Adding a Remote Starter to a 2008 Honda Civic
The 2008 Honda Civic outside Mobile Edge.
Adding a remote starter can boost MPG in a cold-weather state because a vehicle’s engine will perform more efficiently when it is fully warmed up. It’s an especially good pitch to customers who own a 2008 Honda Civic sedan, a vehicle that has a reputation for losing MPG steam, when temperatures fall into the 20s and teens.
If you come across this vehicle, you may also want to suggest adding sound-deadening material in the doors because owners have complained about speaker vibration at certain frequencies.
Mitch Schaffer of Mobile Edge in Lehighton, Pa., shows us around the cockpit of a Civic sedan to show how to successfully add a remote starter to this popular vehicle.
The steering column shroud and the panel below must be removed to gain access to the vehicle's wiring.
The under-dash panel pops off, and the steering wheel shroud is held in place with three screws.
The horn wire is orange and located at the top of the steering wheel.
The negative parking-light wire is gray and can be found under the wiper switch.
The transponder wiring is located at the steering assembly near the key cylinder.
The pink wire is SWC and the green wire is DATA.
The ignition wires are located in the junction box directly above the fuse box in gray sheathing.
Constant 12-volt is the white wire. Ignition is the blue wire. Accessory is the orange wire. The starter is the yellow wire.
The lock-unlock wires are located behind the fuse box. The green wire is "lock," and the gray wire is "unlock."
To remove the kick panel, the sill plate must be removed. The sill panel comes apart by popping the panel around the keyhole and removing one screw.
After the sill panel is removed, the kick panel pops off to allow access to the brake wire.
The brake wire is green and located in the driver's kick panel.
Find the tach signal in the Honda engine compartment.
The tach signal is found underneath the Honda shroud that is held in place by two plastic fasteners. Each fastener requires a half turn to allow removal.
Now that the cover is removed, there is access to the vehicle's coil packs. Any wire that is not common to each pack can be used.
Close-up of the tach signal's location.
The hood pin can be mounted on a bracket in the headlight area on the passenger's side.
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