Anyone have any experience with the Crime Guard 745i4 car alarm? It looks to be a very full featured alarm at a good price. I don't need remote start for my vehicle, it's got a manual transmission. I want it to protect my vehicle, open my doors, disable the starter, roll down the rear window, and have some kind of car jack protection.

What do the Clifford MAtrix and G5 alarms go for and can you buy them and do the install yourself? Or must the dealer install them? I really don't want to pay someone else for somehting that I can do and learn from in the process.

Who else should I consider? Is a 2-way really worth it?

 

birdman,

are you going to install it yourself? i did some research here on YT a month or so ago, and that is something important to consider. i can't remember which brand it was, but a few guys said that...IIRC...ack...can't remmber but one popular brand is very difficult to install and should only be done by an authorized dealer.

midiwall and designsbyme have both installed the commando 870 2-way alarm system and both seemed to be very happy. i trust midiwall's advice and after reading quite a bit on YT about alarm systems, his advice and my research will lead me to purchase one in late september.

bob

 

I have been looking at the Clifford G-series alarms for my Celica. I like the features and the Clifford name. I had an Alpine alarm on my '94 Ranger, and that was a good alarm too.



Bob: why are you pulling out the RS3000 alarm?

 

I like my Viper 550 ESP and have the install pics in my sig if you need em.

 

Look at Audiovox/Prestige alarms they are the ones who make the factory alarms, I've had one on my Avalon for years and no problems. You can check Ebay for some as they are cheaper there.
Viper, I think is made better and a better reputation.

 

How about this one?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WDVW

Does come remote start though, but I guess you don't have to hook it up.

 

Thanks Bob.

There's a lot of information on the forum about alarms...

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f124/keyless-entry-31981/
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f124/remote-start-27589/
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f124/another-car-alarm-remote-starter-thread-23853/
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f124/car-alarms-23780/

You'll find that everyone likes what they have.

Installing ANY alarm system yourself can range from "fun" to annoying and frustrating. It's key to have access to decent wiring diagrams since you have to splice into a NUMBER of different places in the system. Starter, ignition (usually two sources), door locks, dome light, brake light, etc. And you'll need to install things like a hood switch, horn/siren, possibly a starter relay.

Any alarm system that you buy will come with generic installation instructions. SOME dealers will have instructions for YOUR car/truck, and that's something to consider when buying. After purchase, the retailer for my system sent me a password to his online resource for wiring diagrams. They were complete and 100% correct for my truck.

The install itself will take "a while" the first time. Again, a lot will depend on having good documentation about your wiring. The first time I did mine it took a bit to decipher the alarm instructions and the programming. But now, I could do it in under 2 hours.


fwiw, yeup, I still love my Commando 870 system. The 2-way thing is "cool" and useful. Outside of knowing what sensor tripped the alarm, you get a real indication that the alarm was tripped - just hearing the siren won't be enough these days. I also have a temp module in the system so that I can "ask" the truck how hot it is inside and make a decision to start it and fire up the air conditioning (or heater if it's cold). I understand though that you don't want/need remote start - though even with a manual, you can do it safely.

The 870 also has a total of 6 outputs that you can tap into, all trigerrable from the remote... side windows, back window, doors, door locks, lighting, etc. ANYTHING you want. Other alarm systems have this capability as well though, it's just something else to think about.


Good luck!

 

I had the same alarm installed in my honda accord and my brother in law Acura Legend. It has been working flawlessly. It is a pretty decent alarm with all kind of feature. The only thing I find to be annoying is the battery in the remote control used up kinda fast and the radar sensor is tricky to adjust but it is a very effective feature. I fine tune it to cover the area right at the window. So if the window is down, someone put their hand pass the window in the vehicle for more than 2 second, the alarm will go off. You can also program the trunk release and auto window up by adding a window module. I find that installing alrm is not that bad, you just need to understand the concept of electricity and where to trace and hunt down the correct wire to do the installation. I always have the factory service manual for every car I own. That will allow you to do all kind of customization. I would recommend this alarm. Hope this help!!

Another Alarm I a, considering to put in my 4runner right now is the G5 or Matrix RSX 3.5 by DEI. But they are like 3 times what you would pay for the crimeguard 745i on Ebay. So if money is not the problem, the RSX 3.5 is a pretty good one, they are pricing consistently around $230 on Ebay.

 

That's the idea. I want to use the money saved by installing it myself for some sliders, but realized that I had a false sense of security with the stock keyles entry thing. After some testing I realized it is not an alarm at all. I can't believe I was that stupid about this. I set it, leaving the windows down, and opened each door.....NO ALARM SOUNDED!!!! What's the freaking point?

MTL_Runner, Thanks for the pointer to your pics. I am sure I'll end up using them as a reference, as well as the wiring diagrams in my Haynes Manual.

Midiwall, thanks for the pointers and the reference. I did do a search but apparently my search criteria sucked.

I was looking at the Crime Guard for a couple reasons. Price, feature set, the possible availability of custom wiring harnesses, and the availability of technical support through Crutchfield.

Assuming all of the different alarms have similar features, what is the primary differences that I should be looking for?

Also, how can you safely do a remote start install on a manual tranny equipped vehicle? Is there a neutral sensor or something like that? If I can do this it would be a neat feature to have.

Thanks guys.

 

Yeup, that's exactly it.

The Commando unit (and I'm sure others) has an input to handle a switch that would be installed to indicate that the tranny was in neutral. In fact, if you DON'T use the feature, the wire has to be tied to ground in order for the remote start to work.

It may already be there on your rig, I'm not sure. I know that some cars/trucks have it so that you don't have to engage the clutch to start the engine.

 

Birdman,

If you are going to install the alarm yourself and as other people have suggested, better have the real wiring diagram ready. I'd study it like the SAT before I even tried it!

Go into the maintenance forum and look at the first sticky. In there you will see a link to Toyota's online FSM download site. Pay the $10 measly bucks, download the entire manual for your vehicle and print out the electronic/wiring pages. I'd do it anyways just to have it but I already have the real books myself

Bob

 

My system makes noise all night too:

 

hey Bob,
How large a set of files would we be typically talking about? I have a 3.slow connection <get it?> at home but we have the fastest stuff on earth at the office. Wondering if I could download it at the office during lunch for instance, then put it on a CD?

 

I sell alot of the Audiovox/Prestige line and have been having nothing but great luck out of their systems for the past 4 years. I used to sell alot of Ungo made by Clarion but seemed to have alot of more problems out of them. I recently put the Prestige APS510 on my 90 model 4 runner and it works great. Always make sure to go with a well known brand such as DEI(Viper, Clifford, etc), Audiovox, Crimestopper, Compustar, etc. There are alot of people out there just do some research and go with what suits you!

 

phil,

i'd do it at the office if i were you. i have no idea how large the files are for your vehicle. better safe than sorry

bob

 

That is a very dangerous feature to have on a standard vehicle and there is no sure fire way to keep it from becoming a potential lawsuit. I think that dealers who install them will flat out refuse to install remote start on a standard so I would heed thier warning. FYI, I have remote start on my 4runner auto but just an alarm on my civic standard.....totally up to you tho.

.....glad the pics helped!

 

We won't do it on a manual without using a NSS(neutral safety switch). Allows the car to only crank when in neutral. Stupid me, about 2 years ago on my modded out Integra, installed a APS-996(top of the line Prestige) on my 5 spd reminding myself that I would be able to remember to keep it in neutral every time I get out. Well....not being used to doing it yet, as soon as I got home I ran inside and stood in the doorway and told my fiancee, "Look watch what I can do!", the car attempted to start, jerked in 1st gear, got a good rolling start, by the time I reached it in a panic I couldn't open the door because the damn thing was still armed(locked) and it dragged me into the fence and stopped! Worst sound ever is hearing your own recently painted fiberglass body kit crunching on your chain link fence. The whole time she is still sitting on the couch, so I went back in all pissed off and she had thought I was joking! Kinda reminded me of the VW commercial where the dude drags his lady outside and she has a towel wrapped around her head and he rolls the windows down with the key in the door, and when he turns around the door to the house is shutting..HAHA! Thought I would share that experience!

 

I have a Prestige in my 98 Tacoma, so I guess it's the factory alarm. It was already in the truck when I bought it. Works fine for me.

 

Ok, thanks for all the help guys! I decided to take midiwall's recommendation and placed my order for the FM-870 by Commando, largely due to price, but also for the list of features as well as the level of support. I called in to Commando and just happened to get Ryan on the line by chance. He was VERY helpful, knowledgable, and just a nice guy. He assured me that I will not be disappointed.

Oh, yeah.......Ryan said "That Mark guy's alright, but seems to have some wierd fixation on me." JK He says "Hi!"

 

oh gawd.