I was just sitting here at work thinking about my rex ,and then it hit me ....

Has anyone here tried to eliminate the ignition and install a push button starter (out of sight to eliminate theft) like they did on some of the old hotrods.

If anyone has info or schematic of this , please let me know (likewise if you think Im talking outta my ****)

 

Honda S2000 Starter Install (On an FD)

Or for the Lazy folks...

S2000 Push button starter install

Parts: OEM S2000 button, auto relay w/4 blades (bought mine at Radio Shack, 30 amp minimum, around $5), spool of 20 awg and 12 awg wire, many wire butt connectors (various sizes, some with and some without insulation), various wire taps and blade connectors, very small shrink wrap, mounting media (used super glue and 3M tape), Dremel tool to slightly enlarge cig lighter hole (necessity), wire tester (very helpful)
Install time: takes approx. 4 hours for complete job
Install cost: Total - approx. $45

Assuming you have all of the parts, these are the steps you should take to do the install. And it helps to have another person give you a hand.

FYI Schematic at the bottom

By the way, I am not responsible for you vehicle or your installation procedures. These are the steps that I took and if done correctly should give you the same results.

Disconnect negative battery terminal

Dismantling dash - First thing to do is take off all dash parts surrounding the steering wheel (including gauge cluster and of course the housing surrounding the steering column). The gauges will have to be unhooked as well as the cig lighter and the pop up headlight switch. Check the better RX-7 How To sites if you would like help dismantling this part of the car (that is what I did).

Prepping the button- You will need to open the switch to verify exactly which leads go where and compare them the wiring diagram that we have provided, double check the configuration. We cut off the plastic (used for the factory S2000 harness) surrounding the 5 leads with the Dremel tool. We cut off the two leads that are not used inside the button in order to allow more room to connect wires to the remaining 3 leads (which you will notice is not that much room, we actually bent them slightly apart too). Of the remaining three leads, the middle one should be the common power lead for the light and the button. The lead on one side will be the ground for the light where as the other lead will be the lead for the button going to the relay (see diagram). At this point you will want to attach your 20awg wires to all three leads with bare/un-insulated butt connectors. We used three different colors of wires (ex. red for power, black for ground, green for the relay), this made it easier later on to distinguish the switch leads. Leave plenty of wire attached to the leads you will shorten them later on. Take the shrink-wrap tubing and place it around the connections so that the leads never touch and short out. We then wrapped the wires in 5” of wire loom to keep them all together and easier to work with. You can then set the button aside for later mounting.

Prepping the mounting location – You must first remove the cig. Lighter and all associated pieces, save and set them aside for now. The remaining hole is too small to accommodate the button. So, we took the Dremel tool with a grinding attachment and ground down the inner edges of the hole until it fit perfect (btw don’t breath the burning ABS plastic fumes, they are toxic). Take off a little at a time and keep trying to see if it fits. Remember it is better to go slow instead of taking a bunch of material off and making the hole too big, also try to keep it round. Stop when you are able to slide the button through the hole and notice that it fits flush with the seat, just snug (it does not need to be tight).

Mounting the button – Take the button and place it in the hole. We made sure the words are facing upwards correctly and applied a little bit of super glue on the back of the chrome ring of the button. This helped it from not turning inside the hole. Next we wrapped the button housing with one piece of 3M double-sided tape and placed the original plastic cig. lighter heat shield around the button, securing it with the two screws (the plastic housing may only touch the button housing in a few spots). We also wrapped tape around the back of the button and the screwed in mount from the cig lighter. This helped to hold the back of the button. You now have the button mounted in its new home. You can now turn the gauge cluster over to see what it is going to look like (sweet isn’t it).

Wiring the key switch harness - Since you have all the dash parts off, you should be able to see the harness that is running into the key switch assembly. The harness runs under the steering column and to the left side of the column and then down the column from there (just follow it from the key hole and you will find it). Detach the harness at the back of the key switch. You will need to cut one wire from the harness and tap into another. Cut the 12 awg starting wire on the key switch harness. It will be a black wire with a blue stripe (see wiring diagram). Once the cut has been made, tape off the end that is going into the key switch. Next, take a 36” long piece of your 12 awg wire and connect it to the other end of the black and blue wire you just severed, use a shielded butt connector. Next tap into, (DO NOT CUT), the black with green stripe wire with another 36” long piece of 12 awg wire & wire-tap. Re-connect the factory harness into the key switch.



Wiring the relay –Bring in the gauge cluster with the newly mounted switch. Select a home for the relay, we choose to 3M tape it to the back side of the upper gauge cluster supports (but don’t stick it in place yet, just know where you are going to put it so you can trim all the wires accordingly). Run the wire form the start button switch to the relay using female blade connectors, taking care to route them under supports and such. You don’t want to crimp or pinch any of these wires when re-assembling the dash. Use the wiring schematic for details. Now run the middle wire from the button to something that is powered up by the “ON” position of the key switch (WARNING do not use the “ACC” position, the starter will work but the engine will not start). We tapped into the cruise control power lead (which you have to test to get the right wire on the cruise harness, I believe it was the third from the left, but double check it). The last wire on the button goes to a common ground. The other blade on the relay also goes to a common ground. .BTW, we tapped both grounds (button & relay) into the Cruise Control ground. The last two 12 awg wires will need to go up to the relay. Connect these using female blade connectors also.

Test – Place the ground cable back on the battery and do not tighten, just make sure it has a good connection. Place the key in the ignition and turn to the “ON” position. Push the start button!!! It should start right up. Turn the engine off and finish up.
If it does not start recheck all connections including the battery.


Reassemble – Put the dash back together.

How-To created by mr_jonboy on the RX-7 Forum

Additional Note: You can use the electrical connector for a computer's 3.5" floppy drive to plug directly into the start button.

 

thanksfor all the info directfreak , Ive been to that site before (very informative for designing custom carbon fiber panels)

you forgot to add the diagram (or the link doesnt work)

 

v8kilr has something like this installed on his car.

 

Per Damon's request.



Where to Buy

 

yes i have the switch plus push buton igintion system,
mine there is no key ignition at all,

which means you hop in and filp a switch then push a button to start and your on your way,

plus because i have ben in the car audio buisness for a long time its doen correctly which means if you just hop in and push the button then nothing happens,
you have to flip the switch first.

to do this you need two relays,
any switch of your choice and a push button,
i use a common dei alarm valey button.

alarm shops usally have tons of these in a box and they are willin to sell them cheap,

make sure you use two relays or you will go trhough buttons and switches every week.

you can also do like me and run in a new hard line and when you flip the switch it will feed off your new hard line.

the trick for the button to make it not work until the switch is flipped is to run the trigger wire from the relay to the button the from the oppisit side of the switch to the switch side of your primary relay.

if your interested i can supply all wire color codes for the iginition system for your year and a complete diagram on how to wire up the realays,

you will need one high amp relay "40 amp +"

if you can find one then use two relays side by side or a dei 451m,

i use two 30amp side by side for a combined power pull of 60amp across the stock wires + a 10 agu hard line.

 

WHY? In my opinion this is like please come take my car type of thing?

 

Not if you wire it up to your cruise control ON/OFF switch... i mean **** man... that's the cruise control... who A) uses cruise anyway and B) turns it off (instead of just not using it)...

You can also wire it up so you have to push two switches at once, or something like that... come on guys, the security here isn't lacking...

 

but it's sooo much easier jst putting in a key. plus, I don't know about you, but my firends would love to know that all they have to do is flip a switch, and push a button to start my car...


Jeff

 

I have remote start on my other 2 cars. You Can't start them with a key unless 2 other hidden switches are activated. The remote start is the best (and coolest) way to do it.

Even if remote started, you can't drive away, without putting the key in the ignition and turning to the "on" position (not start)

It works perfect for the true owner of the car with the key, and keeps out every other ********.

The only way you're gonna take them is by towing, or spending hours underneath the dash looking for my additional wiring. Which incidently was done with an OEM harness so you can't easily see any "piggybacks", relays, switches, etc.

I could disable both switches and use it like a regular key driven car for valet purposes without having to explain to the valet my paranoia.

The engine start button is just cool to me, especially in a "race" car. But it is more steps than just using a key.

How about leaving it stock and just putting a "battery disconnect" or "all systems off switch?

 

on my van, my ignition went out.... I mean.... it would turn.. the lights would light up... but when I went to start it.... NOTHING happened.... So what I did was steal a trunk release button off my friends parts mustang, and wire it in so you have to turn the key on, and hit the button.......... ...

When I get my car goin the way I want it..... I am gonna wire in some switches, and make it where you have to hit the brakes to turn it over..... ECT...ECT... ECT.....

Well..... My friend got his radio stolen outa his elcamino, so the next radio he put in, he stuck razor blades all under the dash... so if you werent careful, and in a hurry, when you take the radio out, you cut the **** outa your hands, so its not worth the radio

Well.... off to put the fuel pump on my car, and see if it will start... wish me luck LATERZ

 

Man, that makes me cringe just thinking about what would happen if for some reason he forgot to tell the person he sold the El Camino to that there are razor blades under the dash...

Jeff

 

thanks everyone for all the help and info

 

I know a guy that dude that here like 15 years ago, someone broke in his car, got the radio out, a little blood was on the seat. And they took a baseball bat and a knife to the rest of the car, just for doing that...

Not to mention you got to remember where we live? The laws in the US are meant to protect everyone even scumbag thieves!