Proper installation of remote car starter (vehicle, auto, car audio, alarm)
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I recently had a remote car starter installed in my 2006 Colorado and it must be getting its power from my rear turn/hazard wiring because I've had this fuse blow at least 15 times. When it blows my rear signal and hazard lights don't work and the panel indicator lights don't work.
I've contacted the people who installed the remote but they can't get me in for another week.
I had to replace the 15 amp fuse with a 20 to handle the spike as a temporary fix (I had to get to work) and it seems to work fine. No blown bulbs, no smoke... Knock on wood.
Do any of you know where a remote hookup should be getting its power. Is the power hookup usually a dedicated line?
Power for a remote start should come from the battery. Always. No exceptions that I can think of. Battery.
That being said, a buddy who works for the main car audio place in town says few installers run power directly off of the battery for alarms or remote starters any more. Some even tap the fuse box for amp power. That's not how I was trained, nor is it how I see better installs done.
I just pulled an alarm/remote start out of a buddy's truck. A mutual friend, who is a mechanic, did the install. He was having numerous problems, and rather than sort through the spaghetti to troubleshoot it, I yanked it. There was an inline 35 amp spade fuse on a 12 gauge power line which came from the fuse block. The fuse had welded to the holder to the extent that I broke it trying to remove it. It was a fire waiting to happen.
Without knowing the wiring for a Colorado, it is hard to tell.
1:Run a dedicated line from the battery (time consuming, and unlikely that any install shop would do)
2:Tap from the constant feed bar in the fuse box. Several ways of doing this, "fake fuse" most common on older cars, likely it was just metered out and they ran it off the first constant 12+ source with key off, what that was is anyone's guess. Replacing the 15 amp light fuse with a 20 gives a small clue, lots of newer cars use dedicated fusing for light circuits. Crappy techs see this as a "free source" of great power!
3:Tap into the keyswitch tumbler main 12+ lead, usually yellow or some striped combo on GM, largest wire going to the keyswitch harness, usually 12 gauge for power to the start box.
Another thing to add, 95% of auto techs have no idea what they are doing with electronics, not to say they don't have the skills or could not learn but..... Taking the thing into a shop that does only accessory installs actually makes it worse.
Any pics of the underdash wiring? Diagram from the remote start kit? Have any Colorado diagrams (year and model specific)?
Some of the remote setups will activate the parking lights so you can see from the inside of the house that it is started. Confusing the wiring or doing a sloppy job on the install is most likely cause.
1: Lead in power-constant: this gives the box brain power
2: Lead out for starter circuit
3: Ground to chassis
4: Park light activation
5: Wire for passkey or VATS override box: not included with basic starter kit, has to be purchased separate for vehicle make/model/year, if required
6: Accessory systems wire: used or not used depending on model
7: Brake (BOO) on/off switch
8: Run system lead wire
9: Tachometer lead: if equipped to determine run status, most kits simply use voltage signal @14v+ to determine if the vehicle is actually running. Monitors after about 5-10 seconds after start attempt, uses alternator output to determine.
Battery voltage (good battery) not running: 12.1-12.75 volts
Voltage running (alternator output, good alternator): 13.90-14.5
Sounds like a case of poor wiring, sorry.
Could be a bad box as well, unlikely but more likely if it was named after an animal.
Viper, bulldog, Cheshire hound, rattlesnake, lion, water buffalo and so on.
Last edited by orrecc; 10-20-2013 at 08:53 PM..
Reason: Multiple posts of same thing??
Could be a bad box as well, unlikely but more likely if it was named after an animal.
Viper, bulldog, Cheshire hound, rattlesnake, lion, water buffalo and so on.
You're grouping Viper in with those others? Unless they've changed drastically since I've been completely away from the mobile side, they are one of the best available. The support they provide to their dealers is second to none, and that won't come from a junk brand.
Agreed, Viper (owned by DEI) makes one of the best aftermarket alarm systems you can buy.
As far as wiring a remote start, it can be tied in to several things, but most importantly, the circuit should equal or exceed the same amperage as the factory ignition switch. My guess is that the factory ignition is probably a 25-30amp circuit, and your starter is pulling more amps than the 15amp that the remote is tied into can handle. Switch it to a higher circuit, and you should be fine.
You're grouping Viper in with those others? Unless they've changed drastically since I've been completely away from the mobile side, they are one of the best available. The support they provide to their dealers is second to none, and that won't come from a junk brand.
Ok, well remove Viper from this then??. It has been over 10 years since the bulk market share for the add-on remote start fad faded away, I have only installed one back in 2000, most newer vehicles come with them as a factory option.
Support to dealers is a meaningless if the install tech doesn't get it right and ends up frying the electrical system on his Colorado, regardless of brand used the components could be made of solid gold and it would matter not.
Amazing how the point everyone did not like was the fact that Viper was mentioned poorly. Didn't even know they were in business anymore, the aftermarket for remote devices grows smaller with every passing model year.
Guess Viper is a great product!? Go ahead and do whatever install is seen fit, don't worry about wiring, just buy the best box available. All problems solved.
I still stand by staying away from cheap electronics named after animals though....
I would provide superior dealer support (free diagrams and some vehicle specific connectors??), give away schwag at install shops to techs, hats, beer cozies and so on if I was making a 70% profit on unit production cost markup including marketing+distribution efforts as well, with more than enough room on the retail side to be priced for most consumers budgets. In fact I would have one of the most successful companies around.
Directed Electronics (DEI) owns the Viper brand, as well as Clifford, Python, Avital, and some others now. Some brands are bargain priced alarm systems, on up to the Viper brand.
Ok, well remove Viper from this then??. It has been over 10 years since the bulk market share for the add-on remote start fad faded away, I have only installed one back in 2000, most newer vehicles come with them as a factory option.
Support to dealers is a meaningless if the install tech doesn't get it right and ends up frying the electrical system on his Colorado, regardless of brand used the components could be made of solid gold and it would matter not.
Amazing how the point everyone did not like was the fact that Viper was mentioned poorly. Didn't even know they were in business anymore, the aftermarket for remote devices grows smaller with every passing model year.
Guess Viper is a great product!? Go ahead and do whatever install is seen fit, don't worry about wiring, just buy the best box available. All problems solved.
I still stand by staying away from cheap electronics named after animals though....
I would provide superior dealer support (free diagrams and some vehicle specific connectors??), give away schwag at install shops to techs, hats, beer cozies and so on if I was making a 70% profit on unit production cost markup including marketing+distribution efforts as well, with more than enough room on the retail side to be priced for most consumers budgets. In fact I would have one of the most successful companies around.
Sorry the V was mentioned poorly.
Not sure what your rant is about, but the only thing in the post I responded to that I cared about was your grouping Viper in with the rest as a low quality "animal" brand. No one said a crap install makes a good box work well. My posts are foten abotu shoddy work, including what I said in this thread. But Viper gives the installer all kinds of tools that other brands don't. Start with a better box, and one can get better results.
When I was still active in mobile electronics, being a Viper dealer meant you were a step above. I know when they were bought by DEI that started to deteriorate, as it often does.
Not sure what your rant is about, but the only thing in the post I responded to that I cared about was your grouping Viper in with the rest as a low quality "animal" brand. No one said a crap install makes a good box work well. My posts are foten abotu shoddy work, including what I said in this thread. But Viper gives the installer all kinds of tools that other brands don't. Start with a better box, and one can get better results.
When I was still active in mobile electronics, being a Viper dealer meant you were a step above. I know when they were bought by DEI that started to deteriorate, as it often does.
Ok agreed(?), not so much a rant but both posts were about "viper" products. In the "rant" (you may be right there guys) I had clearly stated that it has been over 10 years since my last remote-anything install. Viper then was a sub-par brand, if they have increased their quality, corrected the mistakes (power supply and over activation of accessory systems) + built a +/- reputation since then great!
Still, am I wrong on trying to steer people away from the remaining majority of aftermarket brands named after animals of action, that try to invoke a supposed response? Nothing says quality like triggering the lock/unlock solenoids 5 times in a row...
Still stand by the best box installed by fools is worth nothing. In Central Ohio people paid $300k for new homes made of foam and stucco with terrible roofs, and walked on floors made of MDF joists. Soon as it got wet the houses fell apart (really, see Triangle development owned by Don Kenney), the older homes 2 blocks down built correctly have been standing for 60+ years. Comparing apples to oranges yes, but the principal is the same.
And VM... Why? I am just as much against junk work as you are, but the consumer misconception that good equipment/training overrules inexperienced/shoddy techs runs rampant around the auto universe. That's all, have a feeling we agree on too much to be at odds with each other.
-Orrecc
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