remote start, 2007 nissan armada

I am thinking of installing a Viper 5301 with a FLCAN on a Nissan Armada 2007.

After reading up on the documentation.. these are the basic steps I've come up with.. Am I missing anything? Should be considering a different bypass?

1. Get a flashlogic
2. get a viper 5301
3. Get the flashlogic firmware updated (ebay sells them preprogrammed if you find the right vendor)
4. install flashlogic - only 4 wires needed
4a. Connect CAN-high to BCM
4b. Connect CAN-low to BCM
4c. Connect security light to BCM (cut)
4d. Connect ignition input to ignition output of viper 5301
4e. Connect DBI to viper 5301 (do I need a special cable?)
5. Connect viper 5301
5a. Connect ground wire
5b. Connect 12v constant
5c. Connect starter wires
5d. Connect accessory wires
5e. Connect ignition wire??
6. Program bypass to copy a transponder
7. Program viper 5301

Did I miss any critical step? Are there any features which I will lose out on using a flcan?

thanks!

That sounds about right. Is your Armada a regular key or Intelligent Key? On the Intelligent Key model, there's a (hard to get to) wire that you have to interrupt, to allow you to turn the ignition knob and do takeover after remote starting.

As far as your other questions:

---FLCAN should come with correct data cable to plug into Viper. (Next time I use an FLCAN, I'll check for you to make sure.)

---DEI (like many manufacturers) still hasn't gotten data-to-data to work correctly all the time. You can do your installation with the data cable, but test everything before putting the car together or tying your remote-start brain into place, and be prepared to redo everything wire-to-wire in case the product wasn't made properly.

---You forgot to put parking lights on your list of connections. FLCAN (I think) gives you brake, but the lights you still have to hook up yourself. (See the row of switches on the dash panel to the left of the steering wheel? After you get the dash off, behind that area is an unused connector. I think it's for trailering or something. It has both brake and parking lights in there.)

---I'm pretty sure the 5301 doesn't offer an onboard starter output. You'll probably want to buy/have on hand a relay so you can wire up the second starter the right way. (Yes, the car will still work if you just jump the two starter wires together, but that's not considered proper installation technique.)

---If you find it difficult to connect the CAN wires at the BCM, you can also get them in the underdash OBDII connector. You'd still have to go to the BCM to get the security light wire. As long as the ignition is off, it's OK to unplug the BCM connector to make things easier. (If you have Intelligent Key, no security light interrupt is required.)

---The ignition wires at first appear impossible to work with. Reach up there, test your wires, make notes, and then you can turn the key off, unplug the connector, and stretch the plug down by (carefully!) pulling on it. You'll get just enough slack to make your connections.

Thanks Chris!

I have the regular key one. The Armadas use intelligent key systems in 2008. This might also be the case for Titans as well.. not positive.

I currently have a Bulldog DIY installed.. what a POS...

For the Armada, the ignition/starter/accessory wires funnel upwards behind the instrument cluster. I've taken the cluster out and it's much easier to tap the wires there. Also, there is a lot of room to hide the remote starter and possibly the bypass behind the instrument cluster.

I went ahead and placed the order for the Viper 5301 and flcan64 (preprogrammed by the vendor).

Can you go into more depth on the starter wires? Why are there two? The bulldog's documentation did make me jump the two wires together which seemed odd but it did indeed work. There's probably reason why they are separate to begin with.

Just for curiosity sake, what is the preferred D2D for bypass/door locks combination modules?

For me, D2D is never preferred. W2W will always give you a more reliable setup. Esspecially when it comes to DEI (their D2D can be very unreliable). Doing the install w2w only adds a few minutes onto the prep time and can save you a lot of headache with troubleshooting down the road. Yes you can jumper the 2 starter wires together, but like you said they are separate from the factory for a reason... so you are better off using a relay to connect the 2nd starter. Wire the relay as follows:
Pin 85 to fused 12v constant
Pin 86 to (-) 200ma 2nd starter output of Viper
Pin 30 to fused 12v constant
Pin 87 to vehicle 2nd starter wire.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

Thanks! That's easy. I will pick up an automotive relay w/ harness.

As my curiosity continues.. who makes the more reliable remote starters out there that do not have the D2D compatibility issues?

I will also get the inline fuses.. probably not the harness.. looks like I can just connect to the relay without them.

It's been a while since I posted but I finally started the installation of this remote starter.

The FLCAN has been programmed per instructions. I was able to get it to memorize one of my key's transponder.

Currently, I cannot program "Automatic transmission mode". I believe it is in "MTM" at the moment by default. When I insert the key, turn to "on" and back to "off", I immediately hold down the valet button but the LED never flashes and I do not hear the horn (see question about the horn below). So I cannot do the rest of the steps. Any suggestions on this would be helpful...

A few questions:

The FLCAN has a pink wire which is the ignition wire which needs to connect to the remote starter's ignition wire. The remote starter's igntion wire is a big gauge wire.

-Do I connect it to this wire in lieu of connecting it to the ignition wires of the vehicle?
-Or connect both to the vehicle's ignition wire?

The horn and parking lights do not work.

-Do I need to connect these to work? The FLCAN is able to lock and unlock my doors but I am not sure if it controls the horn and parking lights as well via BCM or it's a separate wiring.


-Jon

Extrapolating from the FLCAN diagram, the horn and parking lights need to be wired. No biggie on the parking lights.. finding the horn wire on the other hand...

You can connect the FLCAN ignition directly to the remote start ignition wire (Pink). Horn and parking lights require manual connections as far as I know the FLCAN does not control either. Neither connection is required for remote start; they are both "convenience" connections. Basically if the parking lights are not connected, they will not flash with lock/unlock and not come on during remote start (although if the vehicle has factory auto headlights, they will probably come on anyways). The horn is there mainly for panic mode if desired.

There are a couple other connections required for the remote starter that I do see listed in your post. Looking quick at the FLCAN guide, they do not appear to be supplied by the FLCAN.
1) Brake input (small gauge brown on Viper) - Vehicle brake wire.
2) Neutral safety switch (BLACK/ white on Viper) - chassis ground directly or through toggle switch.
Also make sure that all other connections are made between the FLCAN and the Viper either by D2D or W2W (W2W is preferred)

As far as programming, its been a little while since I've manually programmed a DEI but I believe the cycle is:
1)Ignition On
2)Ignition Off
3)Press and release programming button.
4)Press and hold programming button til LED flashes the desired Menu number.
5)Press and release the programming button amount of times desired for Level Number within the Menu (3 presses for level 3, etc).
6)Press and hold programming button.
LED should flash equal to the Level number (3 flashes for level 3, etc)
7)Press button on remote corresponding to desired option.
8)Release programming button to advance through each menu (repeating steps 6-7 for each desired change)
9)When finished with a certain menu, press and hold programming button to advance to the next menu and repeat steps 5-8 for each menu as desired.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

Parking lights hooked up and working...

The horn wire appears to be really buried up there.

I get 7 flashes which indicates it's stuck in MTM mode.

Yep. I got the neutral safety switch installed and in the "on" position.

Going to hook up the brake wire now...

Still flashes 7 times and I cannot get into the "menu" system. Clicking the valet button doesn't do anything following your procedure or the ones in the manual. It seems like it's locked but my suspicion is that pink heavy gauge wire.


Primary Harness
H1/2 Red - 12v constant -> Vehicle Battery Positive Wire (+): Green
H1/5 Black - ground -> Common ground bolt on frame
H1/11 White - Parking lights -> Connected to parking light wire at dimmer switch

Heavy Gauge
H3/1 Pink - Ignition 1 input/ouput -> FLCAN Pink Ignition input
H3/2 RED / White - (+) FUSED (30A) IGNITION 2 / FLEX RELAY INPUT 86a -> Vehicle Battery Positive Wire (+): Green
H3/3 Orange - Accessory Output - > Vehicle Accessory 1
H3/4 Violet - Starter Output -> Starter 1 and 2 (I have the relay but misplaced it so I need to either find it again or go buy another one)
H3/5 Red - (+) FUSED (30A) IGNITION 1 INPUT -> Vehicle Battery Positive Wire (+): Green
H3/6 Pink/White - (+) IGNITION 2 / FLEX RELAY OUTPUT 3 -> Vehicle Ignition Wire (+): BLACK/ Red
H3/7 Pink/Black - FLEX RELAY INPUT 87A key side (if required) -> NOT CONNECTED
H3/8 RED / Black - (+) FUSED (30A) ACCESSORY/STARTER INPUT -> Vehicle Battery Positive Wire (+): Green

Remote Start input, 5 pin
H3 Brown - (+) BRAKE SHUTDOWN INPUT -> Brake switch at the pedal


Other
12. Neutral saftey switch toggle set to "on"

https://www.acsdistributors.com/uploads/techinfo/viper/manuals/5301v%20Install.pdf

The manual states that in order to program it out of MTM mode, the heavy gauge pink wire needs to be installed. However, it is not connected to the vehicle but connected to the FLCAN. Could that be my problem?

Yes, that is your issue; the Pink ignition wire off the Viper needs to go to your vehicle ignition wire. Then the pink ignition wire on the FLCAN will tie into that wire. It is not a direct connection just between the 2. Then connect the pink/white to your accessory 2 wire in the vehicle and set the programming option to 2nd accessory.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

That worked. I was able to get into the menus.

I must have tried it several dozen times but I was not able to get the program out of MTM mode.

Is it possible it's locked?

Did you confirm the menu and level selection by the LED? Did the LED flash the correct number of times for the AT option after pressing the remote?

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

Yes... at least that's what the manual says is the menu for AT.

I would hold the button down, it would flash once, pause, flash twice, pause, flash tree times... let go. Hit the button once and release. Hit the button and hold, flash once. Click unlock and get two flashes. Let go of valet button. Cycle "on/off" ignition.

It sounds like you are programmed correctly. What exactly is happening when you try to remote start it? Are the other functions working properly (locks, parking lights, etc)

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

The door locks and unlocks properly.

Parking lights flash with the lock and unlock function.

The parking lights also flash when it flashes 7 times when I attempt to remote start.

The trunk release does not work however. The Nissan armada has an automatic lift gate so I don't know if it is compatible with that or not.

When I unlock the doors, the valet LED flashes. When I open the door, the valet LED stops flashing.. so it seems to know the door pins.

Is there a factory reset on the unit that I can do without a bitwriter?

What do you have the BLACK/ white neutral safety switch wire connected to? Did you successfully learn the tach signal?

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

The neutral safety switch is connected to a real toggle switch. (maybe i'm confusing that with something else...)

I started the car with the key.. it did not learn the tach signal. I believe it's supposed to light up a solid red LED when it's learned the signal but it never happened.

Check your tach connection. Where do you have it connected? Also, verify that you are getting a solid ground signal on the BLACK/ white neutral safety wire at the actual unit (verifying that the switch is good). Finally, where do you have the unit grounded?

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

I do not have the tach wire hooked up. I am attempting to use virtual tach.

I will double check the BLACK/ white neutral saftey wire. If it is not hooked up, I believe all I have to do is ground the wire.

There is a ground bolt near the steering column where a bunch of other wires are grounded to it. I am unscrewing this bolt and adding the remote start ground wires to it.

Connect an actual tach. Virtual tach is unreliable and can cause starting issues. This probably isn't causing your issue, but it can help prevent future issues.

Tachometer      NOT WHITE/ blue, black, or wht      ac      any ignition coil or fuel injector

Connect the tach, ground the BLACK/ white neutral safety switch, and make sure to use a proper sized ring terminal on the ground wire (don't just wrap the wire around the bolt).

Also, do you have the unit set for virtual tach in the programming menu or is it set to tach? Another thing you can test is to go through the MT sequence as if it were a manual transmission, and see if you can get it to start. If it starts after going through the sequence, then it did not program to AT mode. If it still does not start then you know that is not the issue.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205