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Ultra Start, Cannot Clear Tack Lockout

Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Security and Convenience
Forum Discription: Car Alarms, Keyless Entries, Remote Starters, Immobilizer Bypasses, Sensors, Door Locks, Window Modules, Heated Mirrors, Heated Seats, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=111207
Printed Date: March 29, 2024 at 9:45 AM


Topic: Ultra Start, Cannot Clear Tack Lockout

Posted By: iwannalearn
Subject: Ultra Start, Cannot Clear Tack Lockout
Date Posted: February 01, 2009 at 1:42 AM

I have installed an Ultra Start 1280-GX11 on a 1999 Stratus.  It does not have the factory alarm or security key.  (Key has a black cover.)  I am very frustrated.  I purchased the alarm off ebay (mistake, I know) and I had everything working just fine.  I am only using the remote start and the remote door locks.  Once I had all working, I needed to unplug it to re-route a wire under the brake pedal.  Now I keep getting a tach lockout condition (7 flashes) that won't clear.  I clear the unit, relearn the tach (get the horn honks and 3 light flashes that indicate the tach was learned), and try the remote and get the seven flashes again.  I called the person I purchased from, and he says to keep unplugging the unit, clearing, relearning....., and eventually it will clear itself out.  I have done this for about 4 hours now and am getting nowhere.  Is he jerking my chain?  Do I have a bad unit?  Is there an easier way to clear this out?  I am using the BLACK/ gray tach wire on a 4 cylinder engine.  I have tested and retested my grounds. Any suggestions? 

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Iwannalearn



Replies:

Posted By: tedmond
Date Posted: February 01, 2009 at 2:23 AM

if i ever reset a unit this is how i do it. unplug antenna, cut all power to the unit. using a wire or anything to short the negative and postive terminal. They say that electronics can hold onto a charge so i jus tshort it to get rid of it. my moms car used to have a ultra start. i had the same issue after having the car serviced at the dealer. i couldnt relearn tach and short the unit did the trick. i always do this to reset units so it works for me. try at own risk.





Posted By: tedmond
Date Posted: February 01, 2009 at 2:34 AM

try the tach connection BLUE/GRAY @ coil pack or injector.





Posted By: Chris Luongo
Date Posted: February 01, 2009 at 10:26 AM
I like tedmond's idea of shorting the unit's positive and ground inputs.....that works for a lot of stuff.

Also, make sure you have it unplugged for more than just a few seconds. Unplug it, go do something else for a few minutes, then come back.

Also, it might be interesting to set the unit for voltage-sensing mode, remote start the car a few times, let it settle down for a few minutes, then go back in and see if you can program it for tach again.

If all else fails, it just might work satisfactorily in voltage sensing mode anyway.




Posted By: iwannalearn
Date Posted: February 01, 2009 at 2:58 PM
I appreciate the help.  Here is what I have tried:  Switched tach to blue/gray wire at coil pack - No change.  Cut power to the unit, and grounded out any charges it may have held - tried this twice - no change.  Tried setting it to what Chris is referring to voltage-sensing mode - I assume this is what the programming instructions refer to as "tachless".  The instructions say there are two modes,  1 horn honk - tach, 2 horn hoks - tachless,  When I program, I find a third horn honk condition - not sure what that means.  My instructions say that for "tachless" there should be nothing connected to the tach wire.  I have tried all three modes with the tach wire hooked up, and all three modes with the tach wire unhooked, each time clearing out the unit between switches.  I am back to square one.  When I try the "tachless" mode with nothing connected to the tach wire, I always get the 7 flashes condition popping up before I can even start the car for a tach learn.  ie; I cannot get it to function in "tachless" mode.    As far as leaving it unplugged for more than a few seconds, two different evenings last week, I left it unplugged overnight and still got no change. 

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Iwannalearn




Posted By: iwannalearn
Date Posted: February 01, 2009 at 3:07 PM
One more thing I might add.  One of my resources, a CD I purchased from Car Alarm Pros, states that the tach input should vary with the RPM's.  I have yet been able to find a wire that does that.  All the tach wires I have used show an approximately 12 volt output on my multimeter.  I even pulled the plug out of the dash behind the tach and tried those leads.  Unless I had my voltage setting too high for a good read, none of those currents varied with rpm either.  I think I had the correct plug because the tach did not work when I had it unplugged. 




Posted By: 97gss
Date Posted: February 01, 2009 at 7:14 PM
To measure tach, set your meter to AC, not DC.




Posted By: customak47
Date Posted: February 02, 2009 at 7:51 PM

Have you done a system reset through the programming? If you haven't it is key on off on off on and hit program switch on antenna and let go, siren will chirp if you are in program mode. Then hit and hold program switch until siren chirps 3 times. then shut off key, wait 5 sec and start, siren will chirp 2 times if tach learned, 4 times for auto tachless.

**If the vehicle still does not start, check all connections and check for a factory installed

anti-Theft system. If the Anti-Theft prevents the vehicle from starting the remote start will

flash the park lights 7 times. The system does not have to be Tach learned if this

happens, simply start the vehicle with the key and let it run for 5 seconds then turn off.

Do you have the black or grey key?



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My rifle is my friend...




Posted By: iwannalearn
Date Posted: February 03, 2009 at 5:50 PM
I have the black key. There is no factory alarm. When I speak of "clearing out the unit", I am referring to the system reset. Each time I do this, I get the chirps and light flashes indicating tach is "learned", but when I try the remote, I get the seven flashes condition again. What puzzles me is that it worked initially with 8 to 10 successful starts from the remote, until I unplugged it to reroute the wires. I have retested all the connections at the plugs to the unit, and all seem to be getting a signal. I spoke with the company I purchased it from again today, and they are going to swap it out with a new unit for me to try. I will post the findings. Thanks for all the help thus far!




Posted By: 97gss
Date Posted: February 03, 2009 at 7:59 PM

iwannalearn wrote:

I have the black key. There is no factory alarm. When I speak of "clearing out the unit", I am referring to the system reset. Each time I do this, I get the chirps and light flashes indicating tach is "learned", but when I try the remote, I get the seven flashes condition again. What puzzles me is that it worked initially with 8 to 10 successful starts from the remote, until I unplugged it to reroute the wires. I have retested all the connections at the plugs to the unit, and all seem to be getting a signal. I spoke with the company I purchased it from again today, and they are going to swap it out with a new unit for me to try. I will post the findings. Thanks for all the help thus far!

I may be misunderstanding what you posted, but once you do the system reset, you have to perform tach learn all over again (start car, led's on antenna stays on, and lights on the car stay on until the unit learns the tach signal).  After do that, you should be able to remote start the car. 





Posted By: iwannalearn
Date Posted: February 03, 2009 at 9:33 PM
Thanks 97gss. I did not write that very well. I do the system reset, and get the three horn honks and light flashes indicating it is cleared out. At this point I have tried both leaving the key remaining on, and also shutting the key off before starting. I then start it and get the two horn honks and light flashes indicating the tach is "learned". I let it run a few (20) seconds, shut it off and try the remote. I get the 7 flash error code after trying the remote. Repeat, same result, repeat same result, reset, unplug, plug in, tach learn, try remote, same result, etc, etc. I have just come from messing with it again, and I have removed the module to send in for an exchange. As I stated, I will post the results of the exchange.




Posted By: husr
Date Posted: February 08, 2009 at 7:44 PM
i also purchased the ultra start1280 gx-11 from ebay, i won the bid for $32.00. i installed it in a 1998 toyota corolla.. i had the same problem with the 7 flashes = tach lock out. i thought i had the right tach wire off the engines ignition coil. i spend 4 hours reseting alarm, double checking my wiring, etc... after poking the different wires on the ignitions coil with my digital meter, i finally found the right tach wire(blue/red)... now everything is working properly. i closed hood and made sure pin was installed correctly and it felt good when it started...




Posted By: wiringfool
Date Posted: February 12, 2009 at 11:05 PM
yes very important note hood must be closed when tach learning unless no hood pin or unpluged

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wiringfool eieioztztzt




Posted By: iwannalearn
Date Posted: February 14, 2009 at 7:08 PM
I got the exchange part from the seller.  Put in on and RATS!!, same problem, no change.  I played around more with the two different tach wires and tried an injector wire, but no luck there either.  I went back to square one, unplugged the unit, and started testing all the wires at the connecter plug to see if I had the correct signal there.  What I discovered was that of the two red constant 12V wires on the unit, one of them had constant current and one of them had current only with the ignition on.  What I had done was mistakenly treat one of these as a second ignition wire, instead of as a second constant 12 volt wire.  Each of these wires showed 30 amps in the Ultra Start instructions, so I talked to the vendor again, and he said I could just wire the two together and hook to the same source.  Walla!  I'm back in business.  What still befuddles me a little bit is that the unit worked for several starts when I first completed the install, and then quit when I unplugged to reroute the wires, but I suppose there could be several reasons for that.  Thank you everyone for all your good suggestions.  I love this site!!!  I think I have compteted two installs now - my first and my last!  :-0  

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Iwannalearn





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