Here’s my question:
Is anyone aware of a way to have a relay that closes any time the Compustar proximity fob is within rfid range of the antenna?
Here’s my “why”:
I’ve got a Compustar remote start/security system on my car and it uses their newest T13 remote with the proximity sensor to automatically unlock the doors when you get within 6ish feet of the car. I installed on a 2017 Nissan Altima with push-to-start. Did the install myself despite many naysayers on multiple forums saying it wasn’t possible without access to their “authorized installer” portals and what not.
Anyways, this is the first vehicle I’ve owned with a “chipped” key that I’ve put a remote start on and I’m already noticing a major inconvenience. I’m the type person who hates having things in my pockets unless it’s something I need. I like my key rings to be as minimalistic as possible. So in the past when I’ve installed remote starts/keyless entry I’ve just ditched the old fob for the new. Well apparently that’s not possible since you need your factory fob to take over the vehicle that’s been remotely started. To me this defeats the purpose to a degree.
My work-around to this is to have a spare fob with the battery removed hard-wired (with a 12v-3V converter) and hidden under the dash. I would wire it to an out-of-sight, “hidden” momentary switch which triggers a timed relay which I would press once I entered the vehicle and it would give me a set amount of time to start the vehicle before it times out (we’ll say 60s for example). I was going to have the fob powered by a momentary switch and then an accessory 12v source so that you had to press the switch to start the car but then it stayed powered until the vehicle was shut off, but a lot of times I make errand stops where I’m only out of the car for 30 seconds or so and I use the turbo timer feature to keep the car running but I don’t have to worry about it getting stolen. So having the accessory 12v power the fob would allow anyone to jump in and take it over if it were running.
So then I got this bright idea…what if I were able to utilize compustar’s proximity feature and use that to trigger a relay which would power the hidden keyfob for the entire duration that my Compustar remote was within proximity of the antenna, which would solve my above mentioned issue and also remove the need for any switches.
I looked in the manual and there’s no auxiliary options to be triggered by proximity. So does anyone have any experience with these proximity antennas and fobs to know of a way for me to do this? I know this wouldn’t be a manufacturers ideal use for this feature because of the liability and safety concerns with leaving a fob in the vehicle, but this still seems like a big missed opportunity on their behalf based on tons of other uses I could think of. For example walk-up lights to provide light to see where you’re stepping when within a few steps of your vehicle. Or like my buddy’s F250 that has the electronic flip down running boards…have them flip down when within proximity range rather than waiting until you open a door.