Hello, I have a 71 Riviera that had an Astra 777 alarm. it was junk. I took it out but now i cant start my car. Battery has 12.46 volts. When I turn the key the car clicks and all the lights go out. Pulling the ground resets the system but still wont turn over. I cannot locate any relays other than the main box that says Astra 777 and another little box that was connected to it. Just had the car running a few days ago before this. I just swapped out alternator due to bad voltage regulator and battery is new. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Most aftermarket alarms tie into the purple wire going to the starter. The purple wire gets cut and its made to go through the alarm. Its a simple circuit so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. Find the thick purple wire under the dash. It comes out of the ignition switch that mounted on the column. it goes to the S terminal on the starter. Turn the key to the crank position and see of you have power at the purple wire then get back to us.
Thanks for the quick response. I got a skinny purple which I think is blinker related, and a thick purple with a white stripe that seems to go out then a purple with a white stripe returning? and a solid purple that lands in a connector. Which one am I to check for voltage?
I just put it on the solid purple and it read .25 VDC before the car shut off. I reset the battery tried to get reading again and it cranked. I let off key it shut off, reset it cranked and started it. I read 14.62 VDC across battery, 14.75 across alternator body and wire in back of alternator. I think I'll take it to a shop for now to eliminate any faulty or poor workmanship that was put into the alarm by previous owner. Thanks for the help I'll keep updating once I know the cause.
First picture- thick purple wire coming out of the ignition switch. Goes to the starter. So what happens exactly when you try and start it? Zip zero nada? Or a distinctive click from the solenoid? The way this works is, when you turn the key to the crank position, your sending 12v to the starter solenoid from the ignition switch. The purple wire goes to the "S" terminal on the solenoid. Inboard terminal, purple wire. The solenoid then engages the starter motor. What might be easier is to check the purple wire at the starter solenoid. That way your checking the entire circuit not just out of the switch. What Jin said is correct, your battery is quite low on charge. You should charge it before continuing with any diagnostics. A fully charged battery is a must
Hey guys, so the diagnosis explains a lot. Turns out I had loose battery cables. This would explain the intermittent starting issues and the low to no charge issues with the alternator and battery. I guess I just let the alarm throw me off since it was the issue with the lights at one time and the fact that it was done with such poor workmanship. Just goes to show you always start at the basics. Thanks to all who helped out I really appreciate it.
