im reposting in hope that i can explain it a little better. pertains to 96-98 civic keyless entry.

you know how if you pulled the head unit out of the dash, it would have the keyless entry thingy screwed to the top of the unit?? can you mix and match those things? i mean, can i take the keyless entry box off of one head unit and screw it to another and have it work? or are they programmed together? right now i have the keyless entry box off of a 97 head unit installed on a 96 head unit and it doesnt work.

 

the box on top of the head unit controls the security system, not the keyless entry
the keyless entry is built into the head unit itself

i dont know if you can swap alarm controllers to a new head unit, but i would assume so

i have had two different stock head units work just fine with my keyless entry though

there are two types of stock head units also, those found on lx/ex/hx? and those on dx
one has a green plug for keyless entry, the other only has a stereo plug
you cannot get keyless to work if you arent using the correct type of head unit
hope thats useful

edit- just read your other post and have a few more things for you

you are programming the keyless remote to the stereo each time right?

did the car come with a stock alarm?
do you have this stock alarm module?

use the head unit with the working volume

put the alarm controller on the good head unit

instal in car

program the keyless remote

does it work?

 

well supposedly it came with the keyless alarm system. i assume it did because she says she had always used the clicker..untill it got stolen. but when i pulled the head unit out to replace it with the 97 one i had laying around, there was no control module!! so maybe someone got in and stole it?? i dunno......the head unit has the password right? so that means that her head unit (the one that came in her 96 is programmed to a different frequency or whatever it is. and that would explain why it only works with the 97 head unit (because thats where the clicker came from, and that is the unit it is programmed to) i think, right?? thank you so much for the reply dude...a ton of ppl have looked but no one offered any info...i know i didnt make it easy to understand, and i was confused and i think i confused the shit out of everyone else. but ya....thank you infinity plus one.

i just need to reprogram then right? i think that was my problem the whole time

 

it sounds like she may not have had an alarm system at all

here is what i would do

install the head unit with the volume knob that works

make sure that the green plug (keyless) is plugged in as well as the grey plug (stereo)

make sure that it turns on

put keys in ignition, turn to accesory
then press and hold the small button between the two main buttons on the far right of the head unit
the locks will reset
then press the lock button on the keyless remote
the locks should cycle again
this has set the remote to the correct frequency for the head unit
you should be good to go now

 

well i got it figured out. i thought the box was the keyless entry. i didnt know it was strictly alarm. for some reason it wouldnt program, so i threw in the head with the screwy volume. anyways, the keyless works and she now has an alarm...so, ya, thanks for the replies!

so for anyone who has this problem: head unit controls keyless entry, box controls alarm.