problems with viper 5104

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to provide as much information as possible...

My issue: my Viper 5104 only unlocks my drivers door lock about 50% of the time

Back in December, I bought a used 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee that had an aftermarket alarm & remote starter.  I don't remember the brand now, but it had a couple of issues (one with the remote start, one with the doors locking automatically after a certain amount of time after shutting the car off, regardless if the keys were still in it or not).  Anyway, I took to a recommended service location, they said that the main unit was bad and wouldn't go into programming mode.  Now, the entire time I had this other brand of alarm, it worked the door locks fine - never an issue.  When I was told that the main unit was bad, I decided to upgrade to the Viper 5104.

I drove the car for about 2 months with the new Viper, with no door lock issues at all.  However, there was a problem with the remote start - when you used it, it would blow the horn for a long time & it was incredibly loud.  It wasn't the normal "chirp" that let you know it started, it sounded like someone was blasting the horn.  As I leave for work at 6 AM, my neighbors weren't too happy so I took the Jeep back to the installer & explained my problem.  He worked on the car for a couple of hours, fixed it (not sure, but I think he did something related to the voltage going to the horn) so that the horn only "chirps" when the car gets started now...and that's when my problems began.

Ever since this adjustment, the driver's side door lock only unlocks about half the time when pushing the button on the remote.  All of the other door locks unlock and you can hear the drivers one engage, just not enough to unlock.  I took the car back to the installer, he checked everything and told me that the actuator was bad and to replace it - he said that the alarm is sending 12 volts to it so that can't be the problem.  This made no sense to me as it worked fine up to he made some change to the alarm, and the door lock works fine with the switch in the car.

Recently, my window regulator went bad and I replaced that; since I had the door apart, I replaced the door lock actuator.  No change to how often it works, just as suspected.

I took my Jeep to another Viper installer and explained my issue.  After testing for an hour, their solution was to "hold the button down longer".  As this was something I had already tried, I knew that wasn't the issue.  To appease them, I told them I would try it and of course - no difference.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Two other pieces of information: (1) because it's random, I can't verify this 100% but I feel like the problem gets better the more you use the lock in a given day.  So the first time I go out to the car, it won't work but if I run errands and make 5 or 6 stops, by the end of my travels it works better and is less likely to not unlock.  I think this was the issue at the second installer, as the more we tried it the more it worked. (2) During the 6 months or so this problem has been going on, there have been 2-3 times when I push the unlock button, the alarm disarms but NONE of the door locks unlock.  A second button push unlocked the rest of the doors in each instance.

My dilemma now is that I have no faith that either installer knows what is going on.  I've already spent $65 on an unneeded actuator and $35 for a service call at a second location to be told to hold the button in longer when disarming.  I'm trying to figure out if this is a problem with the alarm unit, programming, perhaps an issue with vehicle wiring, etc.

1) Do you ever have an issue when using the switch itself or is it only with the remote? 2) Take a look under the dash and see if you can find where they grounded the unit (black wire connected somewhere to the the chassis) and let us know where and how it is grounded (factory bolt, screw, wire wrapped around a piece of metal, etc). 3) See if there is either a small black box (in addition to the main unit) that has 3 numbers and a letter stamped on the face of it (for the life of me I can't remember which bypass was used on these for the locks; but I'm sure someone can chime in) or if there are extra aftermarket wires run into the driver side door.Kenny

Owner / Technician

KKD Garage LLC

Albany, NY 12205

Only the remote; the door switch works every single time and always has.

I'll check the ground wire as soon as I can.

When I was in the door the other day, there were no extra or additional wires going anywhere, just the factory harness.  But I'll double check when I look for the small black box.  Thank you.

If it is working fine with the switch then I highly doubt it is anything with the actuator. Check on the other 2 and let me know.Kenny

Owner / Technician

KKD Garage LLC

Albany, NY 12205

If you can find the viper brain check the small connector, white, with a blue and green wires only. This should be the lock/unlock wires. Check that the connector is seated in properly and the wires are not bent over to tight. Might be getting pulled slightly to cause the issue.

Try to follow the lock/unlock wires to their end point to see if those ends are soldered, crimped, or just taped.

Times 2 with offroadzj, try to find the ground wire. Check it for a solid connection/ground.

When all else fails, Read the Instructions

Support the12volt.com Make a Donation

Thanks for the additional info.  I'm out of town on work shortly, but as soon as I get back I will check these & post the findings.

Thanks again.

Okay, finally got to this... The only other little black box I can find says XK531 on it. I know that doesn't match the letter/numbering system above, but other than the "main" black box, that's all I see. There is a dash panel that attaches to black painted steel right under the steering column. This is where the ground wire is attached. The end of the ground has a crimped on ring terminal, it appears to be a solid connection. They ave a Philips self-tapping screw going through the bracket...doesn't look like they cleaned the paint off of it the bracket, though. Not sure if this matters or not. I see the small white connector with the blue & green only, but the wires just run right to the large wire harness and are all taped together so I can't really follow them. It is seated fine. In general, it looks like the connections were done pretty well, nothing is loose or looks sloppy. One final thing, not sure if this tells anything or not. I took the door panel off to make sure (again) nothing is binding. With the door switch plugged in but off, I can watch the door rods, etc. The door is open of course since the panel is just hanging. Anyway, if I hit the Lock button, it locks fine. If I hit the Unlock button, it unlocks fine. But if I do this a couple of times, eventually when I hit Unlock, the door unlocks and then immediately locks again. You can see it & hear it click twice. This happens about every 4th cycle or so. However, I'm not sure if this is happening because the door is open or because something is wrong. And, when this happens, it is happening to every door, not just the one I'm having problems with.