Standalone Starter Kill And Updated Compustar Version

My KIA recently had its ignition torn out in an attempted theft. The would be thieves were not successful thank god, despite causing roughly $400 in damage.

I am now upgrading to a compustar cm900-as with the Q9 remote (1 compustar system for each of my two kias)

Since Im ripping the guts out and starting over with an actual alarm, thought I would post my Homemade rf starter kill that I had in both of my KIAs, while they are still in my hands.

These have been in my 2017 and 2021 kia since 2017 and 2021 respectively, and have worked flawlessly. With that said, Im not saying these are good ideas.

For the updated NO DRAW/NO DRAIN compustar version, you can skip to the end

Standalone starter kill Features
1. interrupts the low current starter signal wire located in the fuseboxs (I believe its either the pink or red connectors) (Normally open)
2. Has remote control
3. Has a bypass button (super hidden) for any emergency like the remote controll failing or the relay board itself breaking
4. Cheap, easy to make

The 12v + Signal to factory starter relay is interrupted, which means will not turn over until you a. press the remote or b. press and hold the momentary bypass switch

The board itself is powered from a fused always on, low current 12v signal, from the fuse box. (one of those tap/fuse insert things)

When the remote triggers the board the relay activates the ability to start the car. After 15s the relay automatically goes back to Normally Closed, acting again as a starter kill

Here are some pics:

Below: 4ma draw while car is at rest, 30 ma draw when activated to allow start. Good as a standalone low iq thief stopper.. however this is outdated if you have an actual compustar alarm system (see near end of post).











NO DRAW/NO DRAIN compustar version

Below: Updated version that works with compustar cm900as (and other cm brains) programmable pins 1-7 (pin 3 for my purposes), set to secure start n/o 4 mins and the +12v (tap into the main 12v red wire from the compustar brain for that)

When car alarm is disarmed the starter will be available for 2-10 mins (depending on time set). If the car has not been started within the time allotted, you just simply hit the disarm on the compustar remote for a fresh few mins before the starter is again disabled

The starter will ONLY become available when disarming from compustar remote. OEM unlock or car door unlock switch will NOT activate the starter (that's a good thing), which is super cool.

ft-elock has approx 120ma draw while alarm is activated, in order to kill the starter. my version has 30ma draw but the draw doesnt matter much if you go the secure start n/o route vs the standard blue/white starter kill wire + ignition wire setup.

The standard way draws power to keep the relay activated the entire time your alarm is on (no thanks), the secure start n/o way only draws power for a few mins after disarming alarm.

So essentially the secure start n/o way, draws 0 ma and thus keeping your battery (new or crappy) from being drained



Below: 30ma draw during the 2-10 mins its activated for, when alarm is disarmed (+12v goes to +, and programmed wire set to secure start n/o goes to the - side)

common on the relay would be populated by one side of your low current start signal wire, with the other side of that low signal starter wire going to n/o on relay




You could also just use the ft-elock itself. THERE IS A DIODE in the relay from compustar so pins 1-7 (pin 3 for my purposes) programmed to secure start n/o would go to pin 85 and +12v (could tap into the compustar main red wire for that) goes to pin 86.

I bring this up because some ft-elocks come wired backwards on pins 85/86. IGNORE the blue (supposed to represent -) and green (supposed to represent +) wires on the compustaar relay harness and pull the relay from harness, then look at the underside of the relay. You will see the pin numbers (87, 87a, 86, 85, 30) molded in.

pin 30 would get the +12v side of the low current starter signal wire and pin 87 would get the other side of that same low current starter signal wire (or the actual standard high current starter wire).

Then instead of 120ma getting drawn the entire time the alarm is on, you are only draining 120ma for those 2-10 mins after disarming.

Nice job 8D

thank you thank you

side note. I forgot to add that the standalone version draws about 4ma all the time, 30ma when activated. the standalone version activates for 15 seconds when triggered with the remote.

Thanks for posting. Nice job. Good to finally see someone using the NO or NC programing options. The older firmware didn’t have those options. I updated the firmware earlier this year and noticed the new NO and NC secure start, but there was no updated manual available to me at the time. I figured it out after some internet digging.

I have my CM900AS with FT- Elock setup the same way as a normally open and reprogrammed pin to send the ground when a disarmed signal.

yeah this is dee way imo.

We have multiple vehicles with one or the other sitting for days at a time. I couldn't really sit idle at the thought of the larger relay (or any relay) sucking up an additional 120ma the entire time the alarm was activated.

So far, no issues. One should note though after real world testing.. for the starter kill to be useful with using the NO option, the alarm system MUST be armed.

So it works like this:

1. Alarm NOT armed
-someone breaks into your car
-pulls your lock cylinder and turn it and the starter WILL activate (no chip/immobilizer and the engine WILL start)

2. Alarm ARMED
-someone breaks into your car
-the alarm activates
-they pull your lock cylinder and turn it and the starter will NOT activate

3. Alarm ARMED (unconfirmed)
-someone breaks into your car
-the alarm activates
-they disconnect your alarm system somehow (wont get into HOW, here)
-they pull your lock cylinder and turn it and the starter will NOT activate
-(I would have to check continuity between ground and the programmed NO wire and then pull alarm power to confirm)

A better design (as I initially thought it worked in my posts above) would be:

1. starter kill relay activated for a set amount of time after disarming
-and then if that time passes.. requires an additional press of the disarm button. Although I think I understand why that's not the case.

The NO option is seemingly designed to allow the car to start whenever alarm is disarmed and or not tripped (I assume for purposes of car still working if alarm system becomes faulty or defective) Not 100% sure on that though.

Just get into the habit of arming the alarm system

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2017 soul, 2021 soul

Yeah the NO option has to be armed for it to work as ani-theft. I believe the idea is that someone can't merely pull the power to the alarm to disable it. You need the ground pulse and 12V to close the starter kill relay on NO setup. Some installs will run 12V power direct from the battery, so all you had to do was cut that wire and the NC alarm would be disabled...car starts. NO relay has its flaws too but a failure could get you stranded.

The Compustar explanation of their NO relay setup is a bit misleading. I too had thought the ground pulse would activate the relay for a set time after disarming the alarm, but that wasn't true. The NO relay is only active for a set time when you have the ignition on ON. I tested and observed it on my multi-meter with the ground when disarmed wire. I think they programmed their NC or NO timer that way because it was originally made for their push to start systems.

Regarding the 120ma current draw, did you wire the FT-elock starter kill to a 12V constant?

If so, that’s not right. The starter kill relay pin 86 should be wired to 12V ACC and/or ignition ON. Otherwise, it will drain your battery with that high current draw that you observed.

EDIT: Never mind, I was thinking Normally closed starter kill to not wire to 12V constant. It wouldn't matter on normally open setup,

Yeah my head gets switched around real easy with the n/o, n/c when they are activated etc regarding the compustar

The truth is, that space underneath the steering wheel is just too damned cramped for me to fiddle around anymore with it lool

But if anyone has a better way that they have tested, please post.

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2017 soul, 2021 soul

Its been a while since I installed everything but I think you caught something I was completely wrong about when typing that up (regarding stock FT-ELOCK wiring). I must have been thinking about 12v constant being connected to 86 when I surmised 120ma continuous draw instead of using the ignition wire.

Ill have to skim over everything again to try and remember what I even meant.

EDIT: YEAH I think in the midst of all the confusion (and the million things I had to be mindful when installing myself lol) I somehow confused the ignition switch the 86 actually needs with constant 12v. brainfar*

The N/O option all things considered seems to still preferred, but ONLY if it defaults to interrupting the starter if the alarm system is cut/removed. The FT-ELOCK stock seems to always default to allowing the starter to crank if alarm system is cut/removed/damaged

Once it warms up here I plan to fiddle around and really get to the bottom of it, and Update this post with some sort of finale. That damned N/O titled feature is deceiving using it on a non push button. darn it

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2017 soul, 2021 soul