Installed keyless entry on my 88 this weekend

[amanda11270]

I was supposed to pull my transmission this weekend, however we got snow Friday and upon pulling my tractor from my out building after work, it had a serious coolant leak, which is devastating when you have a 250 yard driveway to plow and its your only snow removal equipment, so it took priority and I installed a new waterpump in the tractor and gave its cooling system a once over, but I still had time to work on my Esprit.

I chose not to start the transmission due to lack of time in the weekend after the tractor, but I had this aftermarket keyless entry kit for about the last year, from another car project I did, and I was deciding still whether to put it in my work truck or my Lotus, and well, its cold out, the Lotus was already in my shop, so it got the kit. I have installed about 8 of these kits in past, in all sorts of vehicles, and they cost only around $50, and come from China on Ebay, but they are pretty reliable and work well, I have never had one fail in any vehicle I've put one in.

Of course now the Lotus did have its challenges over the other vehicles I have put these kits in, the doors are sorta shallow (especially once you put the inner panels back on), also the door jambs dont have those big bootys to run the wiring thru, and lastly in my 88, you know how when you flip the lock switch in the car to lock and unlock the doors and it has that notch in the movement, well mine was a big notch (drivers side much worse than the passenger side), I had to pull the door latch mechanisms off and clean and file the cams on the lock arm portion of it to remedy it, and then the lock cylinders were pretty tough to turn also, so I had to pull them apart and clean them as well, afterwards they are smooth as silk and the actuators pop like in a modern car. This was a mod well worth doing, I am usually kinda embarassed getting out of this exotic car then having to turn around and lock the doors by hand with the key, thats right up there with the occassional grind when going into reverse.

I dont know if anyone else has done this, I was curious if anyone knows at what year they offered keyless entry in the Esprit, my guess would be 89?

I posted some photos in case anyone attempts this and needs some help in what loosens up that locking mechanism (in the close up photo, you just file back the slot in the upper right, you file the left side of it back, and it takes the notch out and makes it a smooth actuation, instead of notched), I was getting frustrated til I realized I can just file this cam back and it will take the notch out. I also posted a photo of my wiring at the door jamb and how I mounted the actuator in the passenger door (drivers is the same but not pictured). The electronic keyless control box I put under the dash, but no one needs to see photos of me in the Lotus position, although my wife did take some, there's enuf of those on the forum already anyway.

[amanda11270]

Two more photos

[mieczkow]

I installed a "Bulldog" keyless entry on my 89 about two years ago and it has worked very well. I know that none of the 89's had keyless entry, but mine had "central door locking" which is not the same. I agree installing is not too complicated but maybe not a first project for someone new to Esprits. The other thing to bear in mind is that Esprits with central door locking have only one actuator solenoid and that is in the passenger door. To install a remote system you need to install a second actuator in the driver door. I was able to buy a Lotus one from Sanj so I didn't have to adapt an aftermarket actuator, but it could be done with some added effort. The nice thing about using a Lotus OEM one is it fits right into the existing mounting.

I am really glad to have installed mine - it is really nice to be able to lock and unlock the Esprit like a "modern" car!

[lotusespritse]

Great job!

Wow, look at the nice and roomy access to door internals on your Esprit. On my V8, the access holes are much smaller. It's not obvious to me why they change it.

[MRDANGERUS]

Hey, Tom,
I have 2 OE actuators and module, which I planned to install. My car has the OE wiring loom/connectors for doing that. No prob w/module, but how you attach actuators to the door structure and the latch mechanism?
Perhaps you have a picture?
Parts List has no picture. The only pic is on page 19 section BG, but it does not show any mounting points or brackets.
Thanks!

[amanda11270]

I was curious how Lotus would do the power actuator, looks like from the diagram, they use the lock rod on the key lock, I used the lock rod on the switch. Their way would work easier and require less tweaking on the latches upon initially installing it, because the latch moves way easier from the key lock rod than the switch rod. But adapting that key lock rod would be very hard without the factory rod that is already made to accept an additional rod for the actuator do so, if I had to do this again I would probably fabricate a rod to fit the keylock rod as your diagram shows (I didnt even think of that because the window is kinda in the way up there but it wouldnt be too much harder), I was skeptical of first taking my door latches out, because anytime I do something "new" to my Esprit, I always think I have to be careful not to damage any parts that I may or may not have a hard time finding to replace.

Someone else mentioned Bulldog? Bulldog is a better name in car electronics, they offered tech support even, and were located in the US, however I dont think they are around anymore. There used to be a auto parts store near me that sold their stuff, I've put in 4-5 of their remote starters already, I would actually prefer them over the Chinese made stuff. I think the only Bulldog stuff now is whats leftover from when they did make this kinda stuff. I search ebay for Bulldog usually first when im looking for these keyless entry kits. These Chinese kits I buy, your lucky if they come with all the parts, and instructions? Lets just say you better know already how to wire it LOL.

[lotus4s]

FYI, keyless entry didn't come along until the V8 model and not until 1999 I believe.

[mieczkow]

Bulldog is still around:

Remote Car Starter & Keyless Entry Systems ? BulldogSecurity.com

John, on your query I will see if I have pictures of the install. Since I had central door locking with one "real" module (passenger side) and one "fake" module (driver's side) I was able to directly bolt the extra module into the mounts used by Lotus for the central locking system.

[lotusespritse]

Originally Posted by lotus4s

FYI, keyless entry didn't come along until the V8 model and not until 1999 I believe.

I was spoiled on my 91 SE. The previous owner had a keyless entry system installed that had 2 extra buttons on the remote that controlled the left and right fuel filler flap. That was cool.

Has anyone installed keyless entry control to the trunk? That would be nice.

[lotus4s]

A couple of people have done the boot lid release. I think Tom M was working on that but I don't remember for sure if he ever did it or not.

[mieczkow]

I did the boot release but it's not remotely keyed - I have a switch in the cabin to release it. I am not totally happy at this point with how it came out. Using cable pulls over distance is less than ideal. Right now I have it non-functioning as I replaced the hatch gasket when I did the renovation project. The new hatch gasket is VERY thick relative to the 25 year old OEM one.



This has put a lot of "pre-load" on the hatch and made the release pretty gnarly. Right now I am letting the gasket go through some ageing - hoping it will compress down a bit over time and flatten out some. Then I'll start working on getting the power hatch release up and running.

[sleekgt]

Originally Posted by mieczkow

Bulldog is still around:

Remote Car Starter & Keyless Entry Systems ? BulldogSecurity.com
[snip]

I just received this kit based on this thread - fast shipping (3 days) from Amazon and only $37 total. My passenger window motor is still shot and I'm trying to batch up my door repairs - hopefully I'll install before summer along with the relay upgrade kit that amanda11270 told me about awhile back

[sleekgt]

Inspired by this thread, I got the Bulldog remote key kit.

Any tips on identifying the module or its possible installation below much appreciated.

Background:

My 88 Esprit has (aftermarket?) power door locks, but no remote key system.

I bought the Bulldog kit so I can modernize the car access.

However, while looking at the wires under the dash, I ran across an unidentified module. It appears to an aftermarket remote key module, but no identifiable branding.

The wiring harness has blue, green, blue/white, green/white wires spliced into yellow and green wires in the car. This yellow and green wire appear to go to the power door switch. I removed the fuse from the module's fuse holder and the door locks still work - leading me to believe it is a non-functional remote key system.

Here's a picture of the door lock switch wiring:



The unidentifed module:



And the module spliced into the yellow and green wires in the car harness (possibly aftermarket):



I'll get a DVM and test the wiring to confirm the yellow and green wires, but wondered if someone knew from experience if this module is a remote key setup?

There is a number on the back, but turns up nothing on Google.

Thanks,

Eddie

[amanda11270]

Wow, if you have power doorlocks already then you are way ahead of the game, all you have to do is wire in your keyless and you are all set. I have no idea of the make, or model due to that number and photo of your unit, but still shouldnt be hard to figure out with a volt meter.

One thing I would like to point out if a newbie to keyless entry in the Esprit would find this thread, my install would have been a little easier if I would have realized that there were already two wires I could have used for the keyless entry to each door. I didnt realize them until after I posted I had completed this project, but each door has a plug in for what must be power door locks option even though the car does not have keyless entry, regardless I would not have had to fish wires thru the jambs, I could have just cut and used the unused exising wiring for my door lock actuators instead of fishing my own and making wire looms at the jambs, might have saved me an hour.

[sleekgt]

Originally Posted by amanda11270

Wow, if you have power doorlocks already then you are way ahead of the game, all you have to do is wire in your keyless and you are all set. I have no idea of the make, or model due to that number and photo of your unit, but still shouldnt be hard to figure out with a volt meter. [snip]

Yes - my hunch is all I need to do is hook the + and - of the Bulldog, then hook the yellow and green to the Bulldog blue/black wires - all under the dash since this unknown module appears to be the same thing.

As a lazy sod, I tried to program my Bulldog remote with the unknown module hoping it was some generic Chinese unit , but no luck

[sleekgt]

Originally Posted by sleekgt

Yes - my hunch is all I need to do is hook the + and - of the Bulldog, then hook the yellow and green to the Bulldog blue/black wires - all under the dash since this unknown module appears to be the same thing.

As a lazy sod, I tried to program my Bulldog remote with the unknown module hoping it was some generic Chinese unit , but no luck

I hooked up as per Bulldog instructions (Type B 'negative' wires coming from power door lock switch). But while I hear the relays switching when I press the remotes, the door locks do not unlock/lock. They still work manually (electrically) so nothing lost. The blue/black wire goes to 'unlock', the green/black to 'lock' but still doesn't work.

And since I had little to lose, I opened up the unknown module - it's a 'seco-larm SR 5203UMB' ALARM module - out of production and I can't find remotes for it anyway. Besides, I cut it out of the car already and it's unknown if it works since I found the 'ultrasound' sensor disconnected long ago.

Sent an email to Bulldog tech support - will see how that goes.

[sleekgt]

Originally Posted by sleekgt

I hooked up as per Bulldog instructions (Type B 'negative' wires coming from power door lock switch). [snip]
Sent an email to Bulldog tech support - will see how that goes.

I blew it - diagnosed the wrong type of door lock system - it's a 'Type C' with 'motor'/neutral and 'switch'/positive. Once I rewired it and resoldered it - it works like a charm. The door lock system may/may not be OEM, but the key door switch wires were yellow and green (lock and unlock) on my 88.

Amazingly how much more convenient it is to have the electronic remote compared to fumbling for a key or waiting for my wife to close her door (so I can manual flip the power door lock on the door).

It was six wires (power, ground, lock (motor), lock (switch), unlock (motor), unlock (switch)). I didn' t use the starter kill, parking light lock indicator (the door relays are pretty loud), or the trunk release.

Thanks to Mark/amanda11270 for inspiring me to do it and Tom/mieczkow for the Bulldog kit recommendation- this is really nice.

Next stop - the more difficult passenger window motor repair.