scytek 2000rs, brake trigger

I just installed a Scytek 2000 remote starter system in my 2004 Ford Expedition. Everything seems to be connected correctly (checked about 5 times now), but the remote starter refuses to activate.

There is a limited troubleshooting section in the very poorly written manual. According to this, the parking lights will flash to indicate why the remote starter is not working. I get 4 flashes, indicating "Brake Trigger Activated." My guess is that this means that the system thinks that the brake pedal is pressed. This should put 12v+ into the brake light wire going to the module. Not only does this wire not have any power, I even temporarily disconnected it and still nothing.

Is there another meaning for "brake trigger" that I am missing?

Grant Fish

I believe that Scytek's wiring guide for the 2004 Expedition may be incorrect. I tested the wire identified as "starter output" (pink/blue in the ignition harness) during starting with a key. It is dead until the engine starts, then is 12V+. If this was the starter wire, this would mean that the starter would be running constantly.

This test was with the remote starter unit disconnected. That is the way that the wire behaves with the remote starter out of the picture.

This makes me wonder what else might be wrong with their wiring guide.

Grant Fish

12 VOLT CONSTANT   LIGHT GREEN/ PURPLE (+)    IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS      STARTER RED / LIGHT BLUE (+)   IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS      STARTER 2 N/A       IGNITION 1 BLUE/LIGHT GREEN (+) IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS    IGNITION 2 N/A        IGNITION 3 N/A        ACCESSORY /HEATER BLOWER 1 BLACK/ LIGHT GREEN (+)   IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS      ACCESSORY /HEATER BLOWER 2 N/A        KEYSENSE N/A        PARKING LIGHTS ( - ) N/A        PARKING LIGHTS ( + ) BROWN (+)   @ HEADLIGHT SWITCH or in DRIVERS KICK PANEL      POWER LOCK PINK / YELLOW (TYPE B)   @ VSM, See NOTE *1      POWER UNLOCK PINK/LIGHT GREEN (TYPE B)   @ VSM, See NOTE *1      LOCK MOTOR WIRE PINK/BLACK (+)   IN DRIVERS KICK PANEL or VSM See NOTE *1      DOOR TRIGGER BLACK/ LIGHT BLUE (+)   IN DRIVERS KICK PANEL      DOMELIGHT SUPERVISION USE DOOR TRIGGER, Requires Part #775 Relay        TRUNK RELEASE WHITE/ PINK (+) See NOTE *2, Requires Part #775 Relay   @ VSM, See NOTE *1      SLIDING POWER DOOR N/A        HORN DARK BLUE (-)   @ VSM, See NOTE *1      TACH Any wire that is NOTE RED / LIGHT GREEN   @ IGNITION COIL PACK      WAIT TO START LIGHT N/A        BRAKE LIGHT GREEN (+)   @ SWITCH ABOVE BRAKE PEDAL      FACTORY ALARM DISARM   N/A        ANTI-THEFT FORD'S SECURILOCK ANTI-THEFT TRANSPONDER SYSTEM   TRANSPONDER @ IGNITION SWITCH TUMBLER    

Are the notes anything to worry about? Since they are all after wires at the VSM, I assume that the note is just telling me where to find the VSM. I already know that.

 I don't really care about the trunk release, dome light, or the horn, I just want the remote starter to work.

Also not sure what the "LOCK MOTOR" entry is supposed to correspond to. I have the lock/unlock working. Why would the remote starter need to have input from the lock motor?

I have read something about needing to "wake up" a GEM module. Wouldn't unlocking the doors do this? Even if I have to use the remote to unlock the doors before I activate the remote starter I am OK with this.

Sorry for the rookie questions. I used to work on stuff more complicated than this for the Air Force and then fixing standby generators so I am no stranger to sorting out massive wiring harnesses. However, I did have the luxury of having reliable tech info and not needing to bring together one-size-fits-all stuff like remote starters where half of the connections don't actually have any purpose.

I have to admit that I bought this unit for my wife LAST Christmas and I am just now getting around to installing it. I am just a few days short of making her wait a full year before getting to actually use it (and it's pretty cold in Ohio right now). Did I buy a piece of junk? I don't see the Scytek brand mentioned much in this forum that is obviously mostly professional installers. The "almost right" tech manual and overall design seem to suggest that this isn't really the best product.

Grant Fish

The lock motor wire is sometimes used to trigger the remote start from the factory remote. Your scytek unit might have a wake-up feature in the programming section,it sends a pulse to the ignition wires to wake up the gem module. Scytek is a reliable unit if installed properly! Did you ever get it to start?

I did get it to start (turns out only the starter wire was actually wrong). I don't know how long it takes the GEM to actually sleep so I haven't verified that works but everything else seems to be fine. If turning on the ignition will wake up the GEM then we should be fine. The ignition gets turned on for about a second before the starter engages.

One last amateur question: Does the bypass module eliminate the need for the expensive and bulky smart keys? We live in a pretty safe area and this car is too old to be a high-value target for thieves so I would rather just use plain old keys. There are 4 drivers in our family. I know that if I have 2 valid keys I can buy the smart key blanks online and program them after I get them cut, but I also don't like carrying around that bulky key with the 25 others on my key ring already.

Grant Fish