’03 Ford Explorer, Avital 4105 R.S. PKALL Bypass

Hi everyone,

New to this site and was wondering if anyone would be able to help with a problem I am having installing an Avital 4105 remote car starter and Xpress PKALL bypass module on a 2003 Ford Explorer 4.0 V6. I ordered the combo off of ebay. All connections have been soldered and electrical taped. I will list the connections that I have made below:


Primary Harness - White 9-pin connector
1 LIGHT GREEN BLACK (-) 200mA FACTORY ALARM DISARM - not used
2 GREEN / WHITE (-) 200mA FACTORY ALARM REARM - not used
3 YELLOW (+) IGNITION OUT (TO ALARM) - not used
4 WHITE/ BLUE (-) ACTIVATION INPUT - not used
5 ORANGE (-) 500mA GROUND WHEN LOCKED/ANTI-GRIND OUTPUT - not used
6 BROWN (-) 200mA HORN OUTPUT - Yellow/lt green on column
7 RED / WHITE (-) 200mA TRUNK RELEASE OUTPUT - not used
8 BLACK GROUND - attached to parking cable mounting bolt
9 WHITE (+/-) LIGHT FLASH OUTPUT - (+ jumper) Brown wire at headlight switch

Remote start, 6-pin connector
1 RED (+) (30A) HIGH CURRENT 12V INPUT - Yellow, ign harness
2 PINK/WHITE OUTPUT TO SECOND IGNITION/ACCESSORY CIRCUIT - not used
3 RED (+) (30A) HIGH CURRENT 12V INPUT - Yellow, ign harness
4 ORANGE OUTPUT TO ACCESSORY CIRCUIT - GREEN/ lt green, ign harness
5 PURPLE OUTPUT TO STARTER CIRCUIT - Red, ign harness
6 PINK OUTPUT TO PRIMARY IGNITION CIRCUIT - RED / lt green, ign harness

Satellite harness, 4-pin connector
1 BLUE (-) 200mA STATUS OUTPUT - blue/white while running (status) of 6-pin PKALL conn.
2 ORANGE (-) 200mA ACCESSORY OUTPUT - not used
3 PURPLE (-) 200mA STARTER OUTPUT - not used
4 PINK (-) 200mA IGNITION OUTPUT - not used

Remote Start harness, 5-pin connector
1 BLACK/ WHITE (-) NEUTRAL SAFETY SWITCH INPUT - grounded to same parking brake mounting bolt
2 VIOLET/WHITE TACHOMETER INPUT WIRE - need to double check which wire I used at ign coil
3 BROWN (+) BRAKE SHUTDOWN INPUT WIRE - (+) side of brake pedal plug
4 GRAY (-) HOOD PIN SWITCH SHUTDOWN WIRE - hood pin not installed at the moment
5 BLUE/WHITE (-) 200 mA 2ND STATUS/REAR DEFOGGER - not used

I don't have the door locks wired at the moment but will tackle that once the remote start is functioning.

For the PKALL bypass I have the D2D cable plugged into the Avital 4105 and the 6-pin plug as follows:

PURPLE / White - Rx (Pin 4 on ign barrel connector)
Yellow/black - Tx (Pin 3 on ign barrel connector)
Blue/White - Blue wire (status output, Satellite harness)
Green - diagram shows N.c. (I assumed that its not used)
Pink - Ignition (Pin 1 on ign barrel connector)
Black - diagram shows N.c. (I assumed that its not used)

When trying to program the PKALL, I have a solid red light through the entire process. (hold button while installing connector 1 & 2, release, insert key 1, turn to on, wait for security light to go out, turn off and remove, repeat with key 2, remote start the car.) I have tried using the remote to start the car with the key in the ignition and in the run position and get nothing. The car starts and runs fine with the just the key. This makes me think that the bypass is not the problem, but rather something with the wiring or the Avital box itself. I don't have the lock/unlock wiring hooked up but can see the parking lights flash once for locked and twice for unlocked (or vice-vera, I could have that backwards). When I press the lock button, the LED on the remote starter box flashes 1 constant flash. No flashing once the unlock button is pressed. Horn works when lock button is held to enter panic mode. I don't seem to get any response from the start button other than the light on the FOB pulsing (No dash warning lights come on, no audible relay clicking like what I hear when the parking lights flash).

I am a little skeptical if I used the right tach wire at the coil, but am thinking that that shouldn't make it not try to start at all. I would think that it would only crank for too long or too little.

I haven't played with any of the program settings. I figured that the default settings would be a good place to start and I could play with them afterwards.

Would having the door open long enough for the the interior lights to time-out have anything to do with it? Does the door have to be shut while trying to start?

Is there a special method to pushing the start button (2 quick jabs vs. holding for 3 sec., for example) that I've overlooked?

I'm really hoping that it is something stupid-simple that I forgot to do and can wrap this project up in a jiffy.

If additional info is needed, I'm more than happy to provide it.

Sorry for the long-winded post, but I wanted to provide as much info as possible right a way to resolve my issue sooner.

Thanks in advance for any responses,

Dustin

https://www./itm/121764088635?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

This is the kit that I bought, if that is any help.

A few thoughts :

1. The 4105 comes defaulted to Virtual Tach. Tach learn is accomplished by remote starting the engine. However, because
    the PKAL did not program properly, the engine won't attempt to start. Below are the transponder RX and TX wires colors.
----------- years   Pin   TX    ----          Pin    RX
Explorer    02-05    3   WHITE/ LtGreen     4   Gray/Orange
Verify that you have made good connections to the correct wires.

2. You could disconnect the PKALL's 4 Pin power connector, insert a key into the ignition cylinder and try a remote start.
3. If you want to run in Tach Mode, change the Vipers programming Menu 2, Feature 1 to Option 4. Then preform the Tach
    Learn procedure, getting good results.
4. During PKALL programming, timing is critical. Verify your Pink Ignition connection with a DMM to ensure your are
    getting +12V when the key is in the RUN position. The only other item to mention is that you must have two unique
    working transponder keys. If one key is a "clone" of the other, it won't work.

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Soldering is fun!

I was hoping for a response from you kreg357. I've seen a lot of your wisdom on here while researching remote starts the past few days...

I tried to remote start it with the PKALL disconnected and a key in the ignition in the run position and got nothing. This makes me believe that the Remote start module is bad. I contacted the ebay seller and they agreed, provided it was wired properly. They said they would exchange the (assumed) defective remote start module for a new one. They said I could purchase a second remote starter and swap out modules and return it (If I do it this way, the turn around time for me to have a good one in hand is faster because they can send a new remote starter out immediately instead of waiting to receive my defective one)

I put everything back together now because it's my girlfriends Explorer and I'm pretty sure that she is getting irritated driving my inferior Escape. If a replacement module doesn't fix it, I will re-review my wiring again. (A few days away from it might give me a clearer mind to help me find the problem if I did wire something wrong.

I did attempt the tach learn procedure but don't know if I did it correctly. I will have to do it again though with the new module.

Whether it has two factory keys or a clone is my next worry. It wouldn't surprise me if one is a clone, since it was purchased used, and came with 2 keys, but only one key FOB. Hopefully just a FOB was lost and its still both unique keys and not that the key AND FOB were lost, resulting in a clone. One step at a time. Lets make it start remotely with a key in the ignition first, then worry about cloned keys. Is there any way I can find out if the keys are unique other than going to a dealer?

As far as wiring the door locks, is the link below the most promising way to do it?

https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/uploads/ford_wake_up.pdf

Thanks for your help!

Your ignition switch connections look good. You could verify that you are getting +12V at the 4105 connector on the two thick Red wires. Other than that you could use the DMM to see if the 4105 ever outputs +12V on the thick Pink ignition wire during a R/S attempt.

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Soldering is fun!

dustin4498 wrote:

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3 BROWN (+) BRAKE SHUTDOWN INPUT WIRE - (+) side of brake pedal plug

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Can you confirm the specific vehicle wire that you're using at the brake switch?

With this system, if it's responding to lock/unlock commands but not to remote start commands (ie, no parking light flash) then it's almost certainly caused by a shutdown input: neutral safety switch input, hood input or brake input.   You have the NSS wire grounded and the hood input isn't connected. That leaves the brake input. If you connected it to the supply side of the brake switch rather than the output (as your original post suggests) that could be the source of your problem.

I think you are most-likely right kaezoo. I was looking at this wiring diagram for the vehicle:

https://diagrams.marktoonen.nl/index.aspx?MakeID=18&ModelID=18259

It lists BRAKE     LIGHT GREEN (+)     @ SWITCH ABOVE BRAKE PEDAL

I think that I absent-mindedly took the following:

H2/3 BROWN (+) BRAKE SWITCH SHUTDOWN WIRE

to mean attach it to the positive side of the plug. I don't remember what the color of the wire was that I attached it to but I do remember seeing that the connector had one terminal marked + and figured that I had the correct wire. But, like your pointing out, if its attached to the positive side, it is always going to be "sensing" that the brake pedal is depressed.

Well, don't I feel stupid, lol. I will have to try this when I get a chance - hopefully tonight. Thank you taking the time to help and offering your suggestion! I'll post back on the outcome of this change.

I disconnected the wire at the brake pedal switch and the vehicle does remote start now with the key in the ignition and no bypass module, which makes me very happy! Thank you so much kaezoo for catching my error. Next is programming the bypass module, wiring the lock/unlock feature, wiring the rear glass to open with the trunk button, and (if I'm feeling ambitious) the rear defroster.

Does anyone know how to tell whether or not one of the keys is a clone?

Thanks

Usually if they both look like original, Ford-branded keys, they won't be cloned. A clone key most often comes from a key shop and will have a different brand name; often they're larger and have a replaceable battery.

This forum has been very helpful for me throughout this process and I am very appreciative of all of the help that has been given so far.

I had some time this past weekend to hook up the bypass module and that is working properly. I also installed the hood switch. I wired up the door lock/unlock function and, much to my surprise, found out that they work all the time so the GEM module must not "fall asleep" like I was expecting it to. The only problem is that if the vehicle has been sitting for a while, after unlocking the door, the alarm goes off when the door is opened. I ran out of time to take care of this problem so for now I have advised my girlfriend to unlock the doors with the factory fob and remote start the vehicle with the new fob until I get more time to do it right.

I'm sure that hooking up the factory alarm disarm wire will cure this problem but I have a few questions beforehand so it is smooth sailing when I do get a chance to finish the job. The wiring diagram says that the alarm disarm wire is the GREEN/ purple in the drivers door harness. I have found three GREEN/ purple wires in the kick panel and presume these to be for the other 3 doors, but I could be wrong. Will any door disarm wire work or does it specifically have be to the drivers door? Also, can I just solder the alarm disarm wire from the remote start into that wire or do I need to use a relay?

Finally, she would like the rear glass of the lift gate to be wired up to the trunk release button. The wiring diagram shows the trunk wire to be ORANGE / light green or yellow/purple. Does anyone know if one of those wires is for the lift gate and the other is for the glass? Or does it mean that Ford used different colored wires for the lift gate, based on different trim packages (or something to that affect)?

I'm sure that I will need a relay for this as those are both listed as positive wires. Will I also have to run another alarm disarm wire for the rear glass or will the drivers door alarm disarm wire take care of that at the same time? (The alarm also went off when I opened the rear glass after unlocking the doors with the remote.)

I'm not sure if you guys will be able to answer these questions or if I would be better off asking these questions on a Ford Explorer forum since the above questions are more vehicle-specific than remote start specific.

Thanks

Ford uses GREEN/ violet for a lot of different functions, so don't assume that they're all disarm wires. The wire you want is connected to the key switch on the outside of the door; turning the key in the door grounds the wire and disarms the alarm. You'll need to use your multimeter to identify the wire that's goes to ground when the key is turned. No relay is required; just connect the remote start's disarm output directly to this wire.

As for the rear glass control: there's a pink/orange wire that will work with a negative trigger, meaning you can just extend the RED / white trunk release output from the 4105 and connect it without a relay. The disadvantage to this wire is that it won't work if the doors are unlocked, so you'd have to unlock the doors then pop the rear glass.

The purple / YELLOW wire will pop the rear glass whether the doors are unlocked or not, but it requires a positive trigger so you'd need the relay.

You can find both these wires above the rear hatch opening, in the harness that runs into the hatch. This should be easier to access than going to the CTM in the C-pillar.

Sounds good on the alarm disarm wiring.

I was wondering if it would work to tap into the wire that runs to the button on the lift gate to release the glass without the use of a relay. Thanks for confirming that! I think it would probably be better to have to unlock the doors first before popping the rear glass. You have to unlock the doors before you can leave the parking lot anyway after getting groceries, and it's not like pressing the unlock button first is too cumbersome since the remote will already be in hand to press the trunk release button. And, that way, you also don't have to worry about accidentally bumping the trunk release button and opening the glass after you've locked it. (Not that bumping the remote start or unlock button will be any less likely...) I will have to see whether or not the trunk release button on the factory FOB functions when the doors are locked. I will probably wire it to mimic how the factory FOB functions.

The only other thing to really put the cherry on top would be to wire up the rear defroster. Do you know if the defrost button on the dash uses a negative trigger as well? Just wondering so I know if I have to pick up a relay beforehand. I'm guessing it does but don't want to assume and will check with a DMM to verify attaching any wires.

I appreciate your help kaezoo!

The output from the climate control is a negative trigger. It should be gray/light blue. I'm not sure, though, whether it requires a pulse or latched output, so you'll need to test.