What's Actually in the Box: A Full Unboxing of a Digital Guard Dawg Kit

Here's a small test you can run on any keyless ignition company before you spend a dollar.

Go to their product page and try to find out exactly what ships in the box — how many harnesses, how many pins on each, what gauge wire, what current each output is rated to carry.

On most sites, you can't. You'll find a feature list and a photograph. The parts list arrives with the parts.

Digital Guard Dawg publishes the full install manual, free, before you buy, at digitalguarddawg.com/support — along with interactive troubleshooting flowcharts for every system. So this article can do something most unboxing articles can't: tell you what's in the box using the manufacturer's own documentation, down to the pin count.

The iKey Premier — $783

The flagship: passive keyless entry, push button start, alarm, immobilizer, and optional remote start in one module.

The control module

Compact enough to mount under the dash or in the center console — DGD's FAQ puts the module at roughly 4.5" × 3.5" × 1".

Published current handling:

Output	Rating
1st ignition output (+)	40A — does not drop out during starter crank
2nd ignition output (+)	40A — for vehicles needing a second ignition wire
Internal door lock / unlock relays	20A
Bypass / data module trigger (−)	500mA
Bypass / data module trigger (+)	500mA
Negative ignition outputs (ACC/IGN/START)	500mA each

The relays are inside the module. That's the design decision that matters most for long-term reliability — DGD's product pages describe external relay wiring as "unsightly and failure prone," and they're right. Every external relay is one more crimp under a dash, heat-cycling for a decade.

Five harnesses

Harness	Pins	Gauge
Power	8-pin	14 ga
Primary accessory	10-pin	14–16 ga
Accessory output	9-pin	20 ga
Accessory input	7-pin	22 ga
Negative ignition output	3-pin	20 ga

Two details worth noticing in that table.

First, the power harness carries two +12V inputs, and the primary accessory harness carries two grounds. That's deliberate redundancy — both required to land directly on the battery terminals, no intermediate fuses, no self-tapping screws. Most modules give you one of each.

Second, that 3-pin negative ignition harness exists for a specific reason: it provides 500mA negative ACC/IGN/START outputs for ISIS and Infinitybox systems. If you're running modern digital power distribution in a resto-mod, the iKey speaks its language natively. That's not a part anyone includes by accident.

The accessory input harness

Seven inputs, and reading them tells you what the system actually does:

· Neutral safety switch (−) — prevents remote start in gear

· Hood pin safety switch (−) — prevents remote start with the hood open

· Door trigger (− / +) — works with either polarity

· Plus brake, shock sensor and status inputs feeding the alarm

The neutral-safety and hood-pin inputs are safety interlocks. They're in the box whether or not you use remote start.

Fobs and emergency access

· RFID fobs, dual-mode — passive proximity and active manual

· 6 independent channels per fob — door locks, trunk, windows, remote start, sunroof, convertible top, lighting or audio

· Emergency Bypass Card — credit-card sized, lives in your wallet

· User-programmable PIN code

DGD's FAQ describes the iKey Premier as shipping with up to 4 RFID fobs plus 2 emergency bypass cards, depending on configuration — confirm your exact configuration when ordering.

Spares: iKey fob $79 · bypass card $15. Fob batteries are standard replaceable lithium cells, roughly a year of life.

The start button

Every system includes a premium billet start button:

· Brushed stainless steel or black anodized

· 22mm or 25mm — that's the hole size; the face is 3mm larger

· Illuminated halo LED ring in blue, green, red or white

· Pre-wired 36-inch plug-in harness

Documentation

Install manual, user guide, and an interactive troubleshooting flowchart — all published online, free, before purchase.

See the iKey Premier →

The PBS-I — $589

Pre-1998 classics that don't need accessory output channels.

Control module:

· Onboard 60A high-current relays on a 4oz copper chassis

· 12-gauge bus-insulated wiring, sized to match the heavy ignition wiring already in classic vehicles

· Internal MSD filtering circuitry — for high-output ignition boxes

· Manages starter, ignition, and two accessory circuits

· During starter crank, one accessory circuit switches off to reduce current draw while the second stays live for computers and ECUs

Fobs: dual-mode RFID, two styles — a "Standard" fob with a sliding cover, or an "OEM" fob with a hidden compartment for a hide-a-key blade. Over 6 billion unique codes. Replaceable lithium battery, roughly one-year life.

Emergency Backup PIN Card — DGD describes this as exclusive to their systems.

Start button: included, with 16+ billet configurations and 50+ total designs to choose from.

See the PBS-I →

The PBS-II — $665

Everything in the PBS-I, plus five programmable output channels for power door locks, shaved-door poppers, power windows, and trunk release — each programmable to pulsed, timed or latched.

Same 60A onboard relays, same 4oz copper chassis, same 12GA bus-insulated wiring, same MSD filtering, same emergency bypass card.

One extra capability worth knowing: a single fob can be programmed to operate an unlimited number of vehicles. Useful if you own more than one.

See the PBS-II →

Vehicle-specific kits

PBS-M — Marine, $469 Chrome-plated fully waterproof fobs · IP67 brushed stainless start button with blue halo LED · engine immobilizer. 12V gas or diesel, non-CANbus.

PBS-MX / MXS — ATV & UTV, $299 Chrome water-resistant fobs · IP67 waterproof billet button with RGB status LED · dual-mode transmitters · emergency bypass code.

GC12V — Golf carts, $299 IP67 waterproof billet start button · dual-mode RFID transmitters · emergency bypass code. 12V–48V, gas or electric.

KIM series — Motorcycle, $269 RFID module · Dawg Tag fobs · model-specific wiring harness · mounting hardware. Plug-and-play — eliminates the factory ignition switch entirely, with dual-point immobilization of both ignition and fuel circuits.

DGD-I-24 — Military 24V, $199 Plug-and-play harness for M998, M1097, M151, M151A1 — no wires to cut or splice. Swap the ignition switch wire to the I-24 harness, attach ground.

Power Door Lock Kit — 2 door, $85 A genuinely itemized example: 2 heavy-duty two-wire reversing actuators, a door lock module, and step-by-step installation instructions.

What isn't in the box

Straight answer, because surprises mid-install are expensive:

· A bypass/data module, if your vehicle has a factory transponder immobilizer. Same requirement as any remote start install. DGD's manual notes all major brand bypass and data modules typically work fine — theirs is $113.

· Power door lock actuators, if your classic doesn't have power locks and you want full PKE. $85 (2-door) / $159 (4-door).

· A clutch switch for manual transmissions — $25.

· A siren, if you want an audible alarm — $20.

· Extra fobs beyond the included set — $42–79.

· Wire, connectors, and basic tools. You'll want a multimeter; the manual specifically instructs verifying polarity before connecting.

The two warnings printed in the manual

These are in the documentation for a reason, and they're the two most common ways a self-install goes wrong:

Do not power up the module before it is properly grounded. Powering an ungrounded module can cause serious damage to internal components.

All +12V power and (−) ground connections must connect directly to the vehicle battery terminals, without any additional fuses. Other power or ground sources may cause unsafe operation. Do not use a self-tapping screw for the ground.

Also: always power the module off before changing dip switch or jumper positions.

Why publishing this matters

A parts list is a commitment. Pin counts, wire gauges, and amperage ratings are verifiable — you can put a meter on them. A company only prints them when the hardware backs them up.

Digital Guard Dawg publishes install manuals, user guides, wiring diagrams and interactive troubleshooting flowcharts for every system, free and before purchase. Download the manual for the system you're considering and read it before you order. It's the most useful ten minutes in the whole project.

Behind the box: a California corporation manufacturing in the USA since 2006, a toll-free line at 1-877-246-5395 (M–F 7am–5pm Pacific), "we match any advertised price" on every product page, and a 100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee — unconditional money back with an RMA within 7 days of purchase.

Browse all systems →

Sources

· Digital Guard Dawg — iKey Premier product page and install manual (five harnesses with pin counts and gauges; 40A/20A/500mA ratings; redundant power and ground; direct-to-battery and ground-before-power warnings; accessory input list including neutral safety and hood pin; 6-channel dual-mode fob; ISIS/Infinitybox outputs; dip switch guidance)

· Digital Guard Dawg — PBS-I (60A onboard relays, 4oz copper chassis, 12GA bus-insulated wiring, MSD filtering, dual accessory circuits and crank behavior, Standard vs OEM fob styles, hide-a-key compartment, emergency backup PIN card, fob battery life)

· Digital Guard Dawg — PBS-II (5 programmable outputs, pulsed/timed/latched, unlimited multi-vehicle fob programming)

· Digital Guard Dawg — PBS-X (start button specification: 22/25mm hole, face 3mm larger, 16+ billet combinations, 50+ designs, 36" pre-wired harness)

· Digital Guard Dawg — PBS-M · PBS-MX · GC12V · DGD-I-24 · KIM-P