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no info for my car, what to do?


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i am an idiot 
Platinum - Posts: 13,667
Platinum spaceThis member consistently provides reliable informationspace
Joined: September 21, 2006
Location: Louisiana, United States
Posted: December 27, 2009 at 12:17 PM / IP Logged  

There have been several requests for vehicle info that does not exist.   For a remote start unit, all the unit does is imitate the key being placed into the cylinder and then turned to first the Accessory position then to the On position and then to the start position.   In order to accomplish this, you need to identify every wire that connects to the ignition harness at the key.  I suggest that you identify evey wire because there are sone vehicles that will be damaged if not all ignition wires are powered up during a remote start episde.  Some vehices could have up to 3 separate  wires that need power for the Accessory portion, as well as up to 3 ignition wires.  There may be as many as 2 separate start wires also.

In order to identify the wires, you wil need a Volt/Ohm meter. AKA a Multimeter.   First wire we want to find is the constant 12 volt feed to the ignition harness.  Some people use this wire to power the remote start module and all of it's accessories.  I however prefer to run a suitable wire to the battery and fuse it properly AT the battery.  To find the constant wire, set your meter to the DC volts setting, if it is not an autoranging meter, set it to the 20 volt setting.  Now touch and hold the black meter lead to a known good ground.  Now touch the red lead to a wire in the ignition harness, notice the reading on the meter.  Check every wire to see how many read near 12 volts.  Write the colors down or draw a diagram of the plug and label the appropriate position(s) of the drawing.  If there is an accessory position on the vehicle, turn the key to that position.  Once again use the meter to identify the wire(s) that now have power on them that did not have power when testing earlier.    Label these wire(s) as accessory.  Now turn the key to the On position, and check the remaining wires.  The Accessory wires should still have power on them with the key in this position.  Once you identify the new wires with power, label them as Ignition.   To identify the starter wires, the key must be in the start position.  This means the starter will actually be turning, so you want to insert the red lead into one of the remaining unidentified wires in the harness.  Have the lead on the contact so that when you turn the key you can watch the meter.  After testing the first wire, remember to turn the ignition switch to the off position before attempting to test the next wire.  Some ignition switches will allow only one attempt to start unless it is reset to the off position.  Check all remaining wires as there may be more than one start wire.

Once you identify the accessory, ignition and Start wires, it is important to imitate these as closely as possible when under a remote start state.  If there are 2 accessory wires and your alarm only has one accessory output, ask us for assistance, but make sure you power both of them.  Same goes for all ignition wires.  If you fail to power one of these wires on certain vehicles, you will damage transmissions or other expensive components.  Once again you may have only 1 or 2 ignition wires from the remote start unit.  You may need 3.  Please ask for help with this.

Some vehicles require a keysense wire to be connected in order for the car to start.  Chances are this is not YOUR case, these vehicles are new and common, there will be info on this site for most of those vehicles.  If you need to find the keysense wire, Most keysense wires are negative wires.  You have 2 choices with the meter, the safest method would be to set the meter to the Ohms setting.  200 ohms scale if it is not an autoranging meter.  Touch and hold the black lead to a known good ground.  Now touch the other lead to one of the remaining wires.  Notice the reading, now insert the key into the ignition, no need to turn the key, just insert it into the cylinder.   Notice the meter reading now.  If it is near 0 ohms, this is probably your keysense wire.   Second method is to leave the meter on the 20 volt DC setting, this time attach the red lead to a known good 12 volt source.  Now touch the black lead to one of the remaining wires.  Notice the reading on the meter.  Now insert the key, if the meter now reads 12 volts or near 12 volts, this is your keysense wire. Some vehicles do not have such a wire and some that do have it do not affect the starting of the vehicle.   That should cover the wires at the ignition harness. 

Since you are under the steering column already, let's get the footbrake wire.  There should be a switch located near the hinge point of your brake pedal, it will either touch the brake pedal lever or be attached to it via a spring.  There should be 2 wires going to this switch.  One will have 12 volts on it at all times, the othe will have 12 volts only when the pedal is depressed.  That is the wire you need to connect to the footbrake wire of your remote start unit. 

Next will be the Tachometer wire.  Some units have an option known as Virtual tach.  This is basically a voltage sense wire that senses an increase in voltage because the motor is running which is turning the alternator.  Do yourself a favor, look for a tach wire.  This wire can be caught from a couple sources.  First and easiest to locate will probably be a fuel injector wire.  If the vehicle has multiple injectors, there are 2 wires on each injector.  There should be a common wire color that is found on every injector.  The other wire that is not the common color is the wire you want to tag for the tach connection to your remote start unit.   Second place is going to be the actual tachometer wire that supplies signal

This wire serves 2 functions, 1 is to let the remote start unit know that the motor is running so it does not try to start it again.  This is how the tach wire is far superior to virtual tach.  Secondly, if for some reason the engine over-revs, the tach wire tells the remote start unit to shut down to avoid mechanical damage to your powerplant. 

Your remote start unit calls for a hood pinswitch.  PLEASE install this switch.  You may ask, why is it necessary?  If you bing your vehicle to a mechanc to get the alternaror belt changed, while he is working on it, his child is sitting in your car and sees all the buttons on the remote for your alarm.  He pushes the one that starts your car, His daddy just lost fingers.   Even if you do your own mechanic work, that should be even more of a reason to install the switch. 

Clutch Bypass,  If you are needing to bypass a clutch, you must ask here for some info.  If we are assured that you have a manual transmission safe remote start unit we will help you with that.

howie ll 
Pot Metal - Posts: 16,466
Pot Metal spacespace
Joined: January 09, 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posted: December 27, 2009 at 12:36 PM / IP Logged  
Nice one. Can we lump this with Rookies seeking advice Mr Moderator as must read before starting?
i am an idiot 
Platinum - Posts: 13,667
Platinum spaceThis member consistently provides reliable informationspace
Joined: September 21, 2006
Location: Louisiana, United States
Posted: December 27, 2009 at 1:45 PM / IP Logged  

Edit.  I forgot to proofread.  To be added at the end of the tachometer wire paragraph.

Second place is going to be the actual tachometer wire that supplies signal to the tachometer in the instrument cluster.  It is usually available at the distributor of the vehicle also.  To test this wire to see if you have the right wire may require you test first with the meter set to DC volts, If no reading there, you may have to set the meter to the AC volts selection.  The voltage is a pulsating DC voltage, some meters have trouble reading it on one setting or the other.  I have yet to find a meter that would not pick it up on one or the other.  You are looking for a fluctuation in voltage that coincides with the engine RPM.  Faster revs will yield a higher voltage.  

Also on the footbrake wire, some vehiclessupply the switch with switched power.  So you may have to turn the ignition on to find the wire that is hot only when the brake pedal is depressed.


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