Currently, I have a prestige alarm system on my car. On the Key Fob it has a button for remote start but I never got the remote start system. I contacted an alarm shop in helping me out but that went downhill. They told me all it was was a relay and a resistor tied into the ignition and alarm system.

Any ideas on how to do it myself?

 

what model do you have.

 

I have no idea Stephen, how do I tell?

 

what did they mean a relay and resistor.... you need that to bypass VATS upon remote start but you need to buy a DEI 551T module to add-on to the alarm to have remote start and your alarm should have aux. outputs..... IE if your alarm is a 2 channel ... one is arm/disarm 2nd could be for remote start or trunk release... 3 channel can support two add-on features...... i suggest going under the dash and looking at the alarm brain and getting the model number and getting a wire diagram for it so you know what you have to work with

 

I had a feeling the guy didn't know what he was talking about (hence the reason why he is not doing the install) and figured there was a module involved. It is a 2 channel. On my actual Keyfob, there is one for an aux and a second for remote start. The buttons literally have a key on the one for remote start, and the text "option" for an auxillary.

I'll go under there and try to find a model # on where they put it but from what I understand, prestige only makes one alarm system that will go on these cars with these type of key fobb. I'll take a look and try some more research.

Any another ideas?

 

Prestige makes different models of alarms. Really need the model number so we can help you out.

As stated above, look under the dash for it.

 

I have been reading up on remote starts and I figured I would go into this already started thread to see what I can get from it and maybe help you out also.

Ok, lemme ask if this is how simple it is (probably not but we will see) I have a 99 Trans Am and so I read that there are 15 different resister options that my key will be, so my first step would be to buy a resister and stick that in there, therefor bypassing my VATS. Correct? Only, I dont know what wire to splice that in to... can someone help me out there?? Then after I get that in there what would i need to start my car up without the key in? I rewired my remote so that I only press the button once to unlock both doors, now I have a free 12v surge that I could potentially use to start up the car... Where do I have to run that 12v surge to though? and once I find that out what else do I need to know or do?

I do know that with it being a manual transmission I would also have to take out the thingy that makes it so I have to have the clutch in to start it... What is that thingy exactly though?

 

heres the vats info, about halfway down: http://www.bfranker.badz28.com/fbody/alarm96up4.htm
its not just one wire to hook up for remote start. you need the module for the remote and 2 ignition wires, the starter wire, the climate control, and a couple of constant 12v wires.

 

There's a big "gotcha" with the so-called second channel you get from doing the progressive lock bypass mod. That pulse is the one that originally unlocked the passenger's door and, after the bypass, it is still produced by pressing the unlock button on either door. So anyone pressing an unlock button in your car would activate the remote start (regardless of whether the car was already running) if you used it for that.

There are other things to watch out for. Good aftermarket remote starters have an engine speed monitor that gives up trying to start the car if the engine doesn't reach certain RPMs after a few seconds. This is especially important in a manual transmission car in case you forget to leave it in neutral and try to start it in gear.

Remote start kits aren't expensive. If you want remote start then it's much safer to buy one for under $100 (some of them are well under $100).

 

oooohhhh ic ic. Thanks! So is that second press pretty much useless now? I didnt like having to press it twice anyways so it wasnt a waste, but you said that everytime someone presses the lock/unlock button it will switch that again, do you mean on the door itself? or on the remote? Also, I had doubts about this idea, but I was wondering about if I just had it light up my neon lights in my hood scoops... if it just shot a pulse through so that the unlock would flash the normal lights and on the second press it would flash the neons... would that work?

 

The pulse is on the unused wire that you cut when doing the bypass mod. There are ways to work around it happening at the wrong time. For example, you can have it work through a relay so that it only works when the ignition is off.

Yes, you could use it to flash lights or any other purpose where a momentary pulse will do. You just have to remember that it also pulses with the door unlock switches and work around that. Several people have used it to control a window module that lowers the windows on the second press. A relay can be setup to prevent accidently lowering both windows while the car is running.

 

oh i c... can you walk me through this relay thing? im pretty good with this kind of stuff but I have never done anything like this...

 

Get yourself a standard automotive relay (known as a "Bosch-style" relay). It's a 30-amp relay with five terminals on the bottom labeled 30, 85, 86, 87, and 87a. When the relay is at rest, terminals 30 and 87a are connected allowing current to flow through them. When the relay is activated by running current through pins 86 and 85, the connection between 30 and 87a is broken and terminal 30 is connected to terminal 87. The relay is basically an electrically controlled switch.

To use the relay to prevent accidental second channel activation you want to use the relay to disconnect the pulse on the cut portion of the gray with black wire at the BCM. To do this, connect the gray with black wire to terminal 30 of the relay. Connect terminal 87a to the accessory you want to have work off the second press of the unlock button. Connect terminal 86 to an ignition controlled power source - the pink wire in the blue 32-pin connector at the BCM would be a convenient location. Finally, connect pin 85 to a good chassis ground such as the ground stud behind the right kick panel.

With that configuration, the second press of the remote unlock button will activate the accessory pulse only when the ignition is off.

 

I have this DEI module on my DEI alarm, don't bust me up but I have to say, unless this one is configured wrong via a programmer, its starts my car with the parking lights on and nothing else, so it doesnt cool down or heat up the interior and w/the parking lights on seems any battery charge benefit would be lost??....
you cant just get in and drive off can you?? the key is not in the ignition?

S'plain it to a brother...

 

It sounds like it wasn't properly (or rather...completely) installed. There are couple of ignition/accessory wires that have to be hooked up to the remote start module in order to make the HVAC work. It sounds like only the basic ignition and starter circuits were connected.

As far as the parking lights go...they don't draw enough power to make much difference to the charging system but the alternator doesn't do a lot of charging at normal idle anyway. Charging the battery is not one of the primary reasons for having a remote starter - an external trickle charger does a much better job. Most people use a remote starter to run either the heat or the A/C to make the car more comfortable when they get in. In your case, that wasn't hooked up so I would look into getting that corrected.

No, the car can't be driven off when started with a remote starter. As soon as the brake pedal is pressed without the keys in the ignition, the engine shuts off (assuming proper installation). Since you can't shift into gear in an automatic without stepping on the brake, the car isn't going to go far without the key. Even with an M6 it would be hard to go far without using the brakes.