Remote start sets off alarm (sometimes)

Hi, I had this problem a while back, but the topic is old, and went off topic. I have more issues, now, and any help would be great. Here's the situation: I installed a Bulldog remote starter into a '97 Civic that had a basic Checkmate alarm installed already. When you would remotely start the car, the alarm would go off. So, we would disarm the car first, and then remotely start it. That was good, but then you couldn't use the keyless entry anymore while the car was running. Then (thanks to Omega), I installed 2 relays: one to interrupt the ignition wire and one to interrupt the shock sensor when the car was started/running. This works great because now you can remotely start it without disarming AND the KE works! BUT, this is only sometimes. It's quite annoying, because sometimes the alarm still goes off. For some reason, it seems to go off more if I use the bulldog remote rather than the alarm's remote (I attached the alarm's extra channel to the remote starter so she only needs one remote). Here's the diagram I used to bypass the Ignition and shock sensor. http://www.angelfire.com/nj4/cpgoose/rs2.html Now, when the alarm goes off, the LED blinks twice, indicating the hood/trunk. First off, there is no hoodpin, so that's not the culprit. I called Checkmate, and they said to put a diode on the alarm's trunk wire. I went to do so, and found that there was already a diode installed (1N4007 I think)...go figure. When I installed those two relays, I was told I could also put a diode across each coil on the relay, but I never did that. Could this be causing the problem? I guess I never thought that would prevent the car from starting or set off the alarm, it would only (possibly) cause a problem after the car was running. Do you think I could be getting some kind of voltage backlash that could set off the alarm? Thanks if you've read this whole thing

do you have the current sense on?? if so try turning it off. good luck, david

Hey, thanks for the reply. I called Checkmate again, just to see if they had any more suggestions, and that's actually something he said. Do you know what current sensing does, and how that could be setting off the alarm when the car is starting? I hope that's the answer. It was never a problem before, but then again, the car was never started while armed before. I hope the current sense is set to on, otherwise I'm in the same boat :)

current sense will detect a power draw ie a light turning on in the car. when you remote start your car with the alarm on, then the current sense may be picking up the draw inside of the car. like the radio or something else. the alarm can not see the car running while armed or it will trigger because it didnt receive a disarm command fron the transmitter. david

awesome, thanks david. I really hope this is the case! Like I said, it happens sometimes, and sometimes not...so maybe this is the problem <fingers crossed>

Most Bulldog starters have a disarm wire for alarms. If it does are you using it? Does the Checkmate have a disarm input. This allows the starter to completely disarm the alarm a second before attempting to start. Some also have a rearm output to rearm after the starter shuts down. If you absolutely want the alarm armed even while remote started. Maybe you should upgrade to a newer Bulldog starter/alarm combo. They automatically disable the shock sensor during start but the door triggers remain active and the shock sensor is reactivated after starter shutdown.

thanks for the reply, too, iskidoo. The Bulldog Starter only has a FASD wire, which I think only pulses negative on startup, and isn't constant. But on the other hand, too, the Checkmate alarm doesn't have a disarm input (I think). The first two images on this page are the diagrams for the Checkmate alarm, and the third image is the Bulldog Wiring Schematic.

Does just a press of the override switch disarm the alarm? Does the key have to be on while pushing? You may be able to use that as a disarm depending on how it is used.

Hmmm, I'd have to check (it's my girlfriend's car). I'm pretty sure you have to put in the key and turn it to the RUN position, and then hitting the valet button turns off the alarm. Hopefully this deal with the "current sense" is the problem, but this is a good backup.

i use the omega line. they seem much easier to work on