Hello everyone and thanks in advance for any help. I am a brand new member here and i need some help. I just bought a 97 SSE 40th Anniv. edition for my girlfriend and she wants me to install a remote starter. I am a BMW tech so I woudl consider my self an expert but need a little help. I was wondering if any one has wiring diagrams for my 97 that would help me out. I have already bought an Autopage remote starter but would love to have vehicle wiring diagrams before I start. Again thansk for any help.

Scott

I dont have the diagrams, but if you go to www.bulldogsecurity.com they have a wiring guide online--tell it year, make, model--it tells you what wires to tap for your remote start/keyless entry system.

Bulldog may make el cheapo units, but at least they have the wiring guides online

Yes, but be careful, because they generalize a lot by car brand name; e.g. they list both purple and yellow for the GM starter wires, either of which could be true depending on the year of your car, but not both at the same time, plus of course you can find the _other_ color in your car anyway if you look hard enough.

I've just finished installing a BulldogSecurity RS-102 remote starter in my '93 SSEi, but have not written up a complete article on it yet (you can find a running diary about it under the "Dashboard Diary" postings in the 1992-1999 forum). Just off the top of my head, you'll need to get to the following:

Ignition wiring harness (large-gauge bundle behind dash emerging from steering column)
-- Constant power: Red and Red/Black
-- Accessory power: Brown
-- Ignition power: Pink
-- Starter cranking: Light Yellow
-- VATS key-resistor-pellet detection circuit: An orange sleeve (looks like another wire until you slice it open lengthwise) containing two thin white wires

Note: Do _not_ tap into any small-gauge wires in the same bundle, such as a dark-green or tan wire; those may be switched-ground wires for bulb prove-out and parking-brake warning lights. I'm not 100% sure that I'm listing the Accessory and Ignition colors right (above), but can go doublecheck my car this weekend if needed. (I _did_ get the connections right, whatever they were )

Driver'* door
-- Factory alarm shutdown: Light green, at exterior key lock cylinder
-- Power door unlock: Light blue (see notes below)
-- Power door lock: Black (see notes below)
-- Trunk release: Um, I forget, but you need to tap the outbound wire from the pushbutton

Miscellaneous
-- Tach signal input: White wire at coil pack under hood, fifth from the _right_ end
-- Interior light supervision: Ground wire from any interior light (blue with red tracer or some oddball color like that); the floor light over driver'* footwell is easiest to reach
-- Parking light confirmation: Brown wire at headlight switch

That'* all I can think of right now. Take your time. All wiring is accessible in the dash, but some is much easier to access in the driver'* door, and the flexible wiring boot between door and frame has lots of room for extra wires. Be careful when dismantling the driver'* door, especially where the door panel is attached along the top.

Note that the factory alarm shutdown grounding is required to prevent the car'* alarm from sounding when the car is started, but also serves to trigger the central locking system to unlock the car. I have not yet found a way around that problem.

Also note that you probably should connect the Lock and Unlock control wires to the _exterior_ key lock wires (Lock: Yellow; Unlock: Light green) instead of the interior door lock switch, because locking the car via the exterior key lock will arm the factory alarm; locking the car via the interior lock switch will not, unless the driver'* door is open at the time. I have not made this correction on my own car yet, but plan to do so.

Good luck and have fun. I'll add more if I think of anything. Get back to me if any questions and I'll try to help, although I'm probably going to be offline all weekend, starting at 5:00 p.m. today.

Whoops; waitaminnit here...

I don't think your '97 used the VATS system of resistor pellets in keys, did it? In any event, I think there'* some sort of electronic validation of the ignition key that you will need to bypass. This would be handled by a universal bypass kit that your remote starter probably offers as an optional accessory for cars which need it, and I'm pretty sure that yours is one of them.

For instance, this is a link to the instructions for the BulldogSecurity universal bypass module -- http://www.bulldogsecurity.com/pdf/Model781.pdf -- which should give you an idea of the system on your car and what needs to be done. (Note that their on-line PDF documents are slightly whacked: boldface type in the printed manuals seems to be inadvertently missing from the on-line versions.)