cold weather blues , clutch bypass switch

So I have the Viper 5901 installed on a 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer, which was bought back in December. The alarm was installed in March, so this is the first real cold season its been through with me, and being a remote start. I was informed by a shop tech that some Viper dealers do not support installing the remote start on a manual transmission. I am wondering is this because of the risk of it being in gear. If so the alarm has a procedure that if activated it makes it really hard to leave it in gear. The shop that installed the alarm bypassed the clutch to the point that the car will start without me having to push the clutch in. I have been having problems with it cold starting early in the morning. I have tried it with the remote start, the key, with the clutch pushed the floor, not using the clutch, even allowing the car to roll. I thought maybe it was the battery, I brought it in, and had it tested, it was bad. Installed it on the car, and solenoid will click, but the engine wont turn over. I can leave the car in the heat for a few hours, go out and it will fire right up. I and left to wonder, could it be the starter going out? Could it be a sensor somewhere? A friend said switches tend to gum up when in extreme temperature changes, could this be disabling the clutch? I would think me pushing in the clutch would manually close the gate on the switch, and work. Right now its in the dealership, I just left there. The tech that is working on it, said that he came back from lunch walked out there and it fired right up, and he drove it on the ramps. He said the tests came back fine, and he did not know why it was in. Needless to say he is going to have to wait til morning to troubleshoot it. Could this be a switch on the clutch or something else? Sorry for the long post your reply's will be helpful! --Caley

First of all, your installer bypassed the clutch wrong. It should not start without pushing on the clutch. If I remember correctly, the last standard Mitsu I did required the clutch switch wire to be interrupted ("cut") when remote starting. This should be done with a relay so it only does it when remote starting. He probably just cut it. Who knows what other shortcuts the installer took. I would get it fixed. This could cause an accident if someone else is using the car that doesn't know it is bypassed. Second, it sounds like a sensor issue. Hopefully the tech is leaving the car outside so it gets cold so the problem reoccurs. If he leaves it inside, he may not see the issue show up.

Hi, thanks for your reply. I am responding to this via my cell phone so i apoligise ahead of time for any mistakes in my grammer or spelling. Yes the service Mgr made it clear to leave the car outside overnight to reproduce the problem. I would like to add that I did put a brand new battery on the car, so its vitals in the of the day are fine. So let suppose he did cut the wire, where could I find this wire and what color is it? Also i know there is a relay that is sold what is the part number? Is it as easy as putting the relay in line on the wire? Let suppose he put a relay, would it inthe fuse box under the hood? If it is the relay or switch getting cold in that fuse box, could I wrap that jox in a cloth to keep of warm at night? Or is that a fire hazard? Both of which successfully bypass the pre-programmed steps that DEI has installed in the brain to prevent remote starting while in gear. (You are supposed to put it remote start mode hy hitting the button on the remote before exciting the car). YES MY cais a hazard to anyone who does not know that its bypassed. There have been times its been started in gear, and it sounds wonderul while attempting to start. I hope it is a sensor, I would not be surprised if it is a cause of one of the techs shortcuts. I do have one more question though. When the tech installed the alarm he left the $60 revenger sound alarm off. He said that he did jot know how to wire it with the alarm... I know i am being jerked around, but if I can get some honwst advice I will finish the job myself.

Some manuals have a neutral switch. Alas I'm unsure about the Mitsus, but several Isuzus did. They were used for "coast enrichment" or some EPA improvement.

oldspark wrote: Some manuals have a neutral switch. Alas I'm unsure about the Mitsus, but several Isuzus did. They were used for "coast enrichment" or some EPA improvement.

I did a friend's Evo a couple years back. I looked over the ECU wiring and it did not have a neutral wire. I think it was a 2007.

JWorm wrote: oldspark wrote: Some manuals have a neutral switch. Alas I'm unsure about the Mitsus, but several Isuzus did. They were used for "coast enrichment" or some EPA improvement. I did a friend's Evo a couple years back. I looked over the ECU wiring and it did not have a neutral wire. I think it was a 2007.

So what does this mean for my situation? Can one be created? Or is there an alternative?

There are usually two switches with 2 wires each going to the top of the clutch. One is an input for the cruise control, the other allows the car to start. Look for one of those wires to be cut. You need to add a relay and it gets connected to the remote start.   A SPDT relay has 5 terminals. Attach one side of the cut clutch wire to 87a, the other side to 30. Connect constant 12v (fused) to 86, and the other side to the (-) starter output of the remote start. Its a skinny purple wire. No need to keep the relay warm. It can live in the cold. lol

caleygoff wrote: JWorm wrote: oldspark wrote: Some manuals have a neutral switch. Alas I'm unsure about the Mitsus, but several Isuzus did. They were used for "coast enrichment" or some EPA improvement. I did a friend's Evo a couple years back. I looked over the ECU wiring and it did not have a neutral wire. I think it was a 2007. So what does this mean for my situation? Can one be created? Or is there an alternative?

Nothing to worry about

JWorm wrote: There are usually two switches with 2 wires each going to the top of the clutch. One is an input for the cruise control, the other allows the car to start. Look for one of those wires to be cut. You need to add a relay and it gets connected to the remote start.   A SPDT relay has 5 terminals. Attach one side of the cut clutch wire to 87a, the other side to 30. Connect constant 12v (fused) to 86, and the other side to the (-) starter output of the remote start. Its a skinny purple wire. No need to keep the relay warm. It can live in the cold. lol

Pol I love your last remark there truely funny. Okay so where do these wires run? You said to the top of the clutch, does that mean the pedal? Or the housing under the car? Or is it in the steering column? Suppose, its under the dash above the pedal, the 12v source what is the best place to pull from? Should pull 12v from a lead already in use, how much power load can be put on one lead? thanks again

The relay will draw about .1 amps.   I would tap into the main power wire between the brain and the 15 amp fuse. You have to go there to get the (-) starter signal anyway. Its at the top of the clutch pedal...above your left foot.