Before I start I should add that I knew nothing about either of these companies before I started the installation process. I read on this forum and some others about them and the process and decided to give it a shot.

Just thought I would drop a quick post about how my CA530 in the Expedition went and the CA670 in the F150. The CA530 came first so installed that one. I installed the CA670 about 3 weeks later.

First a little background on the units. I did a lot of research and decided on the Code Alarm products. They are 99% like the Ford unit and are of good quality. The CA670 will also wire into the factory door keypad so I can arm and disarm the system from that if I need to.

I bought the CA530 for my wife as a Christmas present from www.autoalarmpro.com. At the time they were the only ones that I knew of that sold “pre-wired” units. Just after I ordered it I found out about KC Autosounds, www.kcautosound.com. My wife ended up buying the CA670 from Travis at KC Autosound for me as a present.

The premise behind both companies is the same. They sell a pre-wired unit with directions suited to your vehicle. Pre-wired, I found out, means the fuses are set up for the correct polarity and the un-needed wires are cut and taped off, leaving the ones you do need. Makes it a lot easier when you are hooking it up.

Both units were pre-wired, but the one from KC Autosound was set up much more neatly. All the wires were taped into groups depending on where they needed to go. (See pic of KC AutoSound unit ) The AutoAlarmPro had all the wires loose and you had to figure which wires went to where and separate them out. I did not think to take a photo of the AutoAlarmPro unit.

The directions for both were good. The installation book that comes from Code Alarm is made for installers and not the DIYer. I am not an electrician and would not have been able to do it without the custom instructions. I think the KC AutoSound directions were better than the AutoAlarmPro ones though. AutoAlarmPro was more technically written, which left me with some questions. The KC AutoSound directions were written in layman’s terms, and I felt it was easier to understand and use. KC AutoSound also had some extra tips like how to make the steering wheel shroud go on easier, and to look out for wires of the same color and how to find the one you need. A problem that was not explained clearly in the AutoAlarmPro directions.

Price wise, KC AutoSound was a few dollars cheaper.

Now the biggie for me, customer service. With a DIY project like this people are going to have questions, or maybe it was just me…either way I needed help a few times. Like I stated above AutoAlarmPro did not make it clear you would find several wires of the same color. When I had a question about it they were very hard to get hold of. Maybe it was the time of year, but I had a heck of a time with them. I called and left messages, and emails. When I finally did get e “tech” he was not very helpful and did not seem like he knew for sure what he was talking about. I realize things like this over the phone are hard to do, but….

I ended up talking to Travis at KC AutoSound about the problem and he had me up and running in no time. I have called him a few times since them with questions about the CA530 and the CA670 and he always either answered his phone, got back to me quickly in an email or returned a message. Hands down the best customer service of the two. That alone would have been a deciding factor for me.

The install itself was not very hard. I would recommend anyone who can solder, read, and has faith in their abilities give it a shot. The AutoAlarmPro unit comes with wire quick connect splices and t-connects. The KC AutoSound unit is a solder in affair. From the research I did soldering is a better install with less problems, but takes a little longer. I am happy with the results and saved a lot of money on the install. I would suggest if you were going to buy something like an alarm or remote start you check out KC AutoSounds.

If anyone has any specific questions I will be happy to answer them. Also if you are thinking about installing one I might be able to give you a few tips first to make it easier. I started to do a full write-up, but it was waaaaaaayyyyyy to long.

Dave

 

i just had a ca670 installed, how do you wire in the key pad?

 

From the KC Autosound instructions for my 05 F150...not sure if all F150's are the same, but this is what mine said.

Light Blue with Red Stripe to pink with black stripe that shows 12 volt when you hit the lock button on factory key fob.

Light Blue with black stripe to red with orange stripe that shows 12 volts when you hit unlock first time on factory key fob.

Light Blue with Green stripe to pink with orange stripe that is located in the drivers side rear door sill plate. Shows 12 volts when you hit unlock second time on factory key fob. this one I needed to extend the wire to make it reach.

Basically I think they are the manual lock/unlock switch. It also allows you to arm/disarm the system with the factory key fob and arm it by hitting the drivers side power door lock switch. Pretty cool!


Dave

 

Mine is an 2005 too. Where did you find the wires for the key pad at? Are they located in the drivers kick panel area? I had mine installed, but i'm capable of doing this myself. I just didn't know were you picked up the wires for the key pad. Also are the wires unused from the alarm or can you have mutiple connections coming from the alarm? Thanks...

 

The wires were found in the driver's side kick panel, except for the last one, which was in the rear door kick panel. The wires I used were not being used, if that is what you are asking. They were primarily a bright light blue and really easy to see. If you take a look at the photo I linked to in the first post you will see what I am talking about.

Dave

 

Deeve - Which connectors at the drivers kick panel had the pink/black and red/orange that are used for the arm/disarm inputs? I've just finished an install of the Ford Gold system, and I can't seem to locate these two connections. If they are not part of a connector, are they located in the sill plate harness?

Thanks,

E...

 

The light blue wires came from the Code Alarm unit..the others were the ones in the door sill plates. I cannot speak to the Gold Unit, I checked the directions I had here at home for the Ford units and I did not see the light blue wires that you would....maybe it is not an option on the Ford ones?

Dave

 

The Ford harness colors are not the same as yours, but the function is. The Gold system is about equal to the CA630.

So you grabbed everything from the sill plate? (Front and rear) I've located a pink/black and a red/orange in the drivers sill, but for some reason they are not working for me. I still can't get the factory remotes (and keypad) to disarm the new system.

E...

 

Hmmm, if you checked wires and got 12 volts when the lock/unlock were triggered I would expect it to work. I have very limited info about it. I recall seeing some posts about it when I was doing some searches researching which kit I wanted, but cannot recall much about it. Maybe the Gold system doesn't have that option?

Sorry, I am tapped out.

Dave

 

Thanks for the thoughts, but after talking to Travis at KC, I figured out my issue. Appearantly there are two sets of pink/black and red/orange wires in the sill plate. One set is a slightly larger guage than the other. Of course, I picked the wrong ones to test. That combined with the fact that my digital multimeter couldn't react fast enough to the voltage change led me astray. After using a test light, I was able to find the wires I needed fairly easily.

Travis was a huge help also. I'd recommend him to anyone looking to tackle this type of project. He definitely knows his stuff!

E...

 

Mine just installed today Ford Dealer do the job, but it takes a while because they need to order Relay,(possibly 2) and Pats Interface Kit for the computer chip key start. By the way, I bought the Power Code Remote Start with Vehicle Security. Now it's working well.

2005 F150-XLT Screw 4x4 5.4 V8

 

I assume the ford dealer is going to use the 1L2Z bypass module for your key. Make sure they zip tie that thing around your ignition. I am always repairing the ones that installers never do. All that holds it on is some 3M double side tape and it starts to peel up in hot or cold weather so I always put a zip tie around it to keep the ribbon there.