Help with alarm & remote start
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
From: Pensacola Florida
Help with alarm & remote start
I desprately need help with my current project ( installing an aftermarket alarm with remote start) the alarm is in and working properly, the remote start feature however will not turn over the car it turns on the ingition and everything but when the wire in the switch recieves its voltage nothing its like the neutral safety switch isint allowing it or something, is there a way to bypass the neutral safety switch so that it thinks it is always in neutral or is there something else with the factory alarm i need to bypass ( except the resistor in the key i have already done that, i can put the key in the ignition turn it to the run position and try to remote start and nothing but the key works fine, just to make sure i ran a jumper to the start wire with the key in the ignition and on it it would not crank remotly but once again the key works fine. please help 
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 3,306
Likes: 2
From: Wesley Chapel Fl
Your sig says your car is an automatic so as long is the car is in park it should start up. Are you able to manually jump the relays and make the car start? Maybe you have the wires on the starter wire backwards. Some new remote starts have starter kill built into the starter relay. What kind are you installing and is it in your automatic 98?
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,036
Likes: 135
From: North Augusta, SC
Click here to see the Theft Deterrent System schematic. The neutral safety switch is actually a Park/Neutral switch, so I'd leave it be assuming you have it wired correctly.
My guess would be that the BCM is your problem. Not that you have a bad BCM, just that the computer (BCM) needs to "close" the gorund before the Theft Deterrent Relay (I'll call it TDR for short) is energized. Explanation: Looking at the schematic, the TDR needs to have +12V coming in the top (that would normally be coming from the battery through the ignition switch then the PNP switch) and a ground at the bottom. By the way it's drawn, it appears to me that the BCM controls an internal "switch" that can open the ground circuit of the TDR. That would mean that the BCM must agree to let the car start, and I'd guess that your gizmo isn't communicating with the BCM.
Maybe someone else who wired in a remote start will help out. GOOD LUCK
My guess would be that the BCM is your problem. Not that you have a bad BCM, just that the computer (BCM) needs to "close" the gorund before the Theft Deterrent Relay (I'll call it TDR for short) is energized. Explanation: Looking at the schematic, the TDR needs to have +12V coming in the top (that would normally be coming from the battery through the ignition switch then the PNP switch) and a ground at the bottom. By the way it's drawn, it appears to me that the BCM controls an internal "switch" that can open the ground circuit of the TDR. That would mean that the BCM must agree to let the car start, and I'd guess that your gizmo isn't communicating with the BCM.
Maybe someone else who wired in a remote start will help out. GOOD LUCK
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
From: Pensacola Florida
Yes it is in my 98 and i have tried to jumper the ignition switch with the key in and in the on position, and it didnt crank over then either, which led me to believe that the 3 smaller wires coming from the switch needed to do something with the tdr or neutral safety switch, just not sure what ive picked up a shop service manual but cant seem to find the location of the tdr, is it with the other relays or is it under the dash somewhere. the alarm is a comando purchased through asianwolf.com i tried the unit in a friends car thinking it may be that but it worked fine in his scion so the unit works. i'll just have to dig into the manual a little more, but if someone could tell me the location of the tdr that would be great, thanks
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,036
Likes: 135
From: North Augusta, SC
Originally Posted by bmwdiver
...if someone could tell me the location of the tdr that would be great, thanks
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
From: Pensacola Florida
Hey Mark just on a side note but which manual do you have, i went to mine and the schematics look different, still functionally the same but yours had conn id with colors right on the schematic and mine dose not, just curious. my is the GM factory service manual 3 vol set for 1998. and thanks for the info about the location i'll see fi i can find it there.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
From: Pensacola Florida
Hey mark thanks for the help 
the tdr was located right on to of the BCM, i tied the yel/blk to the alarm - while cranking and presto, works like a champ 
not sure why the bcm was not creating the ground for me, but oh well works great now thanks
the tdr was located right on to of the BCM, i tied the yel/blk to the alarm - while cranking and presto, works like a champ not sure why the bcm was not creating the ground for me, but oh well works great now thanks
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
5 Best & 5 Worst Corvette Daily Drivers
Joe Kucinski
The Headlights of Every Corvette Generation Explained
Joe Kucinski
5 Best & 5 Most Overrated Corvette Track Packages of All Time!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
Great! Now when my boss asks me if I fixed anything on Sunday I can honestly say yes 