Remote start issues

[jgrif]

Got a remote start put into my accord about a year ago. No problems up untill the other day. Now it starts just fine but after a variable amount of time (anywhere between roughly 5 and 30 seconds) it just shuts off. The guys who put it in are going to take a look at it prob sometime next week. I just thought I would see if anyone here had any ideas about what may be going on here? Hoping its nothing major.

 

I have no issues starting the car manually. This ONLY happens when I use the remote start. Also both days that I have had trouble with it it has been VERY cold outside. However, it goes without saying that a remote start that don't work in the cold, may as well not work at all...

 

any thoughts appreciated. I dont really know the first thing about cars so don't be afraid to explain crap to me that may seem like absolute child's play to you.

 

Thanks.

J

[jgrif]

I also just remembered another small issue that recently started with the unit. When I use it to unlock the doors it only unlocks the rear driver's side door about half of the time.

 

Remembering that makes me think that it may be some sort of loose wiring issue...

[Jeffro]

First off, what type of vehicle? I've put on several of these units for friends, and reading the manual might help you. To me, it sounds like it wasn't programmed properly, as far as it only running for 5 minutes. It's been a while since I've done one (about 2 years) and from what I remember, there was a way to program how long the car ran (so as not to kill your gas supply). I think the one I installed for my wife could be set at 7 1/2 minutes or 15 minutes. Default was 7 1/2 if I remember correctly. There are a few other reasons built into the units to make them shut down, but that is what is sounds like to me. I know here in Ohio, 7 1/2 minutes was usually enough to get it warmed up in the coldest temperatures. Look at your manual. Also, what brand is the unit? Bulldog is notorious for having problems, but I've installed 2 or 3 of them and never had a problem that wasn't outlined in the manual.

 

The door lock problem sounds like they may have wired it where they shouldn't have. Is it both your back doors, or just one? It is supposed to be wired into the master switch (If I remember correctly, its ont he passenger side kickpanel for Hondas, but I may be wrong, and it should send the same signal to all the doors from there. It sounds like someone wired it to the unlock control on an individual door/doors instead of into the switch. Fill me in on the information I request so I can help you better

[jgrif]

97 honda accord EX. The remote start I believe ( and I could be off) was something like a Valey 712t (??). I know it was a direct electronics peice and not a bulldog one.

 

As far as them having it programmed... It dies after about 5 seconds, not 5 minutes. Something is definetly wrong. I've had it for a year and up untill the other day it worked fine.

 

The door lock problem also just started after about a year of working fine. Very confusing to me.

[Jeffro]

Oh, 5 seconds, I miss-read... sorry. In that case, it sounds like the power isn't crossing over to the ignition wire properly. Here is what I'm thinking, and you can let me know what you think, since you experience the problem:

 

There are 3 major wires in starting your car. Ignition, Crank, and 12v+. The way the unit works, is it takes the 12v circuit, crosses it into the crank wire for a certain amount of time, and then kicks the power over to the ignition wire to keep the car running. It sounds like the unit is not kicking the power over to the ignition wire, which means either a connection went bad, or the something in the unit is not working any more. You can check the connections yourself to make sure they haven't come loose if you want. In your car, the 12v+ is a large white wire, the crank is black with a white stripe, and the ignition is Black with a yellow stripe. The unit should be spliced into these wires, as well as a Yellow wire (your accessory/heater) in the harness, so you might check to make sure all the wires are still making good contact, and splice if necessary. You can also test the unit with a test kit if you have one. Just stick it into the wire that goes to the ignition wire, and make sure it is putting out power (12v) when you start it with the remote. If it isn't, you've got another problem with the system.

 

If you sit in the car and start it with the remote, does it light up (the dash, etc.) before it cranks?

[jgrif]

Thanks for the help Jeffro, sorry for the delayed response. I'll have to try sitting in my car and doing it and let you know what that does. Your second explanation sounds a lot closer to what's going on.

 

You said:

The way the unit works, is it takes the 12v circuit, crosses it into the crank wire for a certain amount of time, and then kicks the power over to the ignition wire to keep the car running

 

Would that explain why when I start the car manually it works just fine?

 

Also, here's the other thing that's kind of confusing me. It seems (and I'm going to test this out a few more times) to work fine once the car is warmed up, which does me no good at all. But I tested it yesterday when I got home from work. After driving ten miles the engine was obviously totally warmed up. I got out of the car (with it shut off) and tried the remote start. Worked just fine.

Is this some sort of cold weather issue? A battery going bad perhaps??

[Jeffro]

Does the unit automatically try and crank again after a couple seconds, or maybe a minute after the first crank? It might just not be cranking enough to start, which would be essentially a cold-weather problem, but not one that can't be fixed. If it isn't cranking enough to fire the engine, sometimes there is a way to wire the unit to adjust accordingly, but I don't remember what is involved. I think you have to wrap a spark-plug wire with another wire, or something. The unit I used to have on my wife's van though would try three times before giving up, with around a 30s delay between maybe?