RS in a 2004 Chrysler T&C

Hi,

I've installed a handful of alarms and remote starters, but they've mainly been in older cars that don't really have any barriers (like factory alarms or chips in the key). Someone at work asked me to install a remote starter in their 2004 Chrysler Town and Country, so I said I would have to do a bit of research first. (she said she has the black key, though, which doesn't have the chip like the grey key).

Basically, I'm just curious if there are any things that would dissuade me from doing this. If it's easy enough, I just might, but a few things that I've read have made me think twice. Some of those things came from the wiring guide that I've found, which mentioned things such as using relays and resistors for the doors, and having to go to the battery for 12v.

Anywho, just curious what people think. I haven't been on the site in a while, and likewise haven't installed anything in a few months. Of course, now it's 20 degrees outside :-)

I would also add that without that module this is one of the harder cars we have ever had to do.  Seemed like every wire needed a resistor with it. 

Get the interface and read over the data sheet,

Some things I remember are you have to go to the battery for constant as the ignition wires are little and will not support the remote start.

and that there is a second start that needs to be energized with a ground...

these are just off the top of my head and I don't remember the details..

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It's not that bad to do, but there have been alot of posts concerning no starts when cold lately. I would wait and find out what is going on with these before taking it on IMO.

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Certified Security Specialist
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I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.

Thanks for all of the info guys, I really appreciate it.

I called a local shop to see how much it would cost, and he said ~$229 for the DEI Valet model (because I don't need a bypass since I have a black key). So I guess he wouldn't be using the bypass module for the doorlocks...unless he is and it's just included in the price. Anywho, the brain is guaranteed and so is their work, so I think this might be a better deal than me charging $200 to do it, and freezing my butt off in the garage :-)

I did a 2004 Caravan a couple days ago and I was swearing the enitre time at the bastard. I needed relays for the doorlocks factory arm, factory disarm, had to 5 wire the f**king parking light wire and the info I had said that the park lights were a 2.1k ohm resistor and they turned out being a 1.7k ohm resistor and I had preped the brain dumb so I had to pull apart a bunch of my work to get to the damn resistor to cut it out, you also need another relay to power up a negative second sttarter wire. It was the longest RS I have ever done due to complexity and stupidity on my part, just under 6 f**king hours. I was not impressed. We didnt have the bypass in stock which is why I didnt just use the data bus interface. Oh and the one I did had the keyfob built into the head of the key so it was chipped which added the 556U bypass into the equation. Not hard to do the bypass, just added more time onto it. It was a day where I was glad I didnt work on commision.

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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

Man, I felt like I installed the remote starter after reading your post :-)

Did you have to go to the battery for the 12v+ like I've read in a few places (because the wires under the dash are too small)?

hello there, the '04 caravan aint to bad, like the said you gotta run a neg signel to one of the ignition wire through a resistor and some have neg parklights rather then a positive park lights.  but as for going to the battery for power, there's a wire up high in the drivers kickpanel that's a good size that's a constant 12 volt, i'm not 100% sure anymore but i beleive the wire is white.  but other then that to just put the remote start in should only take ya about 2 hours, now if they want door locks and stuff...good luck  that's all i gotta say

The white wire you speak of is only rated to handle 10 amps, just like the one in the ignition harness. Just because its thicker doesnt mean the circuit will handle more. You should always run your constant power off the battery on this vehicle. As for the park lights they trigger engative through a resistor and if you just put the resistor inline it will trip the parking lights to stay on continuously so you need to 5 wire it. I was told not to use a simple diode but to actually use a relay to 5 wire it but I dont remember the reason. Not a fun vehicle.

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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

I agree... i wish i could have paid someone else to do it !

For the parking lights, when you say to 5-wire it, do you mean use a relay to change the polarity? Also not too sure about the neg signal for one of the ignition wires.

I just realized that I don't have to worry about the door locks and stuff like that if I'm only installing a remote starter. But then I'm also realizing that I'm sure they won't be able to use the factory keyless entry if the car is remotely running. oi!

OK, when I say five wire it I dont mean switch the polarity but you actual cut the park light wire in half and set it up so that when the relay is triggered it seperates the signal so it does not let the RS feed through to the BCM. I will try to track down the diagram for this. On the 2004 Caravan I did the Keyless entry DID still work after the car wasrunning by remote start even though I was told it would not work.

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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

Ravendarat, did you happen to come across the diagram?

Thanks!

Does anyone know how hard it is to get the power wire through the firewall to get to the battery? And is it easy enough to hook up to the battery terminals, or is that a pain in this car, too?

cpgoose, I did my own 2004 Caravan last year with the help of a friend. Be careful when you hear that the black key doesn't need a bypass. If it is the key and fob all in one, it does have the chip in it. I think all the 2004 and 2005s have those. Also, there should be a hole in the firewall, with a grommet (sp?) there that you could run th wires through. That is where I went through for the RS. Also, the door locks are not that hard to wire up, just have to have the diagram. Velocity Motors has quite a few diagrams that I used. Good luck.

I cant find an actual diagram of the relay set up, but if you can understand it I can tell you how to wire it up, going through it pin by pin and listing their destinations. Let me know if that will work for you. Also on these vehicles its really easy to drill a whole threw the firewall just to the left of the steering column as there is a ton of room under the dash to get a drill in there and its fairly open on the other side so you shouldnt have much of a problem avoiding drilling through anything, just check before you drill to be safe. BTW clean out your PM box cause I tried to send you a PM and its all full.

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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

In the astrochart, they show the parking light wire as WHT/BRN (+) Pos in the drivers kick.  No need to "break" the wire with a relay

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Ravendarat, yes, I can understand it if you explain it pin by pin...so that would be cool, thanks. What do you think about what KarTuneMan said about not needs to break the wire?

intmd8rfn3, which side did you run the wire through the firewall, the passenger side or the driver's side? Hopefully it wasn't difficult to hook up to the battery. And no, I don't need to hook up any door locks, so that should save me a lot of time.

By the way, what is everyone's opinion for a basic remote start. Should I just put in a DEI Valet? I don't want to use Bulldog because I've had trouble with them.