viper 5901 temp sensor

One of the reasons I bought the Viper 5901 was its ability to program the remote start based on temperature. My dog travels with me a lot and I wanted the AC to automatically maintain temp for him. After installing the alarm I realized as most have, that the temp readings are 10 – 15f  off from the actual cabin temp. I believe this is caused because the temp sensor ,(thermistor), is mounted inside the alarm enclosure and the circuit board gives off some heat.

(i am an idiot), thanks for posting the pics, here is the text to go with them,

One of the reasons I bought the Viper 5901 was it's ability to program the remote start based on temperature. My dog travels with me a lot and I wanted the AC to automatically maintain temp for him. After installing the alarm I realized as most have the temp readings are 10 - 15f off from actual cabin temp. I believe this is caused because the temp sensor, (thermistor), is mounted inside the alarm enclosure and the circuit board gives off some heat.

What I did to make the readings more accurate was to remove the sensor from the board and put it on the end of a 2' cable that I mounted near the center of the dash, underneath but not touching the dash directly. The readings are now within 1 degree of actual. The previous pictures should help explain what I did.

man, i sooooo wanna do this.  but i already have no warrantee as it is.  i'd hate to somehow ruin my 5901.

As you can see it is a pretty simple mod. It does require a low wattage soldering iron and preferably a solder sucking tool. Once you have the thermistor off the board the rest is easier. FYI there is no polarity to the thermistor.

I lifted the " you voided your warranty" sticker that covers one of the case screws with a razor blade and moved it to the side. I feel i could put the thermistor back on the board without it being obvious, if I needed to.  Then there is the issue of installing the alarm myself which I guess voids the warranty anyway so what the heck.

I have had Vipers in 4 of my own cars over the past years and installed another 6 and never had problems with the electronics.