’05 altima remote start issue

I have been in my garage for hours trying to figure this thing out. 2005 3.5 Nissan Altima (AT), installing a Python 533 with a Xpresskit DB-ALL. The DB-ALL unit has been flashed by an authorized dealer for the use in the Altima. It seems to be working correctly, Door Locks, etc. But, the remote start is nothing. I have the two units connected via D2D and all connections seem to be correct...EXCEPT...the second starter wire. I have scoured the net and cannot get a definitive answer as to how this gets connected. Any help would be VERY apreciated as I am sitting in the garage as I type this, disgusted that I am at the road block. Thanks in advance for any/all help!

-Frank

Not familiar with the Python 533.  Can't find an install guide either.

Does it have a "Flex Relay" output?  Are you already using it on the ACC2 wire?

Does the Python have an output called (-) 200mA Starter Output or something like it?

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Soldering is fun!

I'm thinking your Python 533 might be like the Viper 5301 series...

2005 Altima
STARTER 2   BLACK / YELLOW (+)    @ IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS

If the Python has a Violet (-) Starter output, use a 30/40 Amp SPDT relay wired as follows :

Relay Pin 85 to Python Violet (-) 200mA Starter Output
Relay Pin 86 and Pin 87 to +12V Constant fused at 20 Amps
Relay Pin 30 to Altima Starter2 BLACK / YELLOW
Relay Pin 87A   not used

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Soldering is fun!

this vehicle has 2 starter wires, 1 ignition, 1 acc.

use a relay

85 - second start (-) from unit
86 - constant 12v
87 - constant 12v
30 - second start wire

i think the flex output is default for ignition, but can only be programmed for ign or acc.

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Ted
2nd Year Tier 1 Medical School
Still installing as a hobby...pays for groceries
Compustar Expert

It also goes by Python 5303 if that helps in location the installation guide. I don't see anything called "Flex Relay" output.

The Heavy Gauge Harness:

1. Purple - Starter Output to Starter (Starter Side)
2. Green - Starter Input From Ignition (Key Side)
3. Red - (+) 30A High Current 12V Input
4. Orange - Output to Accessory Circuit
5. Pink - Output to Primary Ignition Circuit
6. Red - (+) (30A) High Current 12V Input
7. Pink/White - Output to Second Ignition Circuit
8. RED / White - (+) (30A) High Current 12V Input

Currently (and this is where the problem is, I think), Orange wire is connected to the BLACK / YELLOW - Starter 2 wire. I'm pretty sure this is wrong. Any other details I can provide to solve this, let me know. Thank you..again!

Thanks guys,

as far as the relay goes, this is where I am confused...the Purple wire is currently connected to the BLACK/ Red Starter wire in the Altima.

Yes, the heavy gauge Purple wire goes to the BLACK/ Red wire, but is there a thin gauge Purple wire called (-) 200mA Starter Output from the Python?

1. Purple - Starter Output to Starter (Starter Side)        BLACK/ Red cut vehicle side
2. Green - Starter Input From Ignition (Key Side)         BLACK/ Red cut ignition switch side
3. Red - (+) 30A High Current 12V Input           Green
4. Orange - Output to Accessory Circuit            Red
5. Pink - Output to Primary Ignition Circuit        BLACK/ Red
6. Red - (+) (30A) High Current 12V Input        Green
7. Pink/White - Output to Second Ignition Circuit         N.U.
8. RED / White - (+) (30A) High Current 12V Input          Green

There are two BLACK/ Red wires at the ignition switch.  Use a Digital Multi Meter to determine which is the Ignition and which is the Starter1.

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Soldering is fun!

In the "Relay Satellite 4-pin connector" there is a Purple (-) 200mA Starter Relay TURN ON.

Is this the one that should work and be connected to the relay?

yes it is.

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Ted
2nd Year Tier 1 Medical School
Still installing as a hobby...pays for groceries
Compustar Expert

Thank you very much for everyone's help. I'll take a stab at this after work and post the outcome!

Hello. First, thank you again for the correct wiring of the second starter wire. I did hook it up, but the remote start is still not working. I am getting an icon on the 2 way remote stating that, "The remote start safety shut down icon indicates the vehicle may be in gear or other unsafe conditions inhibiting remote start operation." I should also note that this was also coming up before, when the wires were incorrect. I figured it was because of the wrong wiring. Anyone help on this one? I assure the car is not in gear and will start fine when using the key. Thanks again, you guys have been life savers so far.

Try running Shutdown Diagnostics.  Not familiar with Python but it sounds like the Neutral Safety or Hood Pin wire issue.

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Soldering is fun!

yea, sounds like a neutral safety switch or hood pin. Is your BLACK/ white wire connected to ground? Is the gray wire connected to a hoodpin and is the hoodpin functioning correctly. Test all of your connections for hood pin, neutral safety, brake at the actual unit to make sure nothing is receiving a false input.

What exactly happens when you try to remote start it?

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

I don't have either hooked up actually. According to the directions, both connections are taken care of by the D2D. I will point out that the Altima does not have a hood light and I would assume that would be what the DB-ALL box is looking for. Am I able to hook up the hood pin or neutral safety switch with D2D as well?

It does absolutely nothing when remote start is attempted, except the icon that appears on the 2 way remote. The icon, according to the manual, has the definition I listed above.

As a test, connect the Neutral Safety wire to chassis ground, plug in the Neutral Safety switch, put the switch in the ON position and try a remote start.

The Hood Pin is an important safety and should be installed.

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Soldering is fun!

I actually did try the Neutral Safety connection to ground last night, didn't work either. I figured it was worth a shot. As far as the Hood Pin goes, will that make a difference since the DB-ALL and the Python are connected through D2D?

Looking at xpresskit.com's feature list on that car, the neutral safety switch is not part of the D2D.. what is a part of the D2D is the parking brake status. So unless the parking brake was on, it would not be receiving the ground signal; which is most likely what is causing your issue. And as Kreg said, you can get everything set for now without the hood pin but once you get it working and have the bugs worked out, make sure to install the included hood pin for safety.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

I just ran out to the car to try this, and again, same notification on the 2 way remote.

What exactly did you try? Just pulling up on the parking brake or manually connecting the BLACK/ white NSS to ground?

Edit: Sorry, I missed your post regarding the NSS wire. I don't know if this will work or not, but try putting a DMM on the brown brake wire and see if you get anything on it when pressing the brake. I doubt that you will since everything is D2D.

I have a feeling you are getting a false input through your D2D connection. I would rewire it in W2W mode so you have a way to actually test which input is failing and then you can manually connect that input to the car (instead of the bypass) and correct your issue.

This is exactly why I don't recommend going D2D. When a problem like this arises, there is absolutely no diagnostic testing abilities (other than the built-in shutdown diagnostics).

Speaking of shut-down diagnostics, allow it to fail and then watch to see how many times the parking lights flash. This should give you an idea which input is being tripped.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

I'm sorry about the confusion. Last night I tried the Neutral Safety Switch to chassis ground, nothing. I just ran out to the car and pulled the parking break, nothing. I suppose I should try both at the same time...LOL. Sometimes it takes me a minute...I'll try them both, at the same time, at break and report back. Thanks!

It should only be one or the other. They are both connected to the same input so if the NSS wire is seeing ground then that is not your issue unless the unit is prioritizing the D2D over the manual connection... which then it should work with the parking brake.

I have a feeling your issue is with the hood pin or the brake shut down. You may be getting a false input (either a ground on the hood pin or +12v on the brake input). My money lies on a false ground on the hood pin. Either way, it will require changing over to W2W.

My suggestion is to change everything over to W2W. Leave the hood pin wire disconnected (for now) and report back the results.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

After disconnecting the D2D, what would be the bare minimum I can connect to make sure the unit is working and will remote start the car? If the unit is bad or something along those lines, I don't want to take all the effort to connect every wire to find out it still doesn't work. Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it.

Regardless of whether or not it solves your current problem, W2W is worth the extra 10min max of time it takes to make the connections. If you ever have a problem in the future you will be right back in this same boat or no way to diagnose anything. With w2w you can simply throw your DMM on the wires and see exactly what your issue is.

But to answer your question, you will need:
12v constant
Ground
Ground when running (status output)
brake wire input
I believe that is it.

Leave all of the wires between the bypass and the vehicle as they are... only the wires between the r/s and bypass need to be connected.

As long as you make sure the vehicle is unlocked prior you won't need to connect factory disarm just yet.

If you change it to w2w (leaving the hood pin input disconnected) and it works, test the hood pin output from the bypass and see if it is showing ground with the hood closed. If so then there lies your problem.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

I will take a stab at this when I get home tonight. Thankfully enough, we are enjoying 60 degrees here in Chicago today, so it won't be too bad out in the garage.

i used a viper 5901+dball as a tester unit on a 06 altima as well. not the best module i'd say, but it sounds like the same issue i ran into.

you have fault on the hood pin. only one model came with a factory hoodpin (fully loaded v6 with tech package) you can open your hood and check if a hood pin is present. right side headlight a black pin. (highly doubt its presence) if not available the unit will always show ground.

switch over to w2w and problems solved.



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Ted
2nd Year Tier 1 Medical School
Still installing as a hobby...pays for groceries
Compustar Expert

I was pretty sure that my car didn't have a hood pin, factory. I'll try wire to wire tonight and keep my fingers crossed. I just want this damn thing to work....LOL. I might have more questions with the wire to wire, but hopefully not!

The wire to wire should be pretty self explanatory. Just connect the inputs of one to the corresponding outputs of the other. The only one that may be odd is the ground when running / status output. Just know that those 2 names are one in the same (the bypass may call it ground when running where the r/s may call it status output). Other than that it should be straight forward. Use the diagram you posted as a helper. I would just do all of the wires while you are at it... no sense spending the time and only doing some of them.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

[QUOTE=tedmond] you have fault on the hood pin... if not available the unit will always show ground.
/QUOTE]

I had a pretty good feeling the bypass was defaulting to ground without the presence of the hood pin, but I wasn't 100% sure how they worked.

I am pretty sure you'll have everything working 100% as soon as you switch to W2W.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

Okay, first, thank you ALL very much for your input and help! The car now starts since I connected it W2W! I wouldn't have known where to begin without everyone's suggestions!

Now, with that said, new problem...

I set up the DB-ALL correctly and the alarm works great, car starts great, doors unlock/lock great, trunk opens great....Here is the problem, after 15 - 20 minutes, for no reason, the doors and trunk stop working with the Python fob. Remote start and alarm still work though.

DB-ALL is set up as follows:

1. Door Lock - On type 1 (EU) [type 2 (CAN & US) would not work with the car]
2. Parking lights - On
3. OEM Alarm - OEM Disable

Any ideas?

I haven't heard of any nissan bcm's going to sleep but it is a possibility. Try diode isolating the disarm wire to the door pin to hopefully wake up the bcm.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

your settings should be

1. Door Lock - whatever of the 2 work
2. Parking lights - Off (there is a delay which you dont want anyways)
3. OEM Alarm - OEM Enable

the dball sends factory data codes which mimic the factory alarm. if you have this feature off, when the factory alarm arms those "codes" are not understood by the keyless entry module.

oem alarm enabled wont set your factory alarm off. Only the premium version came with a factory alarm anyways. the keyless entry module still uses those exact codes. change the settings and post your results

i will be using fortin/idata combinations only now.



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Ted
2nd Year Tier 1 Medical School
Still installing as a hobby...pays for groceries
Compustar Expert

I'm with you Ted. It seems like everybody on here that uses the xpresskits has had issues... haha. I haven't heard many from the idatalink/fortin people.

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

Okay...I got around to trying the settings on the DB-ALL and no change. I had it set to enable, disable, and no action. All three had the same results. The door locks and trunk would work well for a few minutes, then I would move the car or start it and then nothing again with the Python remote. Factory key fob still works fine. Also, the light on the DB-ALL still lights when the lock/unlock/trunk button is pushed, but no result. As a note, this feature did work flawlessly when it was D2D. Not sure if that helps with troubleshooting. Thanks guys!

the solution: buy a fortin or idatalink module

you can connect the d2d cable and still have w2w connections. try that and see if your problem stops.

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Ted
2nd Year Tier 1 Medical School
Still installing as a hobby...pays for groceries
Compustar Expert

@tedmond...Thanks for all the advice, and I think that your latest solution is the best. Just remove the DB-ALL all together. Which unit would you suggest, the Fortin or the Idatalink? I have no idea about either one of these or which one I need. Again, I apologize for my ignorance when it comes to this stuff. I just don't want another issue like I am having with the Xpresskit. Thanks!

do as i suggested. reconnect the DBI d2d cable from the unit to the bypass. You can run the d2d in parallel with the w2w, incase some features dont work over data.

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Ted
2nd Year Tier 1 Medical School
Still installing as a hobby...pays for groceries
Compustar Expert