Security System for 85 380SL

[twochaps]

Can anyone suggest a good security system for the 85 380SL. A system that can be installed by other than a rocket scientist! Thanks for any suggestions.

[ericgr]

If you ever reviewed the wiring and interior disassembly work associated with installing an alarm, you would think twice about having it done. You have an old car with brittle wiring. To install the alarm, they will have to tap into your wiring harness in a number of places.

I had an alarm installed on my 380SL 10 years ago. It was OK but recently, when troubleshooting an electrical problem, I couldn't believe the rats-nest of wiring associated with the alarm system. This made troubleshooting much mroe difficult and I am still unsure if it is causing the problem (the alarm wiring). Furthermore, depending on where they install sensors in the interior, the installers may crack wood or parts of your dash-- even if they are good at it.

Unless you absolutely need the alarm, you might reconsider.

[tan man]

my 1985 380sl had an aftermarket alarm in it when i bought it. the previous owner had it disconnected because no one knew the code to disarm it. so now i have a non-working alarm in my car. i've thought about removing it but there are definitely connections that i can't see. if i remove it then i want it all removed as if back to original. that may be difficult considering what kind of wiring by-passes the installer may have done. right now every electrical item in the car works nicely. i don't want to remove the alarm to find that i have some new "shorts" in the wiring.

[airedale]

I have though about having a very basic one installed on my '84 380SL. One that is activated only by the doors opening and hooks into the courtesy light circuit. Still I guess it would have to interface with the horn and head lamps to signal the intrusion. Now that I think about it probably not a good idea. Some years ago, circa 1990, there was a product on the market by Quorum, battery operated, that was activated by a change in pressure when the door opened or a window broke and had a siren mounted under the hood, hard wired, that was activated by a radio signal from the internal unit. Perhaps that is still available. It had a remote to turn it on and off.

[GermanMarque]

This may help. The current digital alarms for vintage Mercs are not suitable due to electrical spikes and resistance created by the ageing wiring. This causes faults and false triggering of digital alarms. The majority of members appear to live in USA, this is not a disadvantage considering the Australian V US exchange rate (US$1.00 = Au$1.30) so your ahead. Mongoose alarms http://www.mongoose.com.au/carsecurity.html here in Australia have been the suppliers of factory imobilizers for Holden & Ford for the last 10 years so have an excellent product. The Model MS60AU fits all negative earth vehicles and is designed for convertibles having a ultra sonic sensors which are not affected by wind. Dual imobilization Central locking is also an option (requires an electric solenoid in drivers door to operate standard Merc vacum locks. It's a terrific system, reasonably priced and cheaper for "Yanks" due to the exchange rate. If you need something to protect your beastie, you can't go wrong with ones of these. P.S. I don't work for Mongoose!