Printer Friendly Forum Posts - 1993 ford tempo remote starter

Hello all. Found this site when looking for a wiring diagram for the 1993 Ford Tempo and have done some searching to try and solve my problem but with little luck.

The Car:
1993 Ford Tempo

The Task:
Install Autostart remote starter.

The Problem:
I have everything wired in as per the diagrams i have found and i have programmed the remote and the tach as per the instructions. When the door lock button is pressed the brain receives the signal and the parking lights flash (the door does not actually lock since i do not have a relay for that yet) and the same goes for unlock. However, when i press the start button, the remote beeps to indicate it received my input and sent the signal yet nothing happens on the car; no parking light flash, no click of the brain, nothing. I am trying this of course with the hood closed and the door closed.

Things i have tried:
hood closed, door closed, brake held on. = nothing
hood closed, door closed, car running, press start on remote, turn key off = car turns off
hood closed, door open = nothing

Things im confused by:
I only have one starter wire on my wiring diagram so i did not hook up the second starter wire on the car starter. is this correct?

I only hooked up the positive door pin input and not the neg. door trigger input. Not sure what to use for the negative door input.

Thanks for the help in advance!

Matt

What model of Autostart? Is car a two door or four door?

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Sorry, the car is a 4 door. the Model of Autostart is a GS-LCD5.

thanks!

Your vehicle only has 1 Starter so the 2nd output is not used. You do have 2 Ignitions that need to be powered up (RED / Light Green & BLACK/ Green) at the ignition switch.

Your door trigger is + (you won't use the - door trigger on your RS unit)

I am not familiar with AutoStart products but you might check to make sure there isn't a Neutral Safety wire that needs to be grounded for the unit to start. I know this is the case with all DEI (Avital, Viper, Python, etc) platforms. If this wire doesn't see ground it will not let the remote start power up.

yes, if I remember correctly the AutoStarts have a NSS wire that needs to be grounded. Make sure the hood is closed when trying to start. Door status should not matter.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

First, thank you very much to both of you, this has given me some new things to try tonight. I will move the jumper to 2nd ignition wire and hook that up as advised. I have attached a picture of the wiring schematic for the Autostart and was hoping you could advise as to which wire might be the Neutral Safety wire. Sorry for the writing all over it but the autostart website isn't working right now and thats all i have. posted_image

Try grounding the orange wire (parking brake -), hook up your 2nd ignition and then try again!!!!

I have tried to access AutoStart's website a few time today to review your installation diagram but haven't had any luck. When you push the RS activation button on your remote does your ignition on the car power up at all? Even without the 2nd ignition the other wires should power up, the vehicle just won't start. If the ignition and acessory wires coming from your RS unit don't power up then something is keeping the unit from triggering the event - which would be consistant with either not having the NSS wire grounded.

If grounding the orange wire doesn't work then make sure your brake input is seeing + all the time, it should only see + when the brake pedal is pushed.

exactly what he said. I would also say the parking brake (-) input is probably being used as the NSS. And like he said, if the ignition is power up in the car then the r/s is activating properly. Otherwise its an input issue with the starter.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

I have now grounded the orange wire (slapped my forehead for that one!) but still nothing. When i press the rs button on the remote nothing happens at all in the car, however when i press lock or unlock the lights blink so i know the remote is working and within range. I did check the wire coming from the brake switch and it only sees 12 volt when pressed.

Check your hood pin input and make sure you are NOT getting a ground signal on that wire while trying to remote start. You can also read through the install manual for the starter and see if there is a wire that has anything to do with neutral safety. What does it say by the wire you have crossed out on the top of the list in the bottom right corner of the diagram you posted? Also check the manual for that purple EXT Trigger input and see if that needs to be grounded for start.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

One more thing I noticed. It appears that that unit may be adaptable for both a standard and automatic transmission. See if there is a loop or wire to cut, or a programming option that you have to activate / cut / alter in order to bypass the manual transmission sequence.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

the writing i have crossed out is for glow plugs. There is a loop of wire on the unit that would make sense if it were to be cut in the event of a certain type of transmission. The manual which pretty much consists of the 2 pages i sent you does not mention this wire loop at all and also doesn't mention a neutral safety wire either. How would i know if the wire loop needs to be cut for auto or manual? thanks again for all of your help.

Its a tough call, but I would say to cut that loop. On every unit I've ever seen with a loop, that loop had to be cut for an auto trans. Worse comes to worse you can solder it back together, its just a little bit of a pain to strip the wires. I would go ahead and cut that and see if it works. You can also check on the back of the actual brain in the vicinity of that loop and see if it has any labeling in the actual brain.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

getting closer!! so i cut the wire and now it receives the signal and the parking lights flash 3 times slowly which indicates it did not detect a tach signal. should i have 12v coming from the tach wire at all times or just when it's running?

neither. The tach signal should register as an alternating voltage depending on the rpm. Connect your tach wire to any odd colored wire on one of the coils / injector. You will see a common wire between each injector / coil, and one odd colored.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

Make sure to program the tach signal once you get it connected.

I am heading to bed now but if you still need help come morning I'll be back. Good luck with everything.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

TACH TAN / YELLOW (AC) @ IGNITON COIL

i originally had it connected to the tan / YELLOW at the coil but no luck so i switched to offroadzj's suggestion of picking an odd color wire. same light flashing sequence indicating bad tach signal. The tach programming seems to have gone off without a hitch though.

Try changing the programming to voltage just to see if it is indeed the tach signal. If so then go back to the tach and see if there is a tach threshold on the unit. You may need to change that setting.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

I was unable to find a voltage setting in programming. I have tried changing the jumper to both normal and high threshold. when i check with the multimeter i get between 11 and 13 volts reading from the tach wire.

Does the ignition energize when you RS?

Your tach won't keep the ignition from energizing and the RS attempting to start. If your ignition isn't even energizing when you try to RS then you have 1 of 3 problems:

1) 1 or more of your connections are wrong or loose
2) You have a shut down wire receiving a shut down signal
3) Your RS is faulty

Disconnect all the shut down wires (hood pin & brake) leaving only your ignition wires in tact. Try to RS - if your ignition does not even energize then you have a problem with your RS unit. Check to make sure all power wires going to the RS unit have power on the other side of the fuse holder, I would check at the RS plug.

1) Isn't the OEM hood switch NC when the bonnet is shut?
2) Tach should be 2-5volts AC with your DMM set to 20VAC.
3) Never ever had any problems with the UK equivalent (Ford Mondeo).
4) Check the voltage from your ground point to all the 12 volts constant inputs. 20VDC range.
5)There's a wire marked activation input. Flash that a couple of times to see what happens.
6) Try to activate with your remote, meter the ign and starter R/S outputs to see if they are putting out the voltage.
Surely if everything was OK bar tach this would run for up to 15 seconds and then shut down OR try to run with the starter engaged.
Have you connected the starter/cut anti-grind relay as shown in the diagram correctly.
Do your ignition lights come on at all?
Doesn't at least a door trigger (neg) have to be connected/grounded to program?

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

Ahh... shame on me, I misread your post regarding the latest workings. I assumed that the ignition components were coming on but if you are only getting the 3 flashes then it may not necessarily be the tach signal. I would still change it to voltage until you get it working to eliminate the tach as a problem for now. It seems odd that the lights are flashing 3 times to indicate a tach signal issue unless it wasn't programmed initially (and is a requirement for the starter).

Is the ignition / acc components coming on at all or is it literally ONLY flashing the lights 3 times?

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

Does any know where a download for this remote start manual is?? I looked on the AutoStart web site, It is working now, but could not find this model.

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Well, now that their site is working again I was able to find out that the only paperwork I got was a quick installation guide for a manual only system and that's why it had no mention of the yellow loop. I think I have located the manual for what looks like my system, has the programming for the auto transmission and has a full install guide instead of the 6 page pamphlet I have been using. I will try a few things and post my results. Thanks again to everyone helping me out.

So, with the new manual (proper manual) I was able to see that the 3 light flashes meant a problem with the wire loop or the parking break wire connected. Last night I had cut the loop as per offloadzj's suggestion but it still wasn't working. After seeing this new diagnostic description for the light flashes I went out and cut the parking break wire and it fired up and ran perfectly. I left it for a couple of minutes to ensure that it stayed running. Thank you all very much for all your attention to my problem and for all the help and suggestions along the way. My mom is very happy now that her Christmas present is actually useable! Happy holidays everyone!