My daughter is mad at me because I will not install one of those $100 remote start after market options she bought at Circuit City on her 96 Grand Am. I am afraid that some night in the dead of winter a connection will go bad leaving her stranded. There must be 20 connections that need to be made to the ignition, starter, door locks and theft deterrent system. Anyone have experience with such a system? Is my concern unwarranted?
Loose connections may not be much of a problem if the job is done correctly. I have a 94 Grand Prix that had one and always have problems with the ignition circuit acting like there is an intermittent connection. I ripped all the wiring from the remote starter out from under the dash, but left the control module so I could unlock the doors and trunk remotely.
I also had one on a 96 Bravada that was installed by a dealer. I started having a problem with the check engine light coming on and Oldsmobile recommended that the remote starter be taken off.
I guess to sum it up, if you make solid connections to the ignition wiring and don't just hack it up, that part should be OK. As far as the remote starter causing other problems to the computer system, that's another story. GM doesn't seem to recommend it, so it's up to you. I've heard of some people having them and haven't had any problems.
Good Luck
I've installed them. I will be putting one on my Trans Sport. I just put one on my wife's Mystique. Properly done there is NO chance of them affecting either the computer or the operation of the engine. A bad connection MAY cause the remote to stop working. On some vehicles bad connections could cause problems with the power locks.
The remote starter, unless you chose to install the starter lockout option, is totally wired in parallel with the ignition switch. On some units a tachometer connection is required.
The connections MUST be soldered - and the wires are just stripped for the connection, not cut. The connections must be well taped. I like liquid electrical tape. Heat srink is OK IF you seal up the end where two wires exit with the liquid tape - otherwise the connector is still "open". Good vinyl tape, properly applied (stretched) does better than heat shrink.
Definitely NOT a job for an amateur - and you want to pick your installer very carefully. It is also connected in parallel with the break switch.
There aren't that many connections and it is dead nuts reliable and available at
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