troubleshooting alarm, remote start

I would go with you don't have an alarmWhen all else fails, Read the Instructions

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smokeman1 wrote: I would go with you don't have an alarm

This issue has plaqued me from the start and now I have Dodge confirming that is has one and yet no sign of one...except that the car has an arm/disarm wire which also triggers the locks. There has to be a way to test that wire (ground it) to see if something happens. It is a negative trigger. Frustrating.

whether or not your car has a factory alarm is not really a big issue. if the arm and disarm wires also control the locks then just use those wires as the locks. if you in fact do have a factory alarm then it will arm and disarm with the new alarm. if you decide not to do that and just use the other lock wires then its still not a big deal but you might accidentally set off the factory alarm occasionally if you lock the car with the factory keypad and then unlock the car with the new alarm keypad. still not really a big deal. its not like the alarm wont work at all if you happen to not use the factory disarm.

The following is from the DB-ALL bypass programming instructions:

Roll down the drivers side window...close the door...lock the car with either the lock button on the OEM key fob or use the key in the door lock...WAIT 30 seconds...when the red light on the cluster starts to blink, open the door from the inside... Alarm triggered? Vehicle is equipped with a OEM Alarm...OR...Alarm not triggered. Vehicle is not equipped with an OEM alarm.

Maybe look in the owners manual that came with the car for information on the alarm as to what and how it works or what should happed if the OEM alarm is triggered.   Most of the OEM alarm I have delt with would flash the lights and blast the horn on and off.  If those things are not happening, most likely you do not have a OEM alarm. Just because someone on the phone says you have an alarm in a vehicle does not mean it is correct. 

When all else fails, Read the Instructions

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soundnsecurity wrote: whether or not your car has a factory alarm is not really a big issue. if the arm and disarm wires also control the locks then just use those wires as the locks. if you in fact do have a factory alarm then it will arm and disarm with the new alarm. if you decide not to do that and just use the other lock wires then its still not a big deal but you might accidentally set off the factory alarm occasionally if you lock the car with the factory keypad and then unlock the car with the new alarm keypad. still not really a big deal. its not like the alarm wont work at all if you happen to not use the factory disarm.

So you are saying that a remote start will start a car with the factory alarm armed? That throws me a little but regardless, like you said, it can't hurt to just use the arm/disarm wire to lock and unlock.

smokeman1 wrote: The following is from the DB-ALL bypass programming instructions: Roll down the drivers side window...close the door...lock the car with either the lock button on the OEM key fob or use the key in the door lock...WAIT 30 seconds...when the red light on the cluster starts to blink, open the door from the inside... Alarm triggered? Vehicle is equipped with a OEM Alarm...OR...Alarm not triggered. Vehicle is not equipped with an OEM alarm. Maybe look in the owners manual that came with the car for information on the alarm as to what and how it works or what should happed if the OEM alarm is triggered.   Most of the OEM alarm I have delt with would flash the lights and blast the horn on and off.  If those things are not happening, most likely you do not have a OEM alarm. Just because someone on the phone says you have an alarm in a vehicle does not mean it is correct.

I hear ya but a couple of things don't add up. For one the dealer used my VIN to verify that it has an alarm and secondly my wife said that a couple of times, after dropping off the car to be serviced, she 'scolded' for locking the door with the remote but only leaving them the key. So even though i cannpt replicate that alarm, it just adds to my doubts and makes me wonder if maybe when I programmed the transponder bypass that I messed with it.........or something.

All aside, if it doesn't matter then it is a none issue but like i said in the post above, that seems odd to me. I don't doubt anyone here, it just seems odd. This remote is a security system as well. 

what i mean by it not mattering if you have a factory alarm or not is because once you have the new alarm installed then you wont be arming the factory alarm anymore because you wont be using the factory keypad anymore. otherwise you still should be able to disarm the factory alarm with the key. by turning the key either in the door lock cylinder or the ignition switch, one or the other will disarm the factory alarm. still, to be safe, just use the factory arm and disarm wires instead of the normal lock and unlock and it will eliminate any possibility of the two alarms conflicting with each other. its not as hard as you are making it out to be.

soundnsecurity wrote: what i mean by it not mattering if you have a factory alarm or not is because once you have the new alarm installed then you wont be arming the factory alarm anymore because you wont be using the factory keypad anymore. otherwise you still should be able to disarm the factory alarm with the key. by turning the key either in the door lock cylinder or the ignition switch, one or the other will disarm the factory alarm. still, to be safe, just use the factory arm and disarm wires instead of the normal lock and unlock and it will eliminate any possibility of the two alarms conflicting with each other. its not as hard as you are making it out to be.

Thank you for the clarification. I plan on trying that tonight. As i said earlier, I thought I blew up the unit poking around on the bench but it seems that I was able to repair what I did. This gave me a chance to bench test the onboard relays and the ground while running out. They all work just as they should. This doesn't mean the RF portion of the board was ever good or if the remote itself is good but at least it tells me the relays were not stuck because of sitting around for 9 years. I have a test to see if the remote is transmitting, which I will try for ha-ha's if I cannot talk to the brain unit after wiring the arm/disarm.

I'm told that if I connect my current meter in circuit with the remote battery and press the button and it reads a draw, that the remote in hand is trying to communicate but the board isn't responding. This kind of stuff interest me and is my motivation more so than saving money.

I'll let you know how wiring the arm/disarm works when i try it and thanks again for all your help.

In spite of checking my wiring, i found out today that i managed to connect my door pin switches to (+) input into the remote brain. SInce the door pin switch grounds when the door is opened and the procedure for programming the remote to the brain requires an open door, it wouldn;t sync up. i swapped the wires and it programmed and subsequently started! Exciting stuff........

The transponder bypass from 9 years ago does not work though so in order to start it and keep it running, a key has to be in the ignition. i'll have to order a new one.

I have a new problem though. i can only lock the doors with the remote. I cannot unlock them so the alarm is getting activated when i open the door after unlocking it with the factory remote. i'm confused and will put off diagnosing the problem until I put a new transponder bypass in. i am hoping that it has something to do with it.

If anyone has any thoughts, i'd appreciate them. Could the lack of a transponder bypass affect the unlock. This car has one wire, triggered thru 2 parallel resisitors to seperate relays where the coils are controlled by the ground signal made from the remote brain when you press the lock/unlock key. i has only one key.

All in all today was a success.

smokeman1 wrote: Roll down the drivers window, close the door and lock it with the factory keyfob if you have one. Wait a few min, reach in the open window and open the door. If the horn honks and lights flash, factroy alarm. If nothing, I would try it all again and wait for 5 min or so. Bypass, I would look at Fortin INT-SL+. One key needed for programming, no key required for operation.

Hi smokeman1,

I was checking into the INT-SL+ and was wondering why it 'Allows control of electric door locks, factory alarm, parking lights, heated seats, tachometer output, etc '?

Do I have to rewire all I did or is this just an option? Curious as to why it is an option to have the bypass unit control door locks, etc?

Thanks