I was talking to a local mechanic I know about alarms and remote starters, and which products are more reliable. As we were talking about this, he brought up that remote start systems can be a very bad thing. If the relay goes out to remotely start your vehicle, then there is no way that putting the key in the ignition will start the vehicle due to the relay itself being tied in to the ignition system. Is this true on all systems or is it false information?

I'm sorry Twister I'm not able to answer that question.
But I know that I love my remote starter. I have had
one on my last 2 cars. And never had a problem like
that. I have a 00 SE with needs a bypass. And it went
out some how. But I was able to still start my car with
the key. It'* fixed know, the problem was wiring and a fuse.
I due believe that there are good and bad installers out there
so if you decide to get one shop around to find a good shop.
Someone that will guarrentee their work. Just my $.02

Can anyone eles answer his question?

You can tell your mechanic he'* wrong about the relays.
I have AviStart 3300 systems in both our cars, and they have worked flawlessly for the last 2 years (self-installed, but not a job for someone uncomfortable with electrical work)
The standard "Bosch-style" relays the system uses simply tap into the wiring, not cut the wire and splice in the middle. The relays are used in a normally open position, so his argument would be true all the time if it was the fault of a relay.

The only exception I can think of would be the starter disable wire (if installed--not on all systems) If that were to fail, then yes, the key would not start the car as it is energized to close the circuit.

I know the systems I have use off the shelf, $5 relays--so a fix is easy---pull relay A and put in place of relay C until I can get to the parts store and buy new relay.
Some of the cheaper systems have the relays soldered to the board inside the module, and if one goes out--then you're screwed.

Bottom line--pay extra for a good system and you'll be happy. Most of the ones made by DEI (Avital, Clifford, Viper, Valet, etc) are of much higher quality


just my .02

I have an old UNGO remote start in my car, and it works fine. If I start the car remotely, and it is still running when I go to drive off, all I have to do is put the key in, turn it to Run, and away I go.

If I don't use the remote start, the car starts just like normal.

Hate ta break it to ya, but your mechanic is blowing smoke up your
Chances are, he had one bad experience, and decided they were all crap...

Thanks for all the info. I was kinda skeptical about that info he told me also. But he is one of those guys that thinks stock everything is the best.

Can't stand that answer, so medieokier performance and poor sound quality is optimal right?Stock stuff RULES! That attidue is so closed minded and NO FUN.

Back on track here, I love my remote start, Bought one of the first Vipers back in the day for previous Aurora had for 4 years, Never gave me a problem. Blew a fuse once and that only caused my door switch not to unlock. big deal. new fuse and never happened again. Now have New Viper 791 with 2 way paging (very cool) and have no problems.

The second best thing about a nice remote start, is that you can take your key out of the ignition and the car stays running, than lock it, Very useful at the gas station, or when you already are in your car and the house is locked, don't have to turn it off any more. You do have to read the manual on how to do this but most can do this now.

it could be true...i have a crimestopper 2-way fm alarm...and every once in a while my car will not start... my security light comes on and i have to wait for it to go out to try again...it does it seldomly, but it can happen...i talked to my installer and he said it is either a relay or resistor in the aftermarket alarm

Your auto guy is just plain wrong. I am not a major car guy, im pretty new to the whole DIY stuff. But I put in probably one of the most difficult remote start systems into my car by myself. You can read a write up about it on these forums.

First of all, I want to address boominbonne'* response. I have $5 that says your installer is completely wrong. If you have a semi new car, last 10 orso years with any form of VATS in it, which i guarantee you have because of the security light, then i am 99% positive it has to do with your remote start'* VATS module.
If you have the keys with the pellets on it, there are 15 possible resistor values for vats. What is probably happening is you are not getting the correct resistance in the signal sent to override your vats, or you have a bad connection to the vats wire (either of these means a bad install, and your installer should fix them for you).
I would suggest just getting one of the newer ones that auto learns the correct resistor value. $25 and 5 wires soldered in and your golden. If you have any questions about this, feel free to email me at randymatz@hotmail.com.
The main point to bring up to your installer, is the security light itself. What that tells you is your car is trying to start, but because the VATS system is not being properly overrided, you are getting the security light. Usually there is, i think, a 3 minute cool down where your car will not start after that security light is set off.

As for the original message, jimzdat hit the explanation on the head. The only way that you could not start your car with a bad remote start would be if there was an issue between the wire that senses your key being turned to the on or run position, and the starter kill (which should be the only wire interrupted in any typical remote start installation). Even then it would depend on how the starter kill relay is designed to work. It may have its own "key in the on position" sense wire, which would mean it would not rely on the remote start system at all. The only relay then that you have to worry about is the relay for the starter kill itself.

One thing to note, any good installer will put in inline fuses for every 12v connection (every relay has one of these), if your getting an installation done, make sure they do that and solder every connection. This will guarantee you a much better, longer lasting installation. Then, all you need to do is keep a few extra fuses in the glove box and maybe a $5 relay if your really worried, in case there is an issue with your starter kill relay.

I personally have a pretty intense remote start system, and do not have a starter kill relay installed. Lets face it, not many car thefts in fargo ND .

If your looking for a good remote start system, I personally would suggest compustar. I love my DEI 554r, but looking back, the extra $100 for the range would be worth it.
I would deffinately suggest getting a 2-way system. That way you get a response back when the car has started and your sitting in the middle of your house.
I would also suggest trying to find a remote with a vibrate feature, its annoying to have the beeps going off when in public.
My system gives me the ability to check the car temp, not a great feature, but nice. It willl also auto start at 0 Degrees. If i were looking again, i would look for a system that lets you set the temp it auto starts.
Another nicety would be a timed start, where i could say "start in 2 hours" so when i get back from class its all warm.

Hope this information helps out

Randy

i talked to my installer...he was right...not wrong...it is my vats system...it is a resistor in the override of the vats to allow me to start my car via remote...so it is a resistor in the aftermarket alarm vats override

Geeze, thats a lot of info! So basically, as long as you stick to a reputable name brand, then problems like that wont happen.