Printer Friendly Forum Posts - Carvox starter wont start in cold

Carvox starter only works when the weather is nice out! When its cold, it tries to turn over the engine but it stalls within the second and then the alarm goes off. On the LCD is says the hood is open but it definetly is not and the hood pin is functioning properly. The tach wire is currently hooked up to one of the fuel injectors. Like I said, it works fine when its warm but if the engine has trouble starting....it just doesn't go.

So what's the deal? It's a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee LTD. It doesn't appear to have a block heater cord and it doesn't appear to start very well in the winter even with the key so I might be screwed?

Any tips?

Thanks

I now find that a customer has the same problem in cold weather. The hood pin alarm goes off also.

We need to find technical support.

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Ryan Lybeck
"Wiring diagrams are nice but still double check with DMM"!

I'm wondering if it just says hood pin...indicating that something under the hood is causing the problem. I've found now that my Jeep is actually worse off then I originally thought, its so cold I can't even start it with a key now either. At least I hope its just the cold. So I'm assuming its got something to do with cranking power. The Jeep wont start so when the Carvox tries to start it and it fails....the alarm must be programmed to automatically go off...thinking something is tampering with it or what not. Why it says hoodpin...who knows. Maybe because it was the faulty attempt at starting is what its trying to say. Unfortuneately there does not seem to be an RPM set button or anything on this unit like there are on most others.

i got the same problems with is carvox. carvox is bull shhh.

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Johnnynguyen

I read another post about a different alarm system having similar problems. They fixed it by putting in a new hood pin switch. Aparently the factory hood pin switch was causing a back feed when cold for some reason and preventing the remote start. I don't know if this is true but if we all used factory hood pins maybe??

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Ryan Lybeck
"Wiring diagrams are nice but still double check with DMM"!

I don't think this is the case here. I have disconnected the hood pin completely and it still acts the same. I doubt that the hood pin is the problem herewith the Carvox.

HI! just try to disconnect the battery and reconnect it and check on the LCD if you see the same resulte I've seen some RS that when the voltage goes to below a preset level the remote starter reset itself. Because when the weather is cold the capacity of the battery is decressing . Try to remote start with another car battery and see if it fix the problem.

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cocolaboy

This is on a 2006 model car with a brand new (2006) battery. The car starts like nothing by key and the remote starter/ alarm settings stay as programmed and do not reset themselves. Therefore, the low voltage of the battery is also not the likely cause of this problem.

It is likely the main control unit from carvox. The question of the day is are all of these cavox units faulty or just a bad batch. If its a bad batch perhaps we can just order a control unit and fix the problem if its all of them then there is no point in attempting to get a new control box.

it is a problem with the main control unit for a fact. i for the same problem.
I got a Carvox CX-990 ( aka king eagle) 2 way lcd alarm a 2 month ago. I got it installed and it was working fine. Now it got cold the remote starter will not start. It only starts when the engine is warm. What happens wile the engine is cold is: it will crank for a second and shutoff and siren goes off at that time.
I got the system on ebay and got it professionally installed all together $300+
I took it back to the shop they checked and rechecked all connections for 2hr
I emailed carvox and they told me that the main unit is bad and to contact this guy who will not email back and now nether dose carvox.
Carvox is junk and we are SOL

Yep, I'll second that last post. I too found an email address and then they gave me the address of some guy called Mr. Jason who had a hotmail address. The guy claiming to be the carvox rep said that this Jason could replace the unit for me if I paid for postage but I haven't heard back from him.

Anyways....my only solution to this problem so far is that I tried setting it into the cold weather start mode one night. If it runs every 3 hours for 15 minutes then it continued to do so all night without the alarm going off. I guess it stays warm enough to get started.

I too have tried the new hood pin and I've got a brand new battery in there now and it still doesn't work. It does look like -10'C is the threshold.

Jeremy

This is the weirdest problem for me because In my 2000 Durango it works great. It always starts no matter how cold. But the same system I put into a friends 99 nissan pathfinder will not work in cold weather. It does try then sets off the alarm syaing hood pin in the remote. It has to be a faulty brain.

I have just ordered a few Alert 750R two way systems to replace these with. However I will have to eat the cost of the carvox. I am unable to solve the problem or find a dealer who can replace it. And since so many people on here have the same problem I am getting rid of them.

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Ryan Lybeck
"Wiring diagrams are nice but still double check with DMM"!

Well, good thing the person who sold it to me gave me a replacement except he gave me a different brand...i installed it and it started working perfectly even in cold...

Now i'm just playing around with this piece of junk Carvox with my powersupply and i found what is the main problem in this unit...

Carvox CX-990(King Eagle)

My research found: either one of them...

Inside the carvox brain unit there are 4 relay which uses for power locks, and power input..

Whenever i connect it to my computer powersupply the system works fine.

then i connect it to my car battery which is unstable from 11v-14.6v...the damn thing just malfunction...

It wont give out power output for auto start and it shows all the doors are open...

I tapped with a screwdriver the relay and put the power back on with the power supply....THe damn thing started working properly.

so either one is the problem:

1.Power input relay is no good>> this could be it but i rather not waste my time looking for this part

2. or just the IC power controller

What the replacement brand that you got from guy that works well in the cold? It's good that you got some trouble shooting results. Keep us posted.

shodan wrote:

What the replacement brand that you got from guy that works well in the cold? It's good that you got some trouble shooting results. Keep us posted.

He gave me an Agilon which shows the American flag on the box but i doubt that cuz i saw it on the internet that its a company in China...

but this one works instantly i installed it...i just had to adjust some jumper to chose my options. Here's the specs if you're interested in this system:

its an ASK technology which is only 250-500 feet range

autostart, 2 way pager, arm and disarm feature with 24 hour timer??i dont know that crap...

well, i'm in the second phase of my test and i just found out its not the relay or any of these components...I think its either way but it can't be possible...The problem in this Carvox is the insulation of the main unit...its not perfectly insulated to cold cuz this unit was made in China and in china they never have a -10 degree weather like ours...so i guess this is the problem because whenever i put the power on this thing when its really really cold it malfunctions but when i put the power on while its warm it works perfectly...

Now i'm trying to figure it out how to keep it insulated and warm at the same time...

Thanks, Silentmafia. Please keep us update on your finding.

This is pretty interesting-
Could you maybe try to stick the unit in your freezer while running it off the lab supply to determine for sure it's a problem with the temperature vs. some issues with battery voltage? From the sound of it, it'll fail the same way even on the lab supply.
I'd think it were some poor solder joints that contract from the cold and open up, but it just seems unlikely with the problem being so widespread. Might be worth a try reflowing the solder joints just as an experiment.

Well, i did and it does the same thing as you would have in your car in -10 degree temperature outside...I tried lots of things on it like putting a foam insulation, caulking the ICs, and putting a 6milliamp lamp inside the unit while the power is on outside my house...and its still did the same malfunction but it lasted me atleast 10 minutes because of the lamp. I'm not sure though if that is safe to have inside the unit but i'm going to use a more powerful lamp inside to heat up the system even more...but i hope it wont drain the battery using a 16 milliamp bulb...

I keep you guys up to date with this experiments...thanks for standing by...

There are 3 relays inside the start module. I am wondering, if these relays are only rated for 0C and maybe that why it is not start in the cold. If we change these relays to a higher rating say -20C, do you think it would work?.

CARVOX CX-990 Radiostar King Eagle car alarm Review is Junk Crapvox did not start in a cold. Would you buy air conditioner that only works in the winter or heater that works only when the temp is above 100F? this alarms starter falls in to the same category. The remotes are so cheaply made that antenna fell of after a week. This alarm is cheep Chinese garbage.
I took this crap out and installed a Compuster 2WSS-AS. Compustar it top of the line alarm 6000ft range . don¡¯t waist our money with this cheep china crap

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My ability to fix things is only superseded by ability to make it worth in the process

radiostar is a junk. the only site on the net that got anythig good to say about is www.zerotohundred.com it because they sell it. They delete all posts that say bad things about this alarm. king eagal sucks

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My ability to fix things is only superseded by ability to make it worth in the process

viptime...how exactly are you contributing to this thread again? These people are trying to solve a problem here. They allready have the unit installed in their vehicle and allready bought it. Advice saying "don't buy that chinese junk" is a little after the fact wouldnt you say? We all know that Carvox has its problems. In its defence on mine, everything works perfectly except for the cold start feature and I'm getting that fixed. Why throw your money in the trash, buy a new unit and reinstall everything when you can fix the current unit. Thats what these people are trying to do.

I personally got in touch with a Carvox rep, he asked me to send the unit back to him and was aware of this cold start problem (which apparently is fixed now in the new units) and he is sending me a new unit (which apparently had this issue resolved). Way easier than buying a new starter, ripping all the wires out againa and reinstalling everything. An a lot cheaper too amy I say....I'm not sure if it will work properly yet, but when I get it and get it installed, I'll let evereyone know...

Good on you guys for trying to solve the problem. awsome stuff. thanks

i boguht this alarm a few months ago, and it said i have a 6 month warantee. i tried to get ahold of teh person that soldit to me, but failed iwth no reply, you said you got in contact with the carvox rep (last post->talontsi96) could you possibly giveme the contact information? thanks alot.

rameez3k

Bought the Carvox units off of ebay, was "Mr.Jason" located in Toronto? I think i know who you are talking about and i have his #. He me to do all the installs for him but was not impressed with the quality of the Carvox units. I am glad i only installed 2 of them.

I think I find a way to work around it.

This is for those whose still have this remote in their cars.

I start the car with the remote, and then I keep pressing the door lock button (sending the door lock signal or sendin it just as the car is starting) . After that you press the car button to check if you car starts or not.

So far in the last 2 days, It starts every time for me in the cold weather. If I remote start and then not pressing the door lock button I will get the hood open alarm.

Please post you result whether it is working for you or not, so other could learn from you.

Hi, It is nice (not really) to see others are having this problem. I am having the same problem but it is not cold out. It was about 5 degrees celcius today which should be warm enough. I am getting the same thing though, car starts then stalls then trys to start again and stops before cranking over the second time. Then remote flashes hood open. My friend that does installs thinks that maybe it is doing this because the tach wire wasn't programed or the system isn't reading the tach wire. The car wire it is hooked up to was metered and is the proper wire which is located under the steering colom going in to the ECM. As I write this I am thinking it is on the wrong side of the ECM because there is one on either side of the ECM. Maybe I need to attach it before the ECM as I think it is connected to the out going side of the ECM. It is a 99 olds alero 2.4L 4door if this helps.

Please give me some ideas if you can. I will try switching the tach wire tommorow and post my results