Truck Topics

Properly Installing a Car Alarm in your Sleeper

Spending as much time on the road as we do means that we bring our lives and valuables with us. In this present day that means a lot of personal items such as laptops, GPS devices, Smartphones and expensive electronics that need to be protected.

Professional drivers don't have to worry about vehicle theft as much as the average person, but break-ins still happen and are a common occurrence in Interstate Rest Stops and Truck Stops . Installing a car alarm in the cab of your Sprinter, Cargo Van or Straight Truck is an important step for protecting yourself and your valuable possessions.

The first thing you need to do is get informed.

Do a lot of research on the different car alarms available and choose the right one to meet your needs. Different vehicles will need a different number of relays and some installation jobs may require diodes and resistors. Make sure that you figure this out before you waste half a day on an improper installation. Lay out your truck diagrams and your car alarm installation guide side by side and cross reference frequently.

Check all of your door triggers beforehand to make sure that they are all functioning properly. Because car alarms work partially off of your door triggers, the alarm will not sound if the door triggers are faulty and that defeats the purpose of the install.

Remove your panels and look for a good place to mount the actual car alarm module. You want this to be set in an inconspicuous place where it is not readily visible. Now it is time to run the wiring for your LED indicator light, valet switch and antenna if these are a part of the car alarm you have chosen. Start with the relays and bundle your wires with tape to keep them orderly and easily dealt with. Painters tape is a good choice because it comes off easily and cleanly. Now it is time to actually start connecting the wires. I suggest t-tap connectors or heat shrink tubing. Heat shrink is clean looking and further reduces clutter.

Installing the siren is the last big step. Mount the siren on the firewall inside the engine compartment with self-tapping screws. You should install any sirens facing toward the ground to avoid the collection of water that can cause the siren to perform poorly or malfunction.

At this point you need to connect all of the necessary wires and test your new car alarms. Refer to the owners manual for how to do this properly. So long as everything is functioning properly, you are done.

Learn More About Car Alarms