AE102 installing remote locking system

[codebeard]

Hey guys,

My Corolla (1994 AE102 7A-FE) is getting on in years but the engine still runs great and I don't want to part with it. The problem is that my drivers door lock isn't working so I have to unlock the passenger side to trigger the central locking then walk around to the drivers door every time I want to open it. I called up an auto locksmith and the price just to have the lock inspected was extreme (just to avoid some extra walking), so I thought about installing a remote locking system instead. To my knowledge the car did not come with remote central locking.

I got a system with a couple of remotes on eBay, but now the difficulty is that I don't know 100% to which wires I need to connect it.

After extensive searching on the internet, I found a couple of different sites which suggested that the power door lock / unlock wires can be found in the passenger kick panel. This seems reasonable since turning the key on either front door will activate the central locking, so the control wires must get into the door somehow.

Unfortunately some of the information I found was conflicting. One site said the power door lock wire was blue/black, the other said blue/white. Similarly, for the power door unlock, one site said blue/red, another said green/white and another said blue/yellow.

I found this site because some helpful users here had shared wiring diagrams for the AE102, and was hoping someone could help me with this.

I've taken a couple of photos of the passenger kick panel wires. Can anyone confirm what the different sockets are for and if I'm looking in the right place?

The blue socket at the bottom seems to match some of the wire colours mentioned (green, blue/black, green/white) but I don't want to short anything which isn't supposed to be shorted. The white socket below the large AC fuse also matches some wire colours (blue/black and blue/red).

According to my owner manual the two fuses here are for the AC but no other information about what these sockets are. Also, I was able to find what I think is a 12V constant wire using my multimeter, but don't know which of these if any are ground.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. ^_^

[Hiro]

I'll have a deeper look into the wiring/connectors this afternoon, but for the moment remote central locking did come standard/optional in the facelift models (yours is pre-facelift). It wouldn't be as simple as swapping systems over though as the early models used an integration relay for all the body electrics and the later ones a full body control module. The remotes had the immobiliser transponder in them too so if you unlocked the car any other way than by pushing the remote button you had to press it again once inside before the car would start (otherwise you'd have to wait 30 minutes for the immobiliser to disable, or insert the remote into the programming receptacle in the glovebox).

If you're handy with tools it might be an idea to pop the door trim off and remove the driver's side door lock barrel and give it a good clean/lube with graphite powder or silicone spray

[(mr2)]

100% NOT GRAPHITE

This does not flush out the gunk that is in the lock and stopping it from working. The more you put in there the more it compresses together and eventually stops the key from going in the lock. Remove the lock to clean it properly, the best way is to completely strip it down and clean each part and then use a synthetic lube when reassembling it, a little squirt of DW40 every now and then also helps to keep the lube from hardening over time.

On this car the locks have small wafers inside them that always fail, more commonly is the ignition and it will jam just before the ACC position. The best way to fix it is to get the lock rekeyed and a new key cut to code. If you got someone out to do this it will be under $200, if you removed it and took it to a Locksmith it would be half that.

With your central locking, isn't there a separate module above the peddles for the central locking? You might hear a relay clicking when you lock/ unlock the door. If there is use a multi meter om the wires going to this and see what wires get power for Lock and unlock and then splice your remote locking kit to that.

[codebeard]

I'll have a deeper look into the wiring/connectors this afternoon, but for the moment remote central locking did come standard/optional in the facelift models (yours is pre-facelift). It wouldn't be as simple as swapping systems over though as the early models used an integration relay for all the body electrics and the later ones a full body control module. The remotes had the immobiliser transponder in them too so if you unlocked the car any other way than by pushing the remote button you had to press it again once inside before the car would start (otherwise you'd have to wait 30 minutes for the immobiliser to disable, or insert the remote into the programming receptacle in the glovebox).

If you're handy with tools it might be an idea to pop the door trim off and remove the driver's side door lock barrel and give it a good clean/lube with graphite powder or silicone spray

Thanks. I did some more testing today with a multimeter because I realised that all the wires going to the door must be either for the power locks, lock/unlock triggers and speaker - there's no other electronics in there.

The blue socket pictured in my second photo is for the front passenger door. By unplugging it I could safely measure resistances between different contacts while the key was in the unlock position, lock position, and neutral (no key) position. Here's what I found, from top to bottom, left to right:

green/white - unlock trigger wire

blue/black - lock trigger wire

heavy guage blue - power lock

heavy guage red - power lock

white/black - common (ground?) wire for lock/unlock trigger

light green - speaker (?)

blue - speaker (?)

I confirmed that shorting the pins for the lock/unlock trigger wires and the common wire did indeed lock and unlock the car, which is the key finding here. So the website which said green/white and blue/black was correct and the other website was not.

Not that I'll need it, but I also confirmed that the car puts a voltage across the two heavy guage wires when the power locks are activated. To unlock, the polarity is reversed.

By elimination, the final wire pair must be for the speaker.

I'm not sure if my car has an immobiliser (there is no recepticle for keys/transponders in the glove box), but to my knowledge it's sufficient to just short the lock/unlock trigger wires, which makes the car think the key was turned in the lock. The remote lock sytem I got on eBay is designed to connect to the trigger wires and emulate the key turn.

Edited January 18, 2015 by codebeard

[(mr2)]

Your car doesn't have the remote immobiliser, should be 96 when it came in.

[codebeard]

100% NOT GRAPHITE

This does not flush out the gunk that is in the lock and stopping it from working. The more you put in there the more it compresses together and eventually stops the key from going in the lock. Remove the lock to clean it properly, the best way is to completely strip it down and clean each part and then use a synthetic lube when reassembling it, a little squirt of DW40 every now and then also helps to keep the lube from hardening over time.

On this car the locks have small wafers inside them that always fail, more commonly is the ignition and it will jam just before the ACC position. The best way to fix it is to get the lock rekeyed and a new key cut to code. If you got someone out to do this it will be under $200, if you removed it and took it to a Locksmith it would be half that.

With your central locking, isn't there a separate module above the peddles for the central locking? You might hear a relay clicking when you lock/ unlock the door. If there is use a multi meter om the wires going to this and see what wires get power for Lock and unlock and then splice your remote locking kit to that.

Thanks for the advice! Over the past year the driver's lock had been getting more difficult to use so I had tried graphite, WD40 and silicone spray at different times, all of which seemed to temporarily alleviate the problem (but as you say, the graphite may have done more harm than good).

Yes, the auto locksmith I called said it would be about $90 or so to rekey the lock if I removed it and took it in to him. If I needed another key cut to code that would be another $60 or something. I looked up a video on YouTube on how to remove the lock - it seemed pretty involved and I don't have a door trim remover tool. For now I am hoping to get away with just using the remote system, since that only cost $15.

[Hiro]

Should have clarified myself, the graphite wasn't to CLEAN the lock, it was to lubricate it (in very small quantities) after the lock had been cleaned by other methods.

There's a lot of divided opinion out there anyway when it comes to how to clean/lube door locks, so it'll usually come down to personal preference and experience.

[codebeard]

Okay, so here's what I still need to work out:

1. Where can I find a ground wire? (i.e. battery negative)

2. Where can I find a wire to control the parking lights for flashing when locking/unlocking with the remote? The instructions here just say "parking lights" but I assume they mean left and right indicators.

Once I've got that sorted I can splice all the necessary wires (and I'll post my instructions here for anyone else who wants to do a similar modification to their AE102).

If there's no wires for lights in the passenger kick panel, the drivers kick panel has a bunch more (see picture below). Unlike the passenger side, the wires from the drivers door have a smaller, white socket, but the wiring seems the same so would still be possible to use them.

[(mr2)]

Ground wire - Just find something screwed to the body of the car as this is ground.

For the lights can you trace a wire to the hazard switch, I think that is what most aftermarket kits suggest?

[codebeard]

Ground wire - Just find something screwed to the body of the car as this is ground.

For the lights can you trace a wire to the hazard switch, I think that is what most aftermarket kits suggest?

I don't know if there's something weird about my car, but none of the car body seems to be grounded. The engine is grounded, but I can't measure any voltage between the positive terminal and the car body or any bolts connected to it.

The two wires that come from the locking kit for the lights both have some kind of inline capacitor in them so I think that must regulate the flash timing rather than using the hazard light control which I assume has its own relay. (That is to say, I think they are intended to be connected directly to the light circuit rather than the hazard.) Here's a picture someone else posted of the same kit, you can see the purple wires: http://www.kiasoulforums.com/attachments/how-diy/42330d1402611386-2014-base-soul-keyless-entry-install-2-wires-modified-.jpg

Hiro, does your AE102 service manual have any diagrams for these kick panels?

Edited January 18, 2015 by codebeard

[(mr2)]

Should have clarified myself, the graphite wasn't to CLEAN the lock, it was to lubricate it (in very small quantities) after the lock had been cleaned by other methods.

There's a lot of divided opinion out there anyway when it comes to how to clean/lube door locks, so it'll usually come down to personal preference and experience.

Graphite is one of the best lubricants for locks when it is the ONLY thing in them, but this is never the case. manufactures put grease in their locks to lubricate them which does not go well with graphite, the down side to grease and other wet lubricants is that dirt and dust stick to them which wear the locks out quicker.

Funnily enough I just had a job for a Toyota Prado that uses the same locks as the Corolla, the problem with this car was the ignition but the issues will be the exact same as what is wrong with Codebeard's door lock.

First, the key was worn, this stops the inside of the lock from lining up correctly and the key being allowed to turn.

Second, the wafers inside the lock were worn and jammed up.

thirdly, there was so much junk in the lock that the key would not go into the ignition all the way ( This is what graphite does)

If you look and my first ( sorry for the quality) photo you can see how dirty the lock is and that the insides don't sit flush. In the second photo is the bulk grease that was left in the lock which had hardened, I needed to use a flat blade screwdriver to scrape this out. The last photo is after cleaning and the inside parts replaced, with a new key cut. Good as new.

[(mr2)]

If you put our indicators on you should be able to hear the relay under the dash, use your multi meter to find the wires for the LEFT and RIGHT indicator and splice on to them.

With the ground, Have a look up around the fuse box, there will be somewhere there where a thing gauge wire is earthed to the cars body.

[codebeard]

Found the ground wire, thanks. There was one on the passenger side too but no longer earthed to the car body (the bolt is missing) - should I be worried about that? It's probably been like that for ages and haven't had any problems.

For the indicators, I found what I think is the relay but it's really high up and the wires are almost totally inaccessible. I'm thinking maybe the parking lights are going to be easier after all, since they are just on/off and don't need a timer/relay. I found the plug with the wires from the rear lights (brakes, indicators, parking lights, although interestingly not reverse lights) - it is the one labeled "ELEC TEST OK" in the bottom of my last picture, but probing with my multimeter didn't find anything useful (I found one wire which switched from - to + when the parking lights turn on but I was hoping for something that would go from disconnected to +).

[(mr2)]

You could try taking the plastic off from around the steering column and get the indicator wires from there, you will be able to see them coming straight out of the indicator stalk and will be a lot easier to get to.

[codebeard]

Thanks for all your help. In the end despite many hours of trying to find wiring diagrams and trace/test wires, I wasn't able to find the right wire for parking lights or indicators. But I decided that since my locks are easily visible through the car windows, I could live without having that extra visual feedback. I installed it without that and it's working perfectly.

In case anyone else wants to do something similar, here are my instructions:

1. Buy the remote central locking kit. I bought this one ( http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/261535476778 ) for $14.90, which is a BIGHAWKS brand and took a few weeks to arrive (though the eBay description does not mention the brand). If you buy a different one the wiring may not match what I have below.

2. I pulled out the orange, grey, green and pink wires from the remote locking kit plug since they were not necessary. I also could have removed the purple wires (for the lights) but in my case I wasn't sure if I might end up wanting them so I just taped up the ends and bound them neatly with a cable tie. I taped together the blue, yellow/black and black wires in a few places because they are all spliced to the same place.

3. Open up the kick panel on either the drivers or passenger side. The same wires are available on both. I installed it on the drivers side in case I ever found the right wire for parking lights since that'd be the place to look for them. On the drivers side it helps to take off the panel above too (where the ignition is etc.)

4. Find where a bunch of white/black wires are bolted to the car body. These are the ground wires and you need to choose one of them to which you'll splice the blue, yellow/black and black wires. The remote central locking controller should not be connected while you are splicing wires. See picture below:

5. Trace the bundle of wires coming from the door. This will connect to a plug on the kick panel - from it find the green/white and blue/black wires. In my case I was able to get access to the matching wires coming into the plug socket from behind. You need to splice the brown wire from the kit to the blue/black wire, and the yellow wire from the kit to the green/white wire. See below:

6. Find the very thick white wire(s) going into the middle of the kick panel wiring. This is the constant 12V to which you should splice the red wire from the kit. I didn't take quite as much insulation off this one and was careful not to ground myself or my tools to anything else in the car while working on this wire because the battery was still connected.

7. Next I connected the remote central locking controller, opened it to press the microswitch and activate the two remotes, and made sure it was all working. It worked first time, so I cable tied the controller out of the way.

8. I finished soldering my splices (since taking the photos above I made sure the solder was better applied to the copper wires on which the kit was spliced), and then I applied some "liquid electrical tape" to the splices to ensure they are well sealed.

9. Restore the kick panel cover and enjoy your remote central locking!

I'm sure I haven't done everything the same as an auto electrician might have, but I am happy with it.

[Behnam]

Thanks for all your help. In the end despite many hours of trying to find wiring diagrams and trace/test wires, I wasn't able to find the right wire for parking lights or indicators. But I decided that since my locks are easily visible through the car windows, I could live without having that extra visual feedback. I installed it without that and it's working perfectly.

In case anyone else wants to do something similar, here are my instructions:

1. Buy the remote central locking kit. I bought this one ( http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/261535476778 ) for $14.90, which is a BIGHAWKS brand and took a few weeks to arrive (though the eBay description does not mention the brand). If you buy a different one the wiring may not match what I have below.

2. I pulled out the orange, grey, green and pink wires from the remote locking kit plug since they were not necessary. I also could have removed the purple wires (for the lights) but in my case I wasn't sure if I might end up wanting them so I just taped up the ends and bound them neatly with a cable tie. I taped together the blue, yellow/black and black wires in a few places because they are all spliced to the same place.

3. Open up the kick panel on either the drivers or passenger side. The same wires are available on both. I installed it on the drivers side in case I ever found the right wire for parking lights since that'd be the place to look for them. On the drivers side it helps to take off the panel above too (where the ignition is etc.)

4. Find where a bunch of white/black wires are bolted to the car body. These are the ground wires and you need to choose one of them to which you'll splice the blue, yellow/black and black wires. The remote central locking controller should not be connected while you are splicing wires. See picture below:

instructions001.jpg

5. Trace the bundle of wires coming from the door. This will connect to a plug on the kick panel - from it find the green/white and blue/black wires. In my case I was able to get access to the matching wires coming into the plug socket from behind. You need to splice the brown wire from the kit to the blue/black wire, and the yellow wire from the kit to the green/white wire. See below:

instructions002.jpg

6. Find the very thick white wire(s) going into the middle of the kick panel wiring. This is the constant 12V to which you should splice the red wire from the kit. I didn't take quite as much insulation off this one and was careful not to ground myself or my tools to anything else in the car while working on this wire because the battery was still connected.

instructions003.jpg

7. Next I connected the remote central locking controller, opened it to press the microswitch and activate the two remotes, and made sure it was all working. It worked first time, so I cable tied the controller out of the way.

instructions004.jpg

8. I finished soldering my splices (since taking the photos above I made sure the solder was better applied to the copper wires on which the kit was spliced), and then I applied some "liquid electrical tape" to the splices to ensure they are well sealed.

9. Restore the kick panel cover and enjoy your remote central locking!

I'm sure I haven't done everything the same as an auto electrician might have, but I am happy with it.

Hi mate,

I've used your instructions but it didn't work. can you please explain more about step 7. how remote can be programmed ?

Thanks

[codebeard]

Hi mate,

I've used your instructions but it didn't work. can you please explain more about step 7. how remote can be programmed ?

Thanks

Hey Behnam, it's been a while since I did this, but from memory there is a little switch inside the receiver. You might have to open it up carefully with a screwdriver to find it. Once it's connected to the car's power, you press the switch and then press one of the buttons on the remote. You then repeat the process for the second remote.

Edited July 28, 2015 by codebeard

[Behnam]

Hey Behnam, it's been a while since I did this, but from memory there is a little switch inside the receiver. You might have to open it up carefully with a screwdriver to find it. Once it's connected to the car's power, you press the switch and then press one of the buttons on the remote. You then repeat the process for the second remote.

I did exactly what you said but remotes didn't have any reaction. I follow all your steps that you mentioned. Where should be a problem?

[codebeard]

I did exactly what you said but remotes didn't have any reaction. I follow all your steps that you mentioned. Where should be a problem?

Hmm. Do the little blue lights on the remotes come on when you press them? I'm assuming you have the same kit as me in which case there are blue lights.

Do you have a multimeter to check that you have +12V across the correct wires for power to the receiver?

If it's working, you should be able to hear the relay clicking on and off when the remote is pressed.

If none of this works, I have no idea what to suggest next, sorry :(.

[Behnam]

I did exactly what you said but remotes didn't have any reaction. I follow all your steps that you mentioned. Where should be a problem?

Hmm. Do the little blue lights on the remotes come on when you press them? I'm assuming you have the same kit as me in which case there are blue lights.

Do you have a multimeter to check that you have +12V across the correct wires for power to the receiver?

If it's working, you should be able to hear the relay clicking on and off when the remote is pressed.

If none of this works, I have no idea what to suggest next, sorry :(.

Yes It's exactly same kit. I've bought it from same link that you sent before in your post. remote has got that blue light when it pressed, I'll check the power inside it and will let you know. BTW I hear a relay clicking when I press that little switch inside the receiver but not while pressing remote.

[codebeard]

Yes It's exactly same kit. I've bought it from same link that you sent before in your post. remote has got that blue light when it pressed, I'll check the power inside it and will let you know. BTW I hear a relay clicking when I press that little switch inside the receiver but not while pressing remote.

Okay, I looked up my instructions for the kit again (see attached). They say you should press the learning switch, then in the next 10 seconds you need to press a button on both remotes; when you do this, a light should flash on the receiver circuit board.

Edited July 28, 2015 by codebeard

[Behnam]

Yes It's exactly same kit. I've bought it from same link that you sent before in your post. remote has got that blue light when it pressed, I'll check the power inside it and will let you know. BTW I hear a relay clicking when I press that little switch inside the receiver but not while pressing remote.

Okay, I looked up my instructions for the kit again (see attached). They say you should press the learning switch, then in the next 10 seconds you need to press a button on both remotes; when you do this, a light should flash on the receiver circuit board.

keyless.jpg

It's strange. Something is wrong. Didn't work. As you said I tested the power and the Power is in system correctly.

[Behnam]

Let me Explain something. my Car model is exactly this: 1995 Toyota Corolla CSi AE101R

and My car has got factory default central locking like when I open driver's door or passenger's door by key, All other doors will open up.

So, This kit should work with this equipped central locking, Right?

[codebeard]

Let me Explain something. my Car model is exactly this: 1995 Toyota Corolla CSi AE101R

and My car has got factory default central locking like when I open driver's door or passenger's door by key, All other doors will open up.

So, This kit should work with this equipped central locking, Right?

Yes, that's pretty much the same as mine (mine is 1994 AE102). I am not sure what could be wrong.

The only thing I can think is that maybe the wires are a little different between our two models?

If you are careful, you should be able to confirm the wiring is correct by briefly making a connection between the common wire and the lock/unlock activation wires. Carefully and briefly putting a short piece of wire between these should lock/unlock the car as appropriate. However, I can't be responsible if something goes wrong from this. The only safe way to test it is to do what I described in one of my earlier posts; I disconnected the plug which carried the wires from the door, then used my multimeter to check the resistances between the different wires coming from the door; when the key is turned, the resistance should be become 0 between the lock wire (or unlock wire as appropriate) and the common wire.

[Behnam]

Let me Explain something. my Car model is exactly this: 1995 Toyota Corolla CSi AE101R

and My car has got factory default central locking like when I open driver's door or passenger's door by key, All other doors will open up.

So, This kit should work with this equipped central locking, Right?

Yes, that's pretty much the same as mine (mine is 1994 AE102). I am not sure what could be wrong.

The only thing I can think is that maybe the wires are a little different between our two models?

If you are careful, you should be able to confirm the wiring is correct by briefly making a connection between the common wire and the lock/unlock activation wires. Carefully and briefly putting a short piece of wire between these should lock/unlock the car as appropriate. However, I can't be responsible if something goes wrong from this. The only safe way to test it is to do what I described in one of my earlier posts; I disconnected the plug which carried the wires from the door, then used my multimeter to check the resistances between the different wires coming from the door; when the key is turned, the resistance should be become 0 between the lock wire (or unlock wire as appropriate) and the common wire.

Isn't better firstly test the kit receiver then go for wiring? cos I think something should be wrong with connection between remote and receiver. but I don't have any idea how to test it !