anyone know the best (easiest) place to pick up 12v that is on the ignition switch?? to run a relay for valentine and fans?

tbird


[Modified by tbird, 5:19 PM 8/3/2002]

 

In the electrical compartment, under the hatch in the passenger side footwell is an accessory plug that has an ignition wire, a hot-all-the-time wire and a ground wire. I believe it is located above and to the left of the BCM (shiny box) and is secured in place with a wad of black electrical tape. Cut the tape and pull the plug out. You'll see the three short wires protruding from the connector. You can splice right on to them. They are there specifically for adding radar detectors, cell phones, etc., according to the owner's manual.

 

fantastic!! Like they say if all else fails "read the dam instructions"

thanks for the response. I crawled under the dash and I could see that I really didn't want to get into that

Thanks
tbird

 

I have been using the keyed +12 volt line to feed a dual-band ham radio. It works great but be aware of the effect on the C5's starting sequence. When you have something connected to this circuit, it adds a small delay to starting sequence. You will notice a slight delay from the time you move the the key from ON to STRART. It just takes additional time to check the cirucit. Notice when your AM/FM radio can be on when the key is in the ON position but goes off when the key is moved to START. The same applies to the GM provided accessory line.

I screwed up big time trying to solder to the the pig tailed wires and took out some fuzes . I recommend a crimping tool.

 

I've got my Valentine One radar locator wired into the ignition side of that accessory pigtail and I've never noticed that. Now, I'll bet I do. Interesting info.

 

I used a long run of heavy wire and it takes a little longer to check the circuit. The delay is not that much 1/2 second or something like that. When I first noticed the delay I showed it to my dealer and they had never seen anything like that and wanted me to leave the car to change out the starter switch and/or starter. I did not want to leave the car with the ham radio, so I pulled the quick disonnect I had installed near the accy box. The car started normal - no delay. I declined the repair and went home to mess with it. The interesting item is the delay is caused by something being attached to the ground line, not the +12 volts. The C5 electrical system is smarter than many of us suspected. The computer starting sequence checks all kinds of things and it has to get a go on everything or it will not start the car.

I have learned to live with the delay and have to warn other drivers about the delay. The dummies at the dealership could not get my car off the oil change rack because it would not start. It was like Dumb and Dummer trying to start the car they would not hold the key on the START position. I guess they were used to just bumping start buttons.

Check and see if our Valentine lights go out or flash when you hit START, then come back on again after the starter does its thing.




[Modified by Dick Kriss, 10:12 AM 8/4/2002]

 

I just hardwired my V1 last weekend and now I notice that when I hit the alarm disable button on the key fob, the dash guage lights do not turn off automatically (even after a ten minute delay) unless I manually turn the lights "on" and then "off". Anyone else notice this?????

 

OCMike,

Did you use the +12 volt or the keyed +12 volt line? Sounds really weird. Try pulling the fuze from the Valentine and see if you still have the problem. I assume the Valentine came with an in line fuze. If not, I suggest you cut the wire and install a fuze.

 

I hooked it up per the instructions to the Yellow wire. (12v key). The Orange is the "hot" wire and the black ground.
I also have the T-84 Euro's and custom wire-harness. With the Euro's I have to manually shutoff the headlights BEFORE shutting down the motor or else they do not retract....go figure. I suspect this is all related somehow.

 

wired mine up and don't notice any delay
thanks for all the info
this forum is GREAT!!
tbird

 

Dick,
I think I know why you're experiencing the crank delay. It's probably because your ham radio has some capacitance inline with its power supply (internal to the radio). The same 12V signal that goes to the ham radio also feed the signal to the BCM. The BCM needs this signal to "tell" the rest of the car to start/crank/shut off/etc. When the CRANK mode occurs, the BCM expects this line to go from 12V to 0V. When you've got a storage device like a capacitor now in the circuit (in the ham radio), the 12V to 0V transition takes a fraction of a second. The BCM still sees 12 to 0, but because of the capacitance, it's perceived as a delay to the driver.

If you wanna get rid of this delay, you need to isolate the ignition signal to the BCM from the ignition signal to the ham radio. (Isolation=diode) If you can find a diode sized to handle the current your giving the radio, you should be able to install it right by the radio. MAKE SURE it's sized appropriately otherwise you could have a nice passenger foot warmer if you know what I mean.

Good luck.