Printer Friendly Forum Posts - Viper remote start has stopped

Up until yesterday, my Viper 550HF's remote start was working without issue. Yesterday, I disconnected the vehicle's battery ground, so I could install a new head unit in the dash.

This morning I tried to remote start the vehicle, it starts but within a second it shuts itself back off.

The Viper remote still seems to arm/disarm the vehicle without issue. Plus, I have manually started it with the key and driven it today.

I figure I must have disturbed a wire/connection when I reinstalled the stereo's head unit. What do you think? What should I be looking for?

Did you try to re-learn the tach?

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A DMM is a beautiful thing.

MECP Advanced Installer Certified.

i would suspect your bypass module needs to be reprogrammed.....

as always when asking for help, vehicle info would be nice.....

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Kevin Gerry
Certified Electronics Technician
MECP First Class Installer

Owner/Installer
Classic Car Audio
since 1979

1) i did relearn all arm, disarm, and aux (remote start). i didn't know if it was necessary as the buttons were all already sending the correct signals, but i did it anyways.

2) the vehicle is a 1997 ford explorer sport. i've never had any issues with the alarm since its install in oct 96. i use the remote start everyday, so i am almost sure it was my fault during the stereo install. i haven't pulled the dash again yet.

3) kgerry - why do you suspect a reprogramming of the bypass? (i have had the negative on the battery removed probably 20 times during the cars life.) how does one reprogram the bypass?

thanks everyone for their inputs.

This post actually scared me. I thought that it meant the company has stopped producing remote starts, well this is good to know.

There is no bypass to worry about for that vehicle....so that is not your problem.

I would do what zerepdivad suggested. Try relearning the tach signal. Modern day DEI units program the tach by starting the vehicle and then pressing the valet button for a couple seconds. The l.e.d. will light up, and the parking lights will flash.

Older units require you to move a dipswitch on the remote start brain when the vehicle is running. I think it is dipswitch 4. It will be labeled on the back of the alarm brain as 'tach'. I think your system uses this method.

My system has the valet switch that I have used to re-learn the system to the remote. Even after install the stereo head unit, the alarm remotes continued to arm/disarm and the aux attempted to do the remote start (but the remote start stops about a second later). I figured that since all the buttons already worked that I did not need to re-learn the system. However, it is a simple and painless process, so I did it again. There was no change in the system. I could do the re-learn a second or third time.

I'd agree with kgerry.

If tach was lost it wouldn't even try unlike other r-starters out there. BTW, Explorers have PATS since 95. What do you have for immobilizer bypass?

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Prepare your future. It wasn't the lack of stones that killed the stone age.

pats started in 98 explorers

agreed- reprogram tach

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start the car with the key wait 1 sec press and hold valet push button- then the led will light up when learned the tach signal. then let go and parking lights flash once. then thry the remote start- it will work then.

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mobilecustoms wrote:

start the car with the key wait 1 sec press and hold valet push button- then the led will light up when learned the tach signal. then let go and parking lights flash once. then thry the remote start- it will work then.

I started the car, waited a second, pressed the valet button -- and waited and waited. After 2 minutes of no LED lighting up, I stopped depressing the valet button as I assume it wasn't working. Do I need to wait longer than 2 minutes?

Side note: when I start my car the LED flashes two times quick, pauses, and repeats. It does this for about 30 seconds. It has always done this when I start it up. I am mentioning it in the event I need to hold off depressing the valet button, until this is over or if it might mean something special.

Additional info: if I put the key in the ignition switch, turn to ON (not started), then do a remote start -- it works. This must mean something...too bad I don't know what.

to learn tach (although shouldnt NEED to as they dont lose tach if powered down)

start the vehicle with the key.. within 5 seconds press and hold the program switch... the LED will come on solid within about 2 seconds to denote tach learned, then release the programming button..... if the LED doesnt come on you have the wrong tach source

try the same thing but only put the key in and DO NOT turn it to ign and remote start the vehicle... if it starts fine, it's as i said in the beginning... you need to address a bypass issue....

if however it still doesnt start that tells me one of your ign's is not being powered......

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Kevin Gerry
Certified Electronics Technician
MECP First Class Installer

Owner/Installer
Classic Car Audio
since 1979

kgerry wrote:

to learn tach (although shouldnt NEED to as they dont lose tach if powered down). start the vehicle with the key.. within 5 seconds press and hold the program switch... the LED will come on solid within about 2 seconds to denote tach learned, then release the programming button. if the LED doesnt come on you have the wrong tach source

I started the car, waited a second, pressed the valet button -- and waited and waited. No steady LED. What does it mean "wrong tach source"? Is this a wire I might have disconnected during my stereo head unit install? Or is it a programming issue?

kgerry wrote:

]try the same thing but only put the key in and DO NOT turn it to ign and remote start the vehicle... if it starts fine, it's as i said in the beginning... you need to address a bypass issue. if however it still doesnt start that tells me one of your ign's is not being powered.

Key place solely in the ignition will NOT let the remote start work. If, however, the key is turned to the ON position, then the remote start works.

Do you think I accidently didn't reconnect a wire or disconnected something when installing the stereo?

sounds to me like an ign is not being powered... if it starts and all runs fine with the key turned to ign then you probably have the unit programmed for voltage sense... grab a meter and verify which ign wires are being poiwered when you intiate your Remote starter... it really shouldnt take more than about 5 minutes at that point to narrow down the problem wire..... Ign's are critical so make sure they are all actually powering up, then start testing acc's...... you might just have a bum relay and the radio issue is just a coinky-dink....

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Kevin Gerry
Certified Electronics Technician
MECP First Class Installer

Owner/Installer
Classic Car Audio
since 1979

Friday night RS worked. Saturday morning radio install and no drive in the vehicle. Sunday morning RS didn't work.

My luck I did something to cause it.

I won't have a chance to pull the radio and have a look in the dash until Thanksgiving.

My guess is the remote start has alwas been programmed for voltate sence. And although this sounds weird, this happened on my car. It sounds imposssible, but maybe your newly installed radio is drawing more power, so the voltage sense programming threshold may need to change

tbone587 wrote:

My guess is the remote start has alwas been programmed for voltate sence. And although this sounds weird, this happened on my car.

Do you know how it gets programmed for this voltage sense?

tbone587 wrote:

It sounds imposssible, but maybe your newly installed radio is drawing more power, so the voltage sense programming threshold may need to change

In theory, if the radio was turned off, you'd think it would be drawing minimal voltage. When I get home, I will try the remote start with the radio off and report back.

Did you check all the fuses on the satellite relays? For some reason I've seen quite a few of them on ford end up melting over time. There is two 30 amp fuses on the red power wires on the relays. One fuse powers the ign wires, the other powers the starter wire and acc wire. If the ign fuse is bad but the other fuse is still good, this may explain why it will remote start with the key turned to on.

CutDog made a good point. One of the (2) 30 amp fuses may have blown on the remote start. I would check those first.

What happens if you remote start it with the key ON,. wait 20 seconds or so, and then turn the key off. Does the vehicle shut off or stay running? If it shuts off....that also points to the ignition wire not being connected properly or one of those 30 amp fuses is blown.

Okay here is the latest with the dash still tore apart:

There are 2 30A fuses and a couple 10A. All are good.

With the radio head unit completely removed (and pulling no voltage) there is no change in how the RS behaves.

There are no visibly loose wires waving to me.

With the key switch to ON, the remote start works. Depressing the RS again (as you'd normally do before taking the key out and want it to stay running) acts normal, but turning the key to the OFF position kills the ignition.

I called a few local shops. None of the want to mess with it if they didn't install it. Welcome to England.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.