jensen jkrs3 in 2002 protege

Hey all. It's been awhile since I have done any remote start installs, but this looked pretty straightforward so I agreed to do it for the young lady with the fluttery eyelashes :) She supplied the unit which was still in sealed package, I got my wiring diagram and started soldering up the harness, but to my dismay this thing will not power up. I can get the lights to flash with door lock /unlock buttons, and while programming tach signal, but when I hit button to start its totally unresponsive, with either remote. I've triple checked every connection, solid ground, even ran wire straight from battery. It did start twice randomly after repeated (25 or so) attempts. There is no alarm, no immobilizer (which is why I stopped doing them, govt run insurance here but this car isnt on their list). Is this just a defective out of box unit? Anybody have any experience with these? Any troubleshooting ideas? Obviously no warranty on this unit, I have no idea where it even came from, but is an audiovox, their support is of no help.

Where is the BLACK/ white wire connected to? That should be going to an inhibit toggle switch. Is the switch attached? Is it set to on or off?

Make sure none of the negative or positive inhibit wires are seeing a signal prior to remote starting (such as the hood pin wire or brake wire, etc).

Check the wiring again for the ignition wires -
Remote Starter color to vehicle color:
Red & RED / White to black & BLACK/ white (Power)
Blue to Blue (Ignition 1)
Green to BLACK/ Red (Ignition 2)
Purple to BLACK/ White (Accessory)
Yellow to BLACK/ Blue (Starter)


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If it's an Audiovox they won't work without tach sensing.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

I have the BLACK/ white to the toggle switch, which is switched to ground. I temporarily ran a test lead right to ground to eliminate the chance of a wonky switch. The only other inhibit I have hooked up is the brake, which seemed to be ok because the couple times it did start I tapped the pedal to shut the car off. The wiring all matches what I have written on my worksheet, I checked thru a few different wiring guides to make sure the color codes were the same before I started. I had the wire to hood switch isolated to check that theory too. Should the lights not flash when I depress the programming switch? Like I said earlier, the only way the lights have flashed was when doing tach learn or using door buttons, (which I have not hooked up as she already has keyless entry) The remote beeps back after hitting start, like the unit isnt receiving signal.

The tach learn went without a hitch, which surprised me as when I was pressing the program switch I expected to see some flashing when I entered a programming procedure, but the lights started flashing when I started the car, let them flash about a dozen times, so that seemed to work fine, i was expecting it to fire right up at that point, but...nothing, no flashes, no power to dash..

Could this be an antenna problem? But if so why would door buttons flash lights.. It says on package both remotes were already programmed. Even in valet mode it should still flash lights I would think.

Do the parking lights flash when you press the lock or unlock buttons? Even if you didn't hookup that feature, the lights should still flash.

Make sure you have the correct parking light wire as some cars will only turn on parking lights with the engine running if you use the wrong wire.

You can try one of these wires.

Parking Lights+      lt GREEN/ black            drivers kick panel
Parking Lights-      brown            headlight switch

Also, if the remote is responding as if the remote starter didn't get the signal, double check the connection from the antenna to the remote starter.   Sometimes when I do installs, i don't realize I didn't push the plug in all the way and get intermittent or no response from the remote.

Try running a shutdown diagnostic to see why it's not starting.

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Yes lights flash with lock/unlock. Everytime.
I have the lights to GREEN/ black wire.. +

The manual says to connect 3wire antenna (this has 4) to the white connector on unit, but the connector is not keyed properly for that, so I plugged it into the black plug, which only seemed to make common sense as the antenna connector is black as well. I tried connecing either end to unit and antenna.. they both go in snugly and flush.. The antenna wire hasnt been run yet, I wanted to check that everything worked before I started tucking it away.. so I know it hasn't been damaged by getting snagged anywhere..
Can you enlighten me on shutdown diagnostic? Being how I can't get lights to flash with programming button, I'm not sure how to go about that..

Troubleshooting mode is off by default.. why would they do that :( I sent the car back home as she needs it for work, I have the unit and goodies here, I have pin configurations in manual, maybe I will try to mock it up in my old truck and see if I can figure anything out.. Is there anything I left out that "must" be hooked up for the unit to work? I didn't think so, like I said it looked like a very straightforward install, very basic. Hood pin, brake, park lights and valet switch..
I'm gonna get her to bring the car back at some point this week.. it's -34C with wind here this morning, I'm sure she's not very happy, & neither am I.. I'm an automotive tech... it eats at me when I can't solve a problem..

Yep, I was just going to say that. Make sure the diagnostic/troubleshooting feature is turned on first.

3. Diagnostics:
a. Be sure that programmable feature number #6 is set to the "Diagnostics On" mode.
b. Press and hold the program switch on, then turn the ignition key to the "ON" position.
c. The lights will flash and the number of flashes will indicate the reason for shutdown on the last remote start attempt.
The indications are as follows.
1 Flash 5, 10, 15, or 20, minute run timer expired.
2 Flashes Low or No tach signal received.
3 Flashes Positive or Negative input shut down.
4 Flashes Control switch was moved to "Off" position.
5 Flashes RF Shutdown command received.
6 Flashes High RPM signal over speed shut down.
7 Flashes Tach has NOT learned.

-34C - WOW!

Basic connections for it to run the vehicle would be all ignition wires, power, ground, tach and parking lights for confirmation.

Other wires are not mandatory for the function of the remote start but are mandatory for shutdown and safety (brake, inhibit wires, etc).

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Yes, I saw that, but the lights did not flash when I attempted to do tach learn.. if light lights don't flash when I press program button, I'm kind of mucked. I'm gonna check that programming switch, and maybe check the antenna wire for continuity.. get the car back in and plug it in again. The baffling part is that the car did start twice. Maybe I will try another ground location as well.. its on a stud thru firewall, it looked adequate enough, maybe scrape some paint..   Thanks for your replies... I will let you know what happens. I guess it's possible this thing is just a dud..

And, WOW was not the word on my tongue when I walked outside this morning.. :)

Here's something I didn't think about earlier. If you start the vehicle with the key and then try the remote starter, will the remote starter take over and you can remove the key with the engine still running?

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No, I didn't try that... but I will.

I did try to start it with key in ignition, but it didn't make any difference.. as I thought it wouldn't, with no factory antitheft system..

Just curious why you would try that.. what's your theory there ? I noticed on all the wiring guides it makes note of keysense wire, but it doesn't say anywhere if it's applicable to the remote start, I assumed it isn't.

If the remote starter takes over and keeps the engine running, it means the ignition wires should be setup correctly and the tach signal is being recognized.

It's not 100% foolproof but it's another piece of the equation in the process of troubleshooting that I use to narrow down the issue.

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Hi.. I just wanted to say thanks to your response, I finally got the car back , and it appears... (bow head here.. it was the remote) & or battery. I rechecked everything and plugged it in.. to find that the door lock buttons would no longer flash lights.. I went to reprogram tach, that worked, so then I went to try to get into diagnostic mode, tried to do diagnostic.. no flashing lights..hmm. Door locks started flashing lights again, so I assume no lights.. no problem that diagnostics is showing. I tried the other remote, it barely lit the led. Out of frustration I pressed the button HARD...car started.. Went back to the primary remote and did the same thing.. car started.. I went back home and grabbed a new AA and stuck it in remote..didnt have to press very hard, and its working. It was a new out of package battery that I put in when I started, but... guess it was the dud. Live and learn. And buy more stuff from China.. Again, thank you for your time..