Remote start the first time, ’03 F150, 791

My '03 F-150 has a first time remote start issue. Its got a 791XV with 555P bypass using the ignition status, not the blue/status out. Works great except I noticed it would not always start the very first time from the remote. At first I thought it was the crank time, turned it up, the next morning it worked fine on the first try. The next morning second try only. I figured maybe it wasn't letting the injectors prime up long enough as it seemed to try to start with out the normal wait before crank over, again crank time. I finally got to the point where its getting anoying, and its going to take toll on the starter some day. I played with it last night and it worked the first time again. This morning notta. I decided to look throught the window when I hit the remote and sure enough I noticed two things. 1) You dont hear the injectors priming as long as you normally would 2) When it cranked the THEFT light flashed. NO bypass Of course the second try worked like a champ, no THEFT or anything. The only thing I havent verified yet as whether it has to do with the alarm being armed or not. Is it possible that I need to tie the remote start status/ignition output to the wire that wakes up the GEM with the existing disarm wire from the 791XV? It seems like something is not waking up on time, but I dont see how it would be the GEM either unless I tied into a sleep ignition or power source from the relay satellite ??????? I used the two from the diagram. Any info would be excellent... THANX jpn

What made you use the ignition status instead of the blue status wire?~The Rookie~

Rookie of the year that is...

Don't let the smoke out of your equiptment..it doesn't go back in.

Something I found here and a DEI technote that says something about the 555P having timing issues with the status out and to use the ign out instead.

I just went out and decided to see if it was something with the door unlock and GEM being woke up. That didn't do it either so it doesn't matter if its armed/disarmed. I can see the guages moving showing that its getting ignition to the guage pod at least but no fire just crank. Of course it took off the second try. It must be intermitten because it worked the first time all last week except when starting cold in the morning. ???? Maybe I'll try programming the 555 again.

Have has this kind of problem with fords in the past.  What I wound up doing was tying the factory alarm disarm wire to the bypass as well with 2 diodes so that the factory disarm trips the bypass for a second then the ignition output picks up the slack.  Hope this works for you later.Cause I'm So white and nerdy...

First Class Certi-fried installer

Could you clarify more? I guess I'm not following you. which bypass wire are you tying into? Do you mean the ignition status, from the relay satellite, to the bypass would also tie in with the factory disarm wire, diode isolated? How does the "factory disarm" trip the bypass? Does the "factory disarm" wire on the 791XV get activated when you remote start? I thought it was just for unlock to wake up the GEM. THANX jpn

"Does the "factory disarm" wire on the 791XV get activated when you remote start? I thought it was just for unlock to wake up the GEM. Technically yeah, but you gotta do what you gotta do to make the stuff work right?" Yea, I thought that when I discovered triggering the bypass module with ign. out from the satellite instead of status output!!! I guess there's another step. thank you a bunch !!! One last ? to anyone. Why does it start up the first time once in a while and the second time always? I tried it again here a few minutes ago and it took off the first time. It's been sitting for 4 hours in my semi-heated garage but when sitting outside for 4+ hours it doesn't want to go the first time. The other day I remote started it at work, went to a store, remote started it again and failed. Went to another store 10 minutes later and failed again. Went home, 20 minute drive, and let it sit in the garage for four hours with the garage door open while I was working on the garage door seal for 2.5 hours and it started the first time..????? It must be Ford voodoo. I put a 791XV in a '01 S-10 a month ago and it works fine. First install of a remote start unit...

I had a problem somewhat like that a while back. I was using a 556u with the 791, the truck I was working on would start 2 out of the 5 times that I tried.  What I found was that the 556u was drawing to much current for the status output wire on the alarm, so the wire would drop the ground.  I put a relay on the status output wire and it worked like a charm.