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exterior keypad installed

22K views 31 replies 14 participants last post by  dbier 
#1 · (Edited)
Here's a report on an exterior keypad I had installed in my Ody.

Background info (for people who don't understand the purpose and benefits of a keypad): http://www.odyclub.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1727&highlight=keypad

The keypad is the Essex KE-1601. http://www.keyless.com/KE-1600%20Main.htm
The keypad sits on the outside of the driver's side door, next to the door handle. It works well and looks beautiful.

If you're interested in installing one, there are two things you should know:

The keypad is fairly sophisticated (it does more than simply lock/unlock) and there was enough that the manual didn't explain that I was obliged to call the company. Once I contacted the company and they explained how it worked, it made more sense. The guy I spoke to at the company was very knowledgeable and helpful. (And he admitted the manual needed work.)

Getting the keypad installed turned out to be the unpleasant part. I followed the suggestion at the manufacturer's website (keyless.com) which referred me to their distributor which in turn referred me to a nearby installer. They quoted me a price of $400. Since the work required going into several spots in the car, some body and electrical work, the cost of the keypad itself, plus knowledge of the Honda electrical system, this price seemed quite fair. However, it took them three visits to install it properly. I'm sure they lost money on me! However, they were determined to get it right (no matter how many times they first got it wrong) and they eventually did.
 
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#3 ·
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by donlibes:
Here's a report on an exterior keypad I had installed in my Ody...</font>
donlibes,

Very nice, I sure wish my EXL had a keypad like that. I had one on my last car and really miss it.

All it needs is a sign that says, "Keypad."


Regards,

Maugham<font color="#dedfdf">


[This message has been edited by Maugham (edited 03-01-2002).]
 
#4 ·
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by adam1991:
man, you've got bigger cojones than I do, to let someone cut the sheet metal of your new Ody.

(Of course, my wife would KILL me....especially if we started to see rust, even 10 years later...)
</font>
Huh? This car is not a sacred object. I feel much more comfortable with it after the keypad surgery (and a couple other minor mods I've made).

The keypad came with a cutting template so it would've been hard to screw up that step. The instructions also say to put rust inhibitor in the holes so I'm not worried about rust. Here's a walk thru of what the installation looks like:

http://www.atrn.com/pdf/sbs_1000.pdf
 
#6 ·
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by adam1991:
No, it's not a sacred object. It IS, however, a $30,000 object.

The last thing I'm really interested in is cutting the sheet metal of a $30K car that I really want to last me a long time. If that sheet metal surgery gets screwed up, it's very expensive to fix.
</font>
That's like saying you're not going to add a window to your house - after all, your house probably cost 10x your car.

C'mon - at worst all you can screw up is the door. And it's not THAT expensive to fix! And like I said, I had an installer do it. These people are veterans at cutting anything and everything in the car that gets in the way of installing ever larger speakers.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Finally got around to taking a picture of the keypad.

Besides the usual reasons for having a keypad, I'll add one new one:
My 8-year old loves it because she can now open up the car without having to get me. (And yes, she knows to lock it.) The pad lets you assign several different codes, so she feels very special to know that she has her own code. And I am happy that she has no reason now to swipe my keys (and forget where she left them).
 

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#8 · (Edited)
another pic

Here's another pic simply showing that the keypad lights up. Very handy in the dark. It lights up as soon as you touch any key. You don't have to worry about hitting the right first key in the dark because the keypad ignores an initial sequence of keystrokes that don't match. This is also handy in case another person is standing next to you and you don't want to look like a jerk hiding your fingers but you also don't want them to know the code. So you can enter a whole bunch of numbers and as long as the code is somewhere in there, the car unlocks. I've used this with my boss - who I'm not about to tell to look away - but yet there's no reason he should know my code. (He just thinks I have an incredibly long code.)
<img src="http://www.odyclub.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=50298">
 

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#9 ·
location

Why didn't you put it just above or below the handle? where exactly is that location?
 
#10 ·
Re: location

Phace said:
Why didn't you put it just above or below the handle? where exactly is that location?
I agree that the preferred placement is above the door handle. But there's sheet metal in the way that prevents ready access to that area. And there's some structural material that limits choice. I also considered putting it below the handle but that would've made it harder to see and operate. So I gave up a little in appearance for usability.

For awhile I went around looking at other cars thinking to myself that I could tell which keypads were OEM or after-market by looking at their placement. But I've since found that some OEM installations look exactly like mine. So I've convinced myself that it looks good. If I had to do over again, I'd put it in the same place.
 
#11 ·
Just caught this thread via your signature, nice mod. Man I wish this was a stock option on the Ody. Without fail I manage to lock my keys in the van once a month. :p
 
#12 ·
mapcam235 said:
Man I wish this was a stock option on the Ody. Without fail I manage to lock my keys in the van once a month. :p
What's stopping you from doing it after-market? Sounds like it would be worth it to you!

Update: it's been over a year now and I use the keypad on an almost-daily basis - mostly so I don't have to worry about hiding, losing, forgetting, or carrying my keys with me when I go hiking, running, canoeing, etc.

Still works and looks as good as brand new.
 
#13 ·
donlibes said:
What's stopping you from doing it after-market?
Honestly, it never really occurred to me that I could do it as a mod and that there are quality AM options.

Hmmmm, maybe after the dynamat, 18's, and body kit. Every time I complete a mod I seem to find another. :eek: :D
 
#14 ·
Hey donlibes...

I'm awaiting delivery of an '05 EX-L NAV/RES to replace a fairly well equipped but tired and undersized '96 Taurus wagon. Besides the automatic daytime running lights, the single feature of the Taurus that I'll miss most is the external keypad.

I saw your post and your installation of the external keypad. Nice!

I found an article describing the installation of your keypad here for the interested (same article, one Acrobat the other HTML):

http://www.atrn.com/pdf/sbs_1000.pdf
http://www.a1electric.com/keypadinst.htm

Unfortunately there isn't an authorized installer of your model in my area. But while at my local Ford dealer I saw that Ford sells an external keypad which is battery powered and simply attaches to the exterior of the door using adhesive. It's like a keyless remote attached to the car which requires a code entry to activate.

http://www.parts.com/partlocator/in...fo&PartID=140310&siteid=213787&catalogid=3138

Great idea, I just wish there was a model that was compatible with Honda remotes...

strider
 
#15 ·
strider said:
Great idea, I just wish there was a model that was compatible with Honda remotes...
While it wouldn't be "plug compatible" I think that just about any vehicle accessory installer worthy of the name, and a lot of us "shade tree mechanics" would be able to make this work on an Ody. I believe there's a switch on the driver's door key switch, and I know there's a switch on the tailgate (on my '01 anyway). that could have a relay wired in parallel to unlock the doors. Just be careful that you DON'T wire the remote in parallel with the inside lock switches or you'll set off the alarm when you unlock the vehicle.

Good luck,
Mel
 
#16 ·
Thanks for the reply Mel...

I agree, installation of the Essex KE-1601 is readily doable on any Ody with power locks. I'm still somewhat new to the west coast so I'm not sure who to turn to in the central valley of Oregon to perform the work. I'd rather not do this myself because it's not OEM and drilling into the door is involved. OEM Honda accessories I have no problem with though. They're designed to fit! I'm less inclined to use my new $30k+ mini-van as a learning opportunity.

But my comment that seemed to prompt your reply was directed at the type of add-on exterior keypad Ford sells. I'd think there would be a tremendous market for such an accessory that was universal, not Ford specific. No drilling, no wire harness stuff...

As it is, my wife was sufficiently intrigued by the KE-1601 that we might have it installed. We seldom leave the car carrying our keys and in fact leave a lone spare key in a secret location in the car so that we don't even need to leave the house with our full keyrings if we don't want to.

Thanks! strider
 
#17 ·
strider said:
... while at my local Ford dealer I saw that Ford sells an external keypad which is battery powered and simply attaches to the exterior of the door using adhesive. It's like a keyless remote attached to the car which requires a code entry to activate.

http://www.parts.com/partlocator/in...fo&PartID=140310&siteid=213787&catalogid=3138

Great idea, I just wish there was a model that was compatible with Honda remotes...

strider
I've been thinking about this and am wondering where the authentication takes place. That is, if the authentication takes place in the exterior unit, what's to prevent some miscreant from cracking open the unit, bypassing the authentication, and triggering the open signal. I suppose it could all be done in a single chip which would make it impossible to easily crack open.

The second (and more pragmatic) issue - how can you put your faith in a small battery? You could be totally screwed one day if the battery happens to run down and you're unable to get in your car.

Otherwise, it's a cute idea. :rolleyes:
 
#19 ·
I completed the installation of the Essex KE-1601 exterior keypad on an '08 Ody. The only stumbling block I ran into is that the Ody's computer will not accept requests to both disarm and unlock at the same time. (My '02 Ody had no such limitation.)

The solution: The keypad has several auxiliary outputs (to open sliding doors, lift gate, etc) that I wasn't using. So I assigned one to the unlock signal. So after I enter the disarm code, I press the "unlock code" (which is just one more keystroke). Fortunately, the speed at which humans press keys is sufficiently "slow" for the computer to deal with, so you don't have to pause before pressing the final button. It effectively just makes for a longer code. Just as well since the original keypad design is limited to 3-8 digit codes which seems kinda short in this day and age. With the additional key required, it's now 4-9 digit codes.
 
#21 ·
jangelj said:
I've got an 06 EX, but would like to install this same unit. Can you describe the installation process, how long it took, and if you needed any additional components?
Let's say 4 hours, half for the rustoleum to dry. It took me a lot longer because I had no one to ask about Ody-specific issues (such as the computer issue I mentioned earlier) so 4 hours is what it should take you, not what it actually took me! So ignoring all of the detours I made, here are the steps as I recall:

1) Remove trim from door: 15 minutes to remove 4 screws, unplug master door and window controller, etc.
2) Wire up and test: 15 minutes if you do it all in the door; 2 hours if you run it through the door gasket (like I did) and wire it into the fuse panel.
3) Cut metal: 15 minutes to measure and cut but let's say an hour because you don't want to get this step wrong!
4) Paint & dry: 5 minutes to paint newly-exposed metal with rustoleum or something like that and then an hour or two to dry. (I skipped this step since I sealed the interfaces (see 8) but the manufacturer recommends it.)
5) Make keypad fit: 15 minutes. Because the Honda door curves at the point where I mounted the keypad, I found it necessary to file down the keypad base to accomodate the curve so the buttons would protrude far enough.
6) Screw keypad to inside of door and cover: 2 minutes.
7) Mount programming switch: 10 minutes to cut a hole under the armrest and insert switch and screw on locknut; add another 15 minutes if you decide to install a connector.
8) Add cable ties and sealant to secure/seal everything: 10 minutes.
9) Put weatherstripping back on: Should be 1 minute but the original sealant was spotty so I spent another 10 minutes adding more sealant around all the holes that Honda left originally!
10) Put the trim back on: 10 minutes.
11) Program in your new code: 5 minutes.

The only thing I needed to buy ($4 from Radio Shack) was a connector (for the programming switch) just to make it easier to take off the door trim in the future. With a connector, you just unplug it. If I was doing it again, I'd add another connector for the rest of the wires as well.

By the way, I saved $10 by buying the keypad from a retailer rather than directly from the manufacturer.
 
#22 ·
strider said:
..... But while at my local Ford dealer I saw that Ford sells a keypad which is battery powered and simply attaches to the exterior of the door using adhesive. It's like a remote attached to the car which requires a code to activate.

I would be afraid that someone would peel it off as a prank..or battery fails at wrong time (when leaving keys in van to avoid losing them at an amusement park lets just say)

I would rather add a switch somewhere under car to open door in the event I lock my keys inside intentionally or unintentionally. After all..it is more convenient to open with remote than touching buttons. Most times I need to open sliders for kids anyhow:nice:
 
#23 ·
Toytech said:
I would be afraid that someone would peel it off as a prank..or battery fails at wrong time (when leaving keys in van to avoid losing them at an amusement park lets just say)

I would rather add a switch somewhere under car to open door in the event I lock my keys inside intentionally or unintentionally. After all..it is more convenient to open with remote than touching buttons. Most times I need to open sliders for kids anyhow:nice:
As for a power failure, I share you concern. But first, I have a PriorityStart. I also keep a hidden key. Doesn't everybody? But because most people expect to use their hidden keys; they're much easier for strangers to locate. (I'm a runner and I see other runners hide/access their hidden keys at every race!) But because I only use mine in the case of a complete power failure (which I've never had), I was able to put it in a most inconvenient and difficult-to-find spot. (Indeed, I've never touched it since I hid it.) In fact, I challenged a buddy of mine to find it and he couldn't.

I don't understand how your idea of a switch under the car would be better. If you intend to use it regularly, it would be easy for someone to see you using it and consequently it would no longer be secret. And, if you mean an electronic switch, it would also be liable to a power failure. The only way to address that is with a mechanical switch or key.
 
#24 · (Edited)
donlibes said:
As for a power failure, I share you concern. ......
I don't understand how your idea of a switch under the car would be better.
You misunderstood me, I said I like the convenience of using factory remote (its easy and you need your key to start van any how).

I was referring to the stick on remote type keyless entry system that runs on a watch battery losing power or falling off.

I do however see the need for an emergency back up in case of a lock out. It would be easy to run a wire from under dash from door harness to a push switch hidden somewhere.
What are the chances your car battery will fail the same time you lock yourself out.
I guess a hidden key would suffice. The best thing to do is have a plain metal key made so if it is found by someone they can not start van.:)
 
#25 ·
Toytech said:
I do however see the need for an emergency back up in case of a lock out. It would be easy to run a wire from under dash from door harness to a push switch hidden somewhere.
The bad thing about such a solution is that once someone has observed you triggering the switch, you cannot readily change the location. So I view it as a theoretical but ultimately impractical idea.
 
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