Post Your Ultimate Remote Start Tips, Tricks

Logic probes remind me -

Get "bed of nails" attachments for your meter.  You can test virtually any wire without actually cutting in to the wire - and you don't need to put tape over the small pin holes the probe uses.

Logic probes generally use LEDs and low current to test wires - they usually light a green LED and sometimes beep when they are attached to 12vdc and light a red LED and buzz when connected to ground.  They can be useful, but need to be connected to power and ground in the car.  I prefer just using a meter as it is more mobile and gives me numbers!

kpierson, you got a pic of the bed of nails attachment? i have never seen one for a DMM. i know what a bed of nails is, but attachment for dmm?

btw i like using a meter as well. there is actaul numbers like u mentioned.

What would stop the thieve from cutting the power at the battery in the first place?  I've never understood this arguement.  If they are going to go to the battery it doesn't matter if an alarm wire is there or not - if they cut the main power or ground it doesn't matter where you connected your alarm, its dead.  If a thief goes looking at the battery he isn't even going to bother looking for an alarm power wire anyway, he is going to cut the ground and go.

I ALWAYS put fuses at the battery of alarms (not remote starts though).  If you ever have a customer call from a parking lot and they can't get their car started you can have them pull the fuse.  It is much easier then a road trip or a tow.

The ones I have are similar to this, but probably cheaper.  They have the "bed of nails" and the spike.  For big wires I use the spike, little wires I use the bed of nails.  The set I have has a round hole on the probe end of it that my meter probe sticks in.  The meter probe has springy clips on it that holds the attachment, but you can easily pull it off to use the standard probe (and subsequently lose the attachment).

of course not every one does this. this is a tip to show you how to so something better than the "usual".

i thought this thread was to  post tips and tricks? all ive seen so far is nothing more that common sense type things.

tedmond, thats a silly idea. alot of alarms dont use those wires anyway for the alarm brain. nearly 60% of stuff out there uses those wires for the remote start 12v circuits only and have another smaller 18ga right on the brain for powering it and not the remote start circuits. besides like that matters anyway. if someone is gonna get under the hood to cut those wires there gonna just cut the main battery cables anyway so in that case......what good is an alarm? any alarm?

another thing, i can tell from reading some of your other posts is, you seem to be a good installer and have installed for a while (probably not near as much as an old turd like me, i can also tell from your posts your a young buck) and anyone who has done this for a while like the two of us, or anyone for that matter, knows that if someone wants your car, it doesnt matter what alarm system you have, they can just back up to it and tow it away in a matter of seconds. the things we install are merely to discourage and to warn of people trying to break in a remove items from inside. as far as preventing an entire theft.......they only thwart a rookie thief who is not gonna look under the hood to try and do any thing anyway.

Unless it's a VW 2006 Golf. The battery wire at the ign. harness is good for about 110 amps.

(there are others as well... just be smart, most diagrams will tell you when the amperage is TOO LOW to use as constant, for a remote start)