Remote Start Troubleshoot Me!

[1dynasty 10+ year member]

Ok, i have a 1998 mustang automatic, that we've just installed an Avital 5303

2-way alarm/remote start.....Their newest and best model.

Anyways everything works as it should except once remote started, the car will shut itself off randomly. sometimes a minute or so into being remote started, other times it'll go for 5 minutes or even the full 12 of the default start time. I've reprogrammed the tach several times and thought i had it fine tuned, as i've heard fords can be tricky. mainly my car since it will idle about 1100rpm and after a minute or so it'll finally drop down to 5-800rpm.....Now i thought this drop in rpms is what would cause the shutdown but why so sporadically when i do it back to back testing it?!!?!?

ALSO, we didn't get the 2nd accessory hooked up properly to where my climate control functions without the key in....i've got the wiring diagram off of Direct Techs but any help towards what i need to do would be great....thanks in advance

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[Mike465 10+ year member]

Try setting it to voltage sence. You should be able a select high r low voltage. Select high voltage and see if that takes car of it.

 

[1dynasty 10+ year member]

yea i was thinking that might help....you're referring to the jumper on the actual brain of the alarm i assume? i was reading up on it in the manual and it says on newer cars (figured it meant newer than a 98) they may use less than 12v to start the car and that juuuust maybe if i was getting a voltage drop (entirely possible since ive got tons of audio/accessory stuff and my batt is at the end of its life) that a flux in power could have caused it. i've been repeatedly remote starting it and, go figure, its been running the full 12 now. not sure if it's cuz it's warmed up or what.....still got to fix the 2nd access since that's kinda the whole benefit of remotestart haha. thanks man. we may switch the jumper for the Tach threshold

 

[Vestax 10+ year member]

Double check your wiring? A loose ground or connection can cause problems when the car is on. Besides tach, the other inhibitors of remote start is safety switch, hood pin, and brake. Ground the safety switch and brake, and unhook the hood pin. See if you have the same problem.

 

[mendon99 10+ year member]

Ford's have a dirty tach signal, set the unit tachless. Or turning Engine Checking off may solve the issue as well.

 

[Mike465 10+ year member]

Ford's have a dirty tach signal, set the unit tachless. Or turning Engine Checking off may solve the issue as well.

Engine check is a must if you go to voltage sence because if it sees draw from the battery it will shut the car off.

 

[Mike465 10+ year member]

Also where are you getting your tac signal from?

 

[mendon99 10+ year member]

Engine check is a must if you go to voltage sence because if it sees draw from the battery it will shut the car off.

I understand. Its a last resort

 

[BoxdGM 10+ year member]

My 94 Crown vic had the same problem. i had to tap into a fuel injector with the purple Tach wire (was a clifford) never had the random shut off ever again

 

[1dynasty 10+ year member]

ok, well according to direct techs wiring, the ford tach wire on my car is tan/orange.....

I don't have the hoodpin or even the safety switch hooked up simply because they're a waste of time. Hoodpins are a joke and i didn't have any merc switches with me at the time. it's something that i can add later when i had more time...

so you think if i go tachless it'll fix the problem? seems like it's a necessity to use the tach wiring if possible.

again there's the jumper on the module for tach threshold for "newer vehicles" it says that use less than 12v to start....but does this matter if my car is starting fine? it just randomly shuts down sometimes 20seconds in sometimes it goes the full 12 default minutes....

as far as the second accessory setup for the climate control, is that merely making sure it's hooked up/energized properly? or is that something a bitwriter can program?? i would think the first option but the manual seems to be saying it's programmable.........

 

[mokedaddy 5,000+ posts]

Is there any shut down diagnostics on that unit? Meaning it will tell you why its shut down.

I would try to go tachless and see if that is your problem first and foremost.

As for the 2nd accessory it depends on if it is set as an ignition or an accessory on the unit. Once its set to accessory than merely tie into the 2nd acs on the column.

 

[Vestax 10+ year member]

Even if you're not using the neutral safety switch, it should be grounded. 2nd acc is programmable on most units.

 

[1dynasty 10+ year member]

OK great!. the climate IS a second accessory not an ignition, so now it's just a matter of either hooking it up or programming it. as far as the tach goes, i have been thinking; i'm going to check the brake wire and see if my cars vibrations are casuing my touchy breaks to connect, thus causing a voltage change which would shut the car down. my car's shady like that. if that's not the case then yes, i'll try going tachless....again though my question is why would anyone perfer doing the extra work of installing/running the tach then if it's easier and more reiliable to go tachless.??

and my safety switch is grounded

 

[mokedaddy 5,000+ posts]

OK great!. the climate IS a second accessory not an ignition, so now it's just a matter of either hooking it up or programming it. as far as the tach goes, i have been thinking; i'm going to check the brake wire and see if my cars vibrations are casuing my touchy breaks to connect, thus causing a voltage change which would shut the car down. my car's shady like that. if that's not the case then yes, i'll try going tachless....again though my question is why would anyone perfer doing the extra work of installing/running the tach then if it's easier and more reiliable to go tachless.??
and my safety switch is grounded

Yeah if your brake is catching your led should blink to tell you it was shut down by the brake input.

As for tachless vs. non tachless it depends on the car. I do tach unless its a newer car, or a car with a dirty tach signal like said above. Although once its working I have never had much for problems either way.

 

[mendon99 10+ year member]

Newer cars it's not such a big deal, but on older cars your tach should be run and programmed because when it gets real cold, the car may take longer to crank. So the unit's starter stops putting out after it sees the car running. Tachless, it will only crank for the programmed amount of time, so if it takes longer to crank on a cold day, its still only gonna crank for the programmed time, thus the car will fail to start.

Running a tach wire is always most reliable for MOST vehicles. Ford's I generally run tachless however.