viper 550 gone crazy

I had a Viper 550 installed in my wife's 99 Explorer when we found out we were having a baby.  Had the shop install it, my wife loved the thing.  Remote start to climb in a heated/cooled vehicle was the best thing since sliced bread during the cold Oklahoma winters and hot summers.  We eventually got tired of the Exploder and purchased an 03 Venture.  The dealership recommended a company to move the alarm from one vehicle to the other.  We paid $200 to have it moved, they said it would only take a couple of hours.

8 hours later they still had my car and finally said that it was ready.  My wife shows up and reads them the riot act about taking so long.  They offered her a free window tint, which we never used. (mainly because we didn't want them to touch our vehicle again)

Every thing worked fine for awhile, although they told us that we couldn't have the alarm control the power sliding door.  I have found out from these forums that you can.

Now I am having the following problems with my vehicle.  I wanted to run it by some people and see if you think it is a problem with the alarm or the vehicle.

1.  Drivers door unlock button doesn't work (all other buttons do)

2.  Remote start stopped working.  When you hit the remote start button, the vehicle goes through the paces, but never actually activates the starter.  It runs through the paces 3 times and stops.

3.  When the remote start did work, the climate control wouldn't run.  As soon as you put the key in the ignition, the climate control and the stereo would come on.

4.  Speed 3 quit on the climate control system. (middle speed)

I have never installed an alarm before, and the company that originally installed my system in the explorer has gone out of business.

Thank you in advance for your advice.

Here is a an initial take ont he issues you have explained.

1) Need more information, are you saying only 3 of the 4 locks operate with the remote, or only when using the factory controls?

2) This could be from a number of different causes. I would first check the starter wire fromt he RS. The connetion may have come loose. Bown Fuse?

3) Sounds like the installer may not have hooked up one or a couple of your accessory wires.

4) Sounds like te car to me.

1.  Drivers door unlock button doesn't work (all other buttons do)

the installer might have blew a fuse. if you cant ger doors to lock with the viper, its a wiring issue.

2.  Remote start stopped working.  When you hit the remote start button, the vehicle goes through the paces, but never actually activates the starter.  It runs through the paces 3 times and stops.

either blown fuse, unconnected tach wire will cause this issue.

3.  When the remote start did work, the climate control wouldn't run.  As soon as you put the key in the ignition, the climate control and the stereo would come on.

climate control works on ACC. they might have either missed it or wired it incorrectly.

4.  Speed 3 quit on the climate control system. (middle speed)

im sure ford uses resistors to adjust the blower motor speed or it could be a car issue which i doubt.

aziegler -

#1 The doors unlock from the remote fine, it is the actual button on the door that doesn't work.  Also rarely (usually on a very cold morning) the alarm will only unlock the drivers door.  Using the factory keyfob doesn't unlock any of the door either.  You can hear the locks activate, but they don't work.  To unlock the doors you have to use the passenger unlock button on the passenger's door.

The issues with this vehicle are getting rather annoying.  My wife is wanting to trade it off, but these conditions would detract from the vehicles value.  And we owe more on it than it is worth.  I would rather keep it for awhile until it is paid down more.  Not to mention she talked me into buying the damn doodietyolet, knowing that I have had nothing but troubles with the chevy's that I have owned in the past.  My ford expedition runs like a dream and always performs as expected. - Sorry to rant -

Where are the alarms usually installed?  Under the drivers dash right?  I will have to do some more looking but i looked quickly and didn't see anything that didn't look factory.  I will pull it into the barn and do some more searching.  Thanks for your help guys!

tedmond -

2.  Remote start stopped working.  When you hit the remote start button, the vehicle goes through the paces, but never actually activates the starter.  It runs through the paces 3 times and stops.

either blown fuse, unconnected tach wire will cause this issue.

    ?Unconnected tach wire? The engine doesn't even crank?  Would an unconnected tach wire do that?  It acts like it did when the hood was up on the exploder.  A safety feature to keep the engine from tearing your hands to shreds.

You should find the rs usually in the space above the drivers legs. If you don't emediatly see the unit, look for a wiring harness following your steering colomb.  You should find where t least several wires have been spliced in from your rs.   Follow them back to the rs unit.

For starters I would find the rs unit and unplug all the connectors from it. I would test these items that are not functioning, Locks, Heater fan etc. If they operate fine with the unit unplugged I think it would be the the unit or the wiring or the unit.

Unconnected tach wire? The engine doesn't even crank?  Would an unconnected tach wire do that?  It acts like it did when the hood was up on the exploder.  A safety feature to keep the engine from tearing your hands to shreds.

with an unconnected tach, the car can still start it its puton voltage sense. does the car ever remote start? if not it will be the installers job to fix it.