has anyone ever created a custom alarm in a camaro? im thinking window mounted magnets with wires connecting to the horn or maybe another noise maker. if the window breaks the connection shorts and the alarm is sounded. anyone have any ideas how to make the same kind of rig for the door opening? trunk? hood? i have no power locks or windows, so no keyless entry. i can get a remote to arm/disarm the alarm. i havent gone into any in depth research im just looking for ideas right now

 

Before I became an installer, I had the exact same idea, so I set out to look into it. I thought it would be a cool idea, especially considering the finished product would be something I could call my own. I quickly learned that there are legalities for the duration at which the siren could sound, which means we're now looking at doing a microprocessor so the system can trigger, alert, and reset. All said-and-done, it is not at all worth the effort to build something that would be reliable and functional when a decent name-brand alarm can be had for right around $100. That way, it comes with a shock-sensor to detect glass-breakage, and you don't have anything showing.

As for door-locks, they can be put in, but it's a bitch. It's not the end of the world, but for someone who's not used to doing them, it requires removing the door-panels (obviously), figuring out a place and position for the aftermarket lock solenoids, running the wires thru the rubber boot (a bitch in itself sometimes) and mounting switches. Then you get to wire the whole thing up, which can be confusing if you're not electrically-inclined.

I don't mean to discourage you, but take it from someone who has had the same thoughts you're having - it just isn't worth it. It's way more cost-effective to go buy an alarm, and depending on your level of expertise you might want to consider having someone do part or all of the install.

Good luck, I hope this helps.

 

well first things first i dont want power locks, no how no way. what kind of name brand alarms will accomodate this?

second, couldnt i wire into the dome light circuit that comes on when the doors are open? in other words when the alarm is armed and the door is open the lights are already going to come on, so i want dome light circuit to trigger the alarm as well. seems logical to me tough i havent looked into the wiring diagrams.

as far as windows i just wanted to do it like house alarms. when a bedroom window reaches a certain point the circuit breaks and a beep goes off. if the window breaks the little metal conductor that completes the circuit will fall with the shattered window.

thanks for the input, how does all this sound to you? is there an alarm already out there that can do the same thing?

 

Absolutely. Any alarm you buy will come with the ability to add or not add features you desire. Door locks for example, can be hooked up or not - doesn't matter, and won't affect the operation of the alarm or anything else for that matter. Most alarms will come with the shock sensor, which is better than the window-tape you describe for many reasons: first, window-tape is ugly. Second, it would be a bitch to make it work with the door windows that go up and down. Third, you'd need to apply it to every window. Fourth, the shock sensor will alert you if someone drops a door into your car at the parking lot - window-tape won't. I'll stop here with those.

As for wiring to the dome-light circuit, it used to work that way in the older cars that didn't have the dome-light delay. The delay causes problems when the alarm is armed, because you will exit the vehicle, and hit the 'arm' button. the alarm will see the light still on, and think the doors are still open. The alarm will then ignore that circuit, making it useless for protection. The way to do it is to hook the alarm to the door-pin switch itself, which is obviously a true indication of whether or not the door is open.

You mentioned using a home-alarm to accomplish all this. While it will serve a purpose, and will actually work, they are big, so you'd have to hide it; they're typically open, so you'd have to protect it; and they're made for a constant power-source, so you'd have to figure out how to make it work with the key-on/key-off thing. Again, not impossible, just a lot more work than it's worth. Let's face it, years of R&D have gone into car alarms - they're made the way they are for a reason. Save yourself the headaches - don't try to reinvent the wheel.

Bottom line: check out the online outlets for car audio, and pick up a name-brand car-alarm with a shock-sensor. You'll hook up AT MOST a dozen wires, and could really have it done in an hour or two assuming NO experience. That's fewer wires than a car-stereo. Plus, you'd be into it for around a hundred bux, and realistically could add a remote-start if you wanted to.