remote start viper 554r

I had the Viper 554R system installed years an years ago in my Ford F150 pick up and its worked great and then all of a sudden part of it stopped. Its a 5.4l auto. Remote start worked on my truck going to work and then coming home it only cranked the three sequential tries and did not start. I have checked the 555f pats bypass and it has not moved from its location. Ford Anti-Theft light still flashes on dash as usual an goes out on start Checked all wiring and fuses and everything is tight and connected Checked for the tach read and its okay by starting car and pushing Valet switch within 5 seconds and it reads solid on light. Swapped out the relays one by one thinking one may had gone bad and no difference. What I have found is if I place key in ignition without turning it and try to remote start it will not so its not a key read issue I dont believe. I CAN put key in ignition and turn key forward into run position but not far enough to engage starter and then try and remote start and it fires right up. This is with remote start key fob attached to key ring It makes me believe it may be a power issue probably as when key is forward everything is being powered? I can not do the engage remote start and then pull keys from ignition as I could before ad truck stayed running as its huts right off now. I also checked to see if the N safety feature was messing up and it will only start in P as mentioned above with key installed in Run position. I cant take it back to place that installed it as they have gone out of business a few years ago after buyout by new people. Alarm part works great still but the remote just turns over the engine its three tries and never actually starts. Any ideas of what else it may be? Not sure what else to check on this now but have all the install schematics and the like to look at if needed. Only people I have around near that can look at it are Best Buy and the tore of my sons Mustang install a bit so leery about going there. I know it was probably just inexperience doing these but the people that installed in mine did a impressive job with everything wire loomed, tied and secured.

Sorry guys its a 2000 Model year Ford F150 with 5.4l auto.

If it won't try to remote start with a working key in or near the ignition switch it's probably because the truck is seeing two transponder chips at the same time ( key chip and the 555F ).

If it won't do a PitStop and it cranks but won't do a remote start it really sounds like a R/S Ignition output problem.  Especially if it remote starts OK with the ignition circuits being made by a key set to ON.

Did you pull the Vipers fuses and test them with a DMM? 

Next verify that there is +12V on all the R/S input wires right at the R/S connector.

Then verify that the R/S ignition relay outputs are there and sequencing properly.

Never saw or used a Viper 554R but it sounds like one of the old ones with an external relay pack for the ignition wires so you might also have to verify the brains ignition relay control outputs, too.

Soldering is fun!

The truck will start with the key in the ignition turned to the        "Run" position but not as to the start position to engage starter and I then push the remote start keys on the remote. In fact it fires right up. I can push the remote keys again as I would for pitstop mode but the minute I turn the key to the off position to remove it shuts right off. It wont start if the key is in the ignition in the off mode though. It just does the three cycles of starter turning over engine off and on and then beeps on remote and off. I have replaced all the fuses with new ones as well as swapped relays one by one. Its has multiples hooked up in a bank of them. It was one of the first things I checked to see if maybe they were faulty. I`ll check and see if I have voltage at every connection that should have for RS and their outputs. Its just weird it will start with key in ignition in the run position but if in off position it wont using the remote buttons. Something is not getting voltage or kicking a relay from the small amount I know about them. Its just worked one am and then pm on the way home just turns the motor over but no start via RS

My best guess is that the Viper R/S is not supplying +12V output on the Ignition1 wire that goes to this wire in the trucks ignition switch harness :

Ignition    Dark Blue/Light Green (+)     @  ignition switch, black 15 pin plug

Soldering is fun!

Thanks for the help and will check it out in am. Trucks in drive and its a bit dark under the dash. I checked and it wont start with key in accessory position either when hitting RS button and only turns over. Only in start position so its definitely looking like a voltage trigger thing somewhere. Thanks again

Checked out the system and it has 0 volts going to the Dark Blue/Light Green wire from the RS. This has a Large Pink and a larger yellow wire wound together coming from 2 separate relays to a connector on the Dark Blue/Light green truck wire in ignition harness. A small yellow line from the RS box 5 pin connector runs to the relay along with the pink line but IS NOT the same one joined to the line at the harness wire. It also has constant 12v power at this relay. The larger yellow wire on the harness wire comes from another relay that doesn't have constant power at all. It has leads running from the starter wire Red with blue tracer. Its been cut with ones set of lines spliced in and running to relay and then back to the other side of the line again. Its the relay that send power to starter I presume. Started pouring so had to stop for now.I was able to check all constant 12v lines and they all red power when they were supposed to.

I don't have any install guide or documentation on the Viper 554R so I might be wrong in my assumptions.

I'm guessing the Vipers relay with the thick Yellow wire is a Starter Kill relay.  It uses the vehicles Ignition as a

control signal.  It also is the R/S's Starter Output path to the vehicle side of the cut Starter wire.

The other relay is the Ignition relay.  The fact that it does not output +12V during a remote start or PitStop is the

problem.  You have verified power at the relay and replaced the relay.  That would leave the Vipers (-) Ignition relaycontrol signal as the probable culprit.  I'm guessing the the small gauge Pink wire in the 5 Pin connector is the control signal for the Ignition relay.  If this wires goes from the Viper to either Pin 85 or 86 of that ignition relay, usea DMM to verify that it goes to (-) during a remote start ( to turn on the relay & output +12V to the F150's Dark Blue/Light Green ignition wire ). 

DMM set up for the above test :  DMM set to +20V DC.  Red test lead to +12V constant.  Black test lead to thin Pink

wire.  DMM should go the +12V during a remote start.

The next test would be to apply a ground to this thin Pink wire during a remote start to energize the Ignition relay and

output the +12V to the vehicles Ignition1 wire.  If that makes it start up normally then the Viper 554R has a bad outputand might need to be replaced.

Soldering is fun!

Great detective work, BUT be VERY careful of what you say has constant power. "constant" 12v comes from 3 places on these old buggers. Two large red wires supply the power that ends up feeding the ignition wires during a remote start. One small red wire from the alarm module supplies the constant 12v needed to activate the relays. This wire is in the ribbon cable that connects the RS relays to the alarm/rs module.

Ah Catback, family origins British you BUGGER? Or watching too much BBC? Definitely ignition supply from the RS so check all fuses and feeds follow what Kreg and Catback said. Catback, empty your in box please, I needed to talk.