Remote Car Starter Installation
We strongly recommend that you get a professional to install your remote car starter. Please read the disclaimer at bottom of this page. For those who insist on a DIY for your remote car installation, be aware that this will involve messing with your car’s electrical system and you may damage the remote car starter as well as your vehicle. We assume no liability for your safety or for the accuracy or currency of any of the instructions below. It is your sole responsibility to check and verify any circuit before you connect it. Do not do this work if you do not have the right tools, especially concerning electrical tolls such as a computer safe logic probe or a digital multimeter.
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If you have any doubt, don’t. Instead, have your remote car starter installed properly by a professional. Read no further if you want your remote car starter installed guaranteed properly and professionally; instead, call your mechanic now.
If you’re still reading (since you insist!) we offer this overview of remote car starter installation.
We recommend the following full guide to installing a remote starter, in combination with the manufacturer’s instructions as provided with your remote starter kit. These are the best instructions for installing a remote car starter! The best you will be able to find on the Internet is a broad overview of instructions that will not provide an accurate, helpful amount of detail. (We can only offer a weak summary.)
An overview of installing a vehicle remote starter
Start with the right tools. These include the following:
- A digital voltmeter. Do not use a test light as this is old school silliness and can damage your vehicle and/or your vehicle’s computer. Don’t do it yourself if you’re going to do it wrong.
- Digital multi-meter
- Electrical tape
- Heat gun
- The remote starter kit
- Screw drivers: use only proper screwdrivers for each connection
- Shrink wrap
- Soldering iron and solder kit: solder all connections for the best long term fix and connection.
- Wire cutters
- Wire strippers
- Wrench set
If you do not have the right tools, don’t bother. Call a professional.
1. Before you begin
Check over the vehicle before you begin any work. Make sure all the lights (interior and exterior) and electrical are working properly. If there are any defects, trace the root of the problem and fix this first. Finally, make sure that the engine is running properly to ensure that there are no mechanical or other problems that will obstruct the proper installation of the remote car starter.
2. The manufacturer’s installation instructions
Read these entirely to get an overview of everything you’re going to be doing.
3. Disconnect the vehicle battery or power fuse, as per instructions provided in the manufacturer’s installation instructions. Use extreme caution while doing this. Some vehicles are equipped with two power wires so understand your vehicle’s peculiarities before you begin.
As with remote keyless entry the ignition is “key” to the installation.
All major connections for your remote car starter begin with your vehicle’s ignition switch.
Remove the panel under the wheel and locate all the following wires. The major connections are all involved in your installation, including Ignition, Accessory, Starter and Power.
4. Wiring of the ignition. The ignition POWER wire will display 10 to 14 volts with your car’s key in the RUN position.
If your car has a second ignition wire (as some vehicles do) you will need to connect it to an additional relay and you must not tie it in with the first ignition wire. You can connect the second relay wire using the first ignition wire’s negative relay trigger wire.
The ACCESSORY wire powers all of your vehicle’s interior fan, air conditioning, etc.
The START wire supplies power to starter solenoid which cranks the engine. Many of today`s vehicles will have a second wire. If it is necessary to connect more than one wire you will need to use a relay.
The parking light wire should be found at your vehicle’s light switch or packed within the collection of wires that leads to the back of your vehicle. This wiring can vary widely from one vehicle to another. The ground wire MUST be properly connected to the car starter for your vehicle to start, to function and to protect you from serious potential harm. Connect this to a clean metal surface in the kick panel. Do not ground this anywhere near the battery terminal.
The tachometer wiring is required by the remote car starter to monitor when the vehicle has been started so the starter can thus be disengaged. The tachometer wire is usually found on the distributor or the coil pack although some makes and models place this on the control module (ECM or PCM). You can trace this by following the spark plug wires to the vehicle ignition coil where you’ll see a small wire harness and the tachometer indicator. Each car starter will have settings for programming and not all make reference to every tachometer indicator.
5. Reconnect the battery and test the remote starter.
Disclaimer: Information on this page is not warranted for any accuracy or as professional advice and should be used as a reference point for professional advice provided by a manual or by the remote car starter’s manufacturer’s installation instructions. We do not accept any responsibility for breakage, damage to your vehicle or injury you sustain during the installation of your remote car starter. We strongly recommend that you hire a professional to install your remote car starter. This is supplied as a guide only and it is highly recommended that you follow manufacturer’s instructions where they are available.
We highly recommend getting to get the benefit of full instructions on installing your remote car starter.