to the right to free it from the steering column:

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Once it is free, remove the connector:

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Now replace the original wiper stalk with the stalk from the alarm kit which has the red LED on the end of it.  Re-assemble all the parts in reverse order from the disassembly, and the alarm installation is done.

All that remains is to have your dealer activate the alarm.  They will need to hook up their computer to your car in order to do this, and may or may not charge you for it.  My dealer charges a half-hour of labor ($45).  Yours may charge a half-hour, an hour or nothing at all.

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