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Remote Car Starter

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Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
Plow Hand gave me an Idea for Xmas. What brands are the best? What brands should you stay away from? Thanks.....
 
What ever kind you get make sure it is professionally installed. We see nightmares when the shadetree mechanics install them.
 
I have a Radio Shack remote starter and it works very well. I had them install it and had it over a year now.
 
Mark,I found that the cheapest place is Ziebart rustproofing on special now $322 in and out the door,with warranty...
 
We just use a block heater around here.
A few cents of electricity is cheaper than burning gasoline to warm up the engine.
 
Tom is right, whatever you end up with, have it professionally installed. My son bought a used car that had a remote start the previous owner installed. The car kept dying sporadically in the midde of the road and after months of trying to diagnose the problem he finally found a wire that was butchered during the remote start installation. Jim
 
I liked the MAMA model when i lived at home. (My Automatic Motor Activator--lol)
I'd get a gentle wake up yell and after getting dressed, breakfast would appear before my eyes and then out the door i went. my car would be snow free, running, and warm when I got outside. all i had to do was buckle up and drive. Those were the days. Hard adjustment when i moved out!

I'd like to see a remote starter do all that.

karl f
 
My inlaws had one installed on my wifes new then 2000 GMC jimmy, Never again will I have one. I took it back to where it was installed and had them take it out! Jim
 
Mark,

I've installed two of them. One in a Dodge conversion van and one in a Dodge Grand Caravan. I don't remember the manufacturers of either of them.

The DVDs that were provided with the units made the installation look very easy. In fact, they are a pain in the neck to install. You have to tap into a bunch of wires that are coming out of the steering column. They are under the dashboard and are hard to access. You have to attach the unit to something under the dash. You also tap into the fuse block and have to install a plunger switch that is operated by the hood so that the remote starter won't work when you're working on the engine doing something else.

In both cases, the units worked well for about 6 months and then quit. They were too hard to access to make it worth my while to try to diagnose the problems so I just abandoned them.

Technically, they are a cinch. Just color coded wires, solder, tape and a drill. But you need to plan on four to six hours of standing on your head screwing around under the dash to accomplish the task.

Good luck,

Tom in TN
 
I have installed several Bulldog units and had good luck with them . Seen alot of hack jobs come in my shop also . hooked into wrong wires , scotch locks instead of solder etc . I figure 2 hrs labor to install one. Thats with out security systems etc , plain jane , door locks are extra ,depending on make and model./
 
Question, how many safety devices do they incorporate. It always comes to mind that some engines may start up and run away, or maybe have no oil pressure, get overheated due to snow blown in. Just kind of skeptical. Daughter has one and of course loves it. I keep telling her one day she will find her car engine blown up. Not likely I guess but then very few people pull into a repair facility and say, everything is sure working just great. It is normally that something isn't functioning properly and that is what we mechanics deal with everyday.
 
I have one in my car and when I sold it and it worked great. I now have a 2000 dodge caravan and it works great. I would not be with out it. Had it installed at Rudy's Auto Sound in Kalispell, Mt.
Bud
 
Simply amazing how much extra fuel many will waste to avoid a few minutes of being a little cold. Hard to believe that many descended from hardy Frontier stock. If alive today they certainly would view us with well deserved distain.
 
Your on to something. A remote is the best Xmas gift I ever gave the wife. We have 2 of them now, have been flawless. Go to a new car dealer and ask who they use for their installs - get that one.
 
I wouldn't have one and refuse to work on them, I've seen too many problems come into the shop as the result of poor installations and have no intention of installing one myself.

Do Ford, GM, Chrysler, etc. have them available from the factory?

I've never seen a factory remote start although some high end vehicles may be so equipped. With all the other gadgets available on just about any car, I've often wondered why no factory remote start.
 
my neighbor Genuis/nut put the one he crafted on his 48 Plymoth on his 59 Caddillac , then installed it in his 66 Caddy....done it somehow by radio/ And I would venture to say anyone could had hijacked his tool if they knew a little about radio frequencies ... 30 babies were good inovators and inventors ..
 
my parents had 2 remote starters...they'd send me and my sister out if it was cold to warm car/truck up.
 
My chevy truck started fine but would fire back thru the carberator and stop dead if you rushed it and got on the road too soon,Its not just about being warm but having the windows clear of frost.You can clear the windows and have them fog up when you get in the car.Having a warm engine makes driving safer.It can take five miles of driving before the defrosters work.I driven cars that didnt have defrosters,try doing that.Lead foot drivers use a lot more gas than some one who lets an engine warm up a bit before pulling out on the road.Try moving an old Ford tractor before the engine is warm,it will stall.
 
Nope, but I would like for you to prove it to me! (Oh I base my responce on the truck I had with a engine heater on a timer, and saw a big jump in my power bill for the month I used it. Im sure the difference would have purchased 2 tanks of fuel in my truck.)
 
How about you fix your car so it doesn't backfire? My old Ford tractor doesn't stall when it's cold, and it gets pretty damned cold here.
 
That's why with the block heater. Heat from the defroster starts immediately and ancient engines with carbs don't stall.
In the 2 minutes of operation of an already pre-warmed engine. While you are brushing the snow from the windows, mirrors and lights. Plus a quick circle check of the vehicle. The defroster has the windshield clear.
Of course is some clod has been using a dirty greasy hand to wipe the windows. Dirty windows fog and smear when a clean ones don't.
 
What brands should you stay away from?

Where I live----all of them. I still live in the city and it is illegal to have an unattended vehicle running. Theft in nearby Wichita indicates it is a good law even if a pain.

The local police department could make a small fortune each year if they would enforce it.
 
You have a Ford tractor that will move without warm up in even cool weather.BS My 77 truck will go right along if you dont rush it.At zero the square tires bug me for a while.A fuel injected truck will stagger in zero weather.
 
I work with a blond who has three masters degrees. She finished her night shift one morning and decided to start her Mustang remotely. Then, after doing a few last minute things, she decided she'd take a nap before starting home, forgetting all about her car which idled for about three hours. That happened about three years ago. We still laugh about it.
 
Yeah but a block heater doesnt warm up the transmission or the oil in the engine, maybe a little but not that much.
 
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