Air bags are just plain cool. Being able to adjust the ride height at the press of a button is even cooler. That’s what we are getting ready to do to the ’49 Chevy Deluxe. It is already sitting with bags on all four corners, wired up to individual solenoids for some front-back-side-to-side action, but we wanted to take it to the next level and add remote-operation. Using the Viper 5000 alarm system, we have several extra channels that will allow us to pancake the suspension on a whim.
The trick on this install is wiring the relays. The alarm provides a small-amperage trigger wire which would burn up if connected directly to operate the solenoids. This requires the use of a relay to supply the high-amp charge needed for the solenoids. In addition to this, the alarm trigger is also (-) polarity, so we will need to wire the relay for a (-) trigger on a (+) circuit. Sound complicated? It’s really not that hard with the proper diagrams. Read along and then install your own!
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- 1. The Viper 5000 alarm is designed to be installed by authorized dealers only for the warranty, While RDR is not a Viper dealer, we are experts, so we handled the install of the alarm. Here we wrapped the wire harnesses to look like the factory wiring so it’s difficult for a thief to cut the alarm wires.
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- 2. The alarm features starter kill, which keeps the vehicle from being started if the alarm is activated. Here Jason is soldering the starter kill wires to the vehicle’s starter wire. When installing an alarm, soldering the connections is very important. Soldering keeps the connections from coming loose, disabling the vehicle’s protection.
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- 3. The alarm itself takes several hours to install, depending on what options you go for.
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- 4. The switch panel is pulled out of the console to gain access to the wires to the solenoids.
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- 5. The relays are packed together in a nice tidy bundle, making it easy to run and locate the wires. Each corner needs 2 relays, one for up, one for down.
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- 6. This is the diagram for wiring the relays. The relay is wired in a normally-closed position, this means the switch input will always trigger the solenoid. When the alarm sends out the (-) trigger pulse, the 87A pole switches and makes connection to the 30 pole, operating the solenoid. These numbers and locations are on all commercially available relays.
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- 7. The relay pack is wired and connected and ready for operation. Writing down a diagram of the location for each relay will really help in diagnosing problems such as if a relay burns out.
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- 8. The ’49 is dropped using the remote. The car is wired to pancake, meaning all 4 corners drop at the same time.
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- 9. The 2-way LCD remote requires 2 buttons to be pressed at the same time to access the auxiliary functions. A really cool feature of this alarm is the 2-way system, meaning the alarm talks back to the remote, alerting you if the vehicle is being stolen from up to a 1\2 mile away.
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