Russ's Little Subie Page

Keyless/Alarm Project

Huggy absolutely rocks!!!

Isn't this car beautiful? Just makes you want to protect it. Someone at Subaru was one step ahead of the game-- the LSi has a factory-installed alarm system. Trouble is, when I bought Huggy he was used and had no user's manual. So I didn't know what this quiet little alarm system was capable of... I didn't think it had a starter interrupt. I wanted one. And that sent me on a quest...

Shortcuts for the Keyless/Alarm project:

Module DIP switches (this page)
The Wiring Harness Problem (this page)
Installation Manuals (another page)

BUT FIRST...

I AM MAKING NO REPRESENTATIONS AS TO WHETHER YOU WILL SUCCEED IN USING THIS INFORMATION THE WAY I DID. THIS WORKED ON MY CAR AND IF YOU SCREW YOURS UP I WILL BEAR NO CONSEQUENCES WHATSOEVER!!!!

Now that that's out of the way...

The Keyless Entry Module that Could

Did you know that the keyless entry module is also an alarm control module? I found this out while I was installing my own. The "Security System Upgrade" is a siren, a shock sensor, a starter interrupt wiring harness, an LED, and a plug-in harness change. At a later date I'll provide some details on the module connectors and harness, including how to get this upgrade working on an LSi (the harness has to be rejiggled to get it done). But in the meantime, did you ever wonder what those seven DIP switches inside do?

If your Keyless Entry module has FCC ID number GOH-052-RMTPL on its back label, you have the same one I do. It was manufactured by Code Alarm (search for the FCC ID here; the GOH is the Grantee Code and the rest (including hyphens) is the Product Code).

I had to look high and low to get help (not from Code Alarm-- they have a policy of refusing to talk to anyone other than their dealers, even if you own a system they made-- and that includes retail versions). You won't have to go through all that, I did it for you! Here are the DIP switch settings, along with their defaults in the 95-98 Legacy:

DIP switch settings, Keyless Entry Module, 1995-1998 Legacy and 2000 Impreza
Switch
Description
On/Off settings
Factory Default
My Prefs
1
"Long Lock Pulse"

On - .75-second voltage pulse to door lock actuators

Off - 3-second voltage pulse

On
On
2
"Ignition Unlock"

Note: This switch has no effect unless #4 is in the "On" position.

On - Doors do not unlock automatically.

Off - Doors unlock automatically when key is turned out of the "On" position on the ignition switch.

On
Off
3
"Auto Arm"
(Passive Starter Interrupt)

Note: the definition of "automatic arming" as used below is determined by the setting of Switch #7.

On - Enables automatic arming of the system 60 seconds after the key is turned out of the "On" position in the ignition switch.

Off - Disables automatic arming.

Off
Off
4
"Ignition Lock & Unlock"

Note: This switch affects the behavior of switch #2. Also, the auto-lock won't work if either (a) the doors are open or (b) the module thinks the doors are open because accessory harness pin #4 is grounded. For details on this issue see the Wiring Harness section.

On - Locks doors when key is turned to the "On" position on the ignition switch.. Enables functionality of switch #2.

Off - Disables all automatic locking/unlocking features.

Off
On
5
"Chirp Disable"

On - Siren Chirps when armed/disarmed

Off - Silent arming/disarming

On
On
6
"2-Car Mode"

On - Remote buttons (2-button remote) function as "Lock" (left) and "Unlock" (right) for car

Off - Each remote button is treated as a unique remote control (that must be programmed). If the module recognizes the remote button, it will act as a lock/unlock (arm/disarm) toggle for the car.

On
On
7
"Selectable auto-arming"

Note: This switch controls the behavior of switch #3. By itself it has no effect.

On - "Automatic arming," if enabled at switch #3, will disable the starter circuit but won't auto-arm any other alarm functions.

Off - "Automatic arming," if enabled at switch #3, will arm the complete system (but it won't automatically lock the doors!)

On
On

The Wiring Harness Problem

Apparently when Subaru introduced the restyled Legacy in its 1995 model year (in the US at least), whoever set things up had no plans for an alarm system outside of the factory-installed option on the LSi, which has its own agenda, wires, and module(s). So The Keyless Entry Module that Could was turned into The Keyless Entry Module that Couldn't. This was done by tricking the keyless entry module into thinking that a door was open all the time. This disabled two key features of the module:

  1. The ability of the module to "arm" as an alarm system (the alarm won't arm if a door is open, duh!)
  2. The automatic ignition lock. This is a side-effect; the auto-lock won't work if the doors are open, and the alarm was disabled by making the module think the doors are open.

Item #1 above is an issue particularly for '95 and '96 Legacy (non-LSi) owners who have keyless entry but want an alarm. It was an issue for me too, because I was determined to make this thing work, because I'm stubborn that way.

Item #2 above is only an issue for those of us flipping DIP switches...

So anyway, I originally got to looking at this because I wanted some of the features of the alarm system, specifically the Security System Upgrade. I was told that there was no upgrade available for the '95 or '96, and turned my attention to the one for the '97 - '98. It looked like everything would plug into my module and it turned out the keyless entry modules are in fact the same, at least up to 1997. But the keyless entry harness wiring...

The first thing you need to know to get how all this works is the pinout detail on the keyless entry module. That said, the plug of concern is the 18-pin "accessory harness." Here's the detail...

Accessory Harness Pinout, 1995-1998 Legacy and 2000 Impreza keyless entry module
("-" = no wire, "?" = I dunno yet )

Pin
Legacy 95-96
Legacy 97-98
Impreza 2000
Function
1
Wht
Wht
Wht
Chassis Ground
2
Rd
Rd
Rd
Siren (+12V)
3
-
-
-
"(-) Trigger"
4
Ylw
Ylw
Ylw
Door Trigger (ground = open door)
5
Dk Grn (LSi only)
Dk Grn (LSi Only)
-
Factory Alarm Disarm
6
Tan
Rd/Blk
Grn/Blk
Switched +12V (Ignition On is the switch)
7
Brn
Brn
Brn
Programming Switch
8
Blk
Rd/Wht
Ylw
Dome Light Control (module-switched ground)
9
-
Wht
Ylw/Rd
Passenger Doors/All Doors unlock
10
Blk/Wht
Ylw/Grn
Wht/Blk
+12V Constant
11
Org
Wht/Ylw
Purple
Parking Light
12
Org/Blk
Org/Blk
Org/Blk
Parking Light polarity input (?)
13
Blu LED
Blu LED
Blu LED
Valet Switch
14
Grn LED
Grn LED
Grn LED
Valet Switch
15
Org LED
Org LED
Org LED
Valet Switch
16
Blk
Blk
Blk
Siren Gnd
17
Red/Blk
Red/Blk
Wht
Optional Horn output (?)
18
-
-
-
Hoodlock Switch (?)

Make note first of pin #8. The module connects this pin to ground to provide illuminated entry and exit. But when the door is open, this pin gets connected to ground by the door switches, turning the dome light on and electrically telling an astute observer that the doors are open. This astute observer is supposed to be pin #4. But pin #4 is grounded out on a '95 -'96 wiring harness!!! On the '97 - '98 it's grounded on the "keyless-only" install as well.

On the '97 - '98 "security upgraded" install, the connection between pin #4 and ground is removed by removal of a harness plug, and replacement of the plug with the "dome lamp loop," which reconnects pin #4 to pin #8.

However, on the '95 - '96 wiring harness, there is no dome lamp loop-- the #4-to-ground connection is soldered under all that friction tape. So what did I do about it? I removed the danged friction tape, resoldered the #4 wire to the #8 wire, problem solved. :)

This page modified 7/24/2000!