Clutch switch disable w/ remote start

This is my first post here, please bare with me.. I'll soon get the hang of it.

My question is; I was wondering about a remote starter install. Friend of mine who works at a car performance and audio shop will install it for me. However he was saying that the clutch needs to be disabled(obviously) so that the car can be started remotely. However this will disable the cruise control function as well, seeming as the car will think it's out of gear.(as i have been told) Would it be possible to do it any other way, keeping all factory cruise functions while disableing the clutch switch? I read in the How-To/Mods part of the page about disabling the clutch switch, but it didn't state any side effects about the cruise control.

If anyone has any knowledge, or different approaches, please let me know, would be much appreciated!

Aside from the clutch switch disable, you will also need to override the PATS (Passive Anti-Theft System) with a bypass.

You may or may not want to rethink doing this as wants you have the PATS bypass installed it will then allow the car to be hot-wired and stolen.

With the PATS in place it's a LOT harder to steal the car, almost impossible unless the thief is a pro and knows how to quickly connect a PATS bypass once he gets into the car. Most of the time, I would think that most thieves are quite that smart.

It's your car, but personally I would suck it up and just go outside and start the car myself when I need to rather than leave it more vulnerable to thieves!

http://www.contour.org/mods/mods.php?s=howto&displayid=8

OR - even easier then that. Undo the clip on the switch and then inster a staple, bent into a U shape into the two female ends to close the circuit - vio la, jumped!

Originally posted by Stazi:
you will also need to override the PATS (Passive Anti-Theft System) with a bypass.

Ah yes, this slipped my mind. Is the PATS system bypass the device that leaves a coded key wired somewhere in a box in the car, for starting without a coded key actually in the ignition?

But besides this inherent risk, is there any way around this cruise control being disabled(if i did decide to make it that easy to steal

Another question...

I talked to my buddy who claimed that the system does not disable PATS, it only disables it momentarily when the signal from the remote is recieved. Therefor, he claims it cannot be easily hotwired with this method.

Any idea on how valid this is?

That's a proper bypass. The "hidden key" method is asking for trouble!

I'm pretty sure IIRC there are teo switches on the clutch, but I could be wrong. Even so, when I had the clutch switch hjumped my cruise still work.

You want to jump the switch that is triggered first by pedal movement - look underneath the dash and watch the switch that is un-depressed (is that a word?) as you press on the clutch pedal - that's the one you unclip and jump with a staple.

I'm going to check it out now, I'll be back and let you know how it goes!

(By the way, thanks alot for your knowledge!)

Originally posted by ZZCSVT:
This is my first post here, please bare with me.. I'll soon get the hang of it. ...

Welcome.

Originally posted by ZZCSVT:
Another question...

I talked to my buddy who claimed that the system does not disable PATS, it only disables it momentarily when the signal from the remote is recieved. Therefor, he claims it cannot be easily hotwired with this method.

Any idea on how valid this is?

Your buddy is correct, the bypass only activates when you remote start the vehicle and otherwise PATS is still intact. DEI makes it and it's a 555F. Your cruise control will still work, just tell the tech to bypass the clutch using the clutch switch on the clutch pedal. Very simple to do and it effects nothing, it just allows you to start the car without pushing in the clutch. He can also put a relay on it so that it only bypasses the clutch when you try to remote start the vehicle.

And NO! the bypass will not make your vehicle easy to hotwire as PATS will still be intact!

Just don't forget to leave your car on neutral.

I've looked into this heavily. I purchased the 555f to go with my alarm. To do remote start on a manual SAFELY you need to develope a way to completely eliminate the possibility of starting the car in gear. My alarm has remote start and a turbo timer set up. The way to set this up is you bypass the clutch switch. next, have a relay that allows the remote start function to be activated when the e-brake has been applied. Then set the car to be turned off by the turbo timer. Now this part i dont exactly know if the alarm has this installed or if you have to add it on. But the concept is the car must be out of gear because you cannot get out of your car while its running and ingear(short of diving) then when the car senses all the doors have been closed it enables the remote start funtion to be active. The car then turns itself off and is now ready to be remote started. If any doors are opened the alarm disables the remote start function because the car may have been placed it gear.

They have alarms with this safety feature built in already. Alpine makes one and Compu-star makes one for cars with manual transmissions. The device is called a neutral saftey switch. If the car is not in neutral it won't start. It's really nothing much than a expensive merc switch that sits on the shifter.

That's an idea - you could always glues a mercury switch on top of the counterweghted lever on the shift tower so that the circuit is only closed when in neutral.

Good Idea Stazi!!!!

Originally posted by Stazi:
That's an idea - you could always glues a mercury switch on top of the counterweghted lever on the shift tower so that the circuit is only closed when in neutral.

or on a hill.

Ray

It would have to be one hell of a hill seeing the angle of motion the lever tilts, aaaaaaaaaaaaand you have to be parked side on to the hill.

T'was just a little humorous ribbing.. nothing serious about my prevous statement.

Ray

sorry for the hijack...but

I want a remote entry too...what should I get

95 contour gl...no alarm, non-power locks, automatic

and needs to be cheap...less than $100..anything more it becomes hard for me to justify not running outside and starting it up...I mean its only ten feet, would be nice after school to go into a nicely warmed car though...

You get what you pay for..

Take your $100 and hire someone else to walk out in the cold and start your car. for a month or two.. that's about as long as a $100 setup would last anyway.

seriously, though.

cheap stuff breaks, and causes (can) major wiring issues, and those are HARD to track down.

Ray

my clifford av4 alarm has a manual remote start. its called intellistart. i dont know if it would be compatible with dei alarms since dei owns clifford now. but it uses a dei pats bypass (yes the hidden key method). the car has to be in neutral, ebrake on, press the key combo on the remote, now u remove the key, get out of car, arm the alarm and car car shuts down. the alarm now awaits the remote start command. hit the remote start and the engine starts and the alarm is still alarm active protecting the car. if the alarm is tripped or somehow put into gear the alarm wont respond to the remote start command u try to give it.

thats flat out annoying!!!!!

Way to much nonsense....

I have a compu-star system and it is really cool. It has a relay on the clutch switch, temporarily bypasses the PATs system so it will still work as normal when the alarm is off, and it has an ebrake switch. Basically it keeps the car running when you pull the key out and you have the e-brake up. Then you get out of the car and when all the doors are shut it shuts off and arms the remote start and alarm. Works perfectly. Also, the remote works from over a mile away. Definately not a cheap system though. It took about 6 hours for the installer to install it.

Originally posted by You know who I beâ�??¢:
thats flat out annoying!!!!!

Way to much nonsense....

I concur!

why? its works and is very easy. i just laid out the steps but most are common sense. must be in neutral, ebrake must be on, etc. before i leave my car, i set the ac or heat to where i want it, click the command in the key fob, pull the keys out get out of the car and arm the car. car shuts off and alarm is active and awaiting me to tell the car to remote start the next time. very easy process. i can have it run for 10 min to 40 minutes. if u set off my alarm while its remote started the engine shuts off. very safe procedure