opinions on keyless entry, remote start, alarm

[mrhino]

what are you guys running for keyless entry, remote start, alarm. what is a good choice, the best, the worst. any info would be great.

[77ChevySharkBite]

What I was planning to do for my truck, is I wanted to get the electric locks and what not for my truck through lmc, and then I was actually going to go get an alarm put on it, remote start I believe is a personal preference I have it on my DD I don't use it a lot unless its cold and in Texas thats rare, and I'll use it when its a scortching day outside. Alarm I have autopage not any issues with it really, my dad has a prestige on his truck, everyone will have there own opinions on alarms though.

[king-918]

Most companies under directed are good systems just pick a choose the features you want
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[Ziegelsteinfaust]

They are really cool to have., and I would love to have it on a vehicle one day.

If you do handle less make sure you use a strong popper. Also back in the day guys would hook up a pull cable to open a door if the system failed. Or if you have power windows you could have the drivers window roll down if the popper fails.

The remote start is fine as when it fails it just doesn't remote start anymore.

Last thing if you believe your battery is old. Replace it soon. Getting into a vehicle that has no handles is no fun, and AAA doesn't like doing it either.

I had a couple of friends who did this to their vehicles, and eventually they had a problem. The friend who had alternate ways of getting in was able to get a jump, and was on his way. The guy who didn't had to wait for a few hours for AAA to get a contractor who could or would open his handle less car open.

[king-918]

Originally Posted by Ziegelsteinfaust

They are really cool to have., and I would love to have it on a vehicle one day.

If you do handle less make sure you use a strong popper. Also back in the day guys would hook up a pull cable to open a door if the system failed. Or if you have power windows you could have the drivers window roll down if the popper fails.

The remote start is fine as when it fails it just doesn't remote start anymore.

Last thing if you believe your battery is old. Replace it soon. Getting into a vehicle that has no handles is no fun, and AAA doesn't like doing it either.

I had a couple of friends who did this to their vehicles, and eventually they had a problem. The friend who had alternate ways of getting in was able to get a jump, and was on his way. The guy who didn't had to wait for a few hours for AAA to get a contractor who could or would open his handle less car open.

Very correct have a contingency plan because it will fail just a matter of time
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[mrhino]

Im looking at just keyless entry im gonna keep the handles and door locks.

I had a 69 camaro a few years back with shaved handles. it looks sweet but Ill never have it again. Never!

[tucsonjwt]

I stay away from most electronics on my vehicles (except the simple stuff), so I had a local shop install a viper lock/alarm in my 83 C20 when I got it in 2002. I have had 2 problems.

First, whenever I have had various mechanics working on a pesky no start problem over the years, they have always disabled parts of the lock/alarm system. So, I am left with the lock only feature, which is all I really wanted.

The key fob style is the old large square type which is a bit large to put in your pocket, and the plastic hole for the key chain had broken, so I have had to rig up a fix. This would likely not be a problem for new units, and you can always get a replacement - but this kind of cheap manufacturing just irks me in my old age.

Of course, you will/should always carry an extra manual door lock key for when you get locked out (or use a hide-a-key to store one somewhere on your truck). This happens when you leave the truck running to check under the hood and close the door behind you to keep the air conditioning inside the cab, and then realize that the door locks automatically lock when the ignition starts the truck. Bad enough to be locked out, but burning gas while you are locked out is double bad.

I did have trouble with the lock feature not unlocking the doors, but after installing new actuators I found out that the lock rods were rusty/dirty and the actuators could not overcome the resistance.

I would call the local car alarm shops and find out what they are installing. Likely they will know the best brands to buy. Also, stick with a top installer and pay the extra $$$. There are a lot of kids out there with more ink and piercings than skill who are installing these things. (No offense meant to you capable youngins.)

[bk2life]

If done correctly you won’t have a problem.
A quick question, if you lock your keys out of your new car what do you do? You call a tow truck/AAA cops whomever and they come out and use a “jimmy” to unlock your door; same thing for shaved handles. There is still linkage or a cable in the door for the popper to activate the door latch. It’s really easy to open a shaved door.
Dead battery. I love this one. How many times in your entire life have you come out to your car to a dead battery? Me maybe once or twice in 30 years. so don’t listen to that excuse from anyone.
Door popper/solenoid stops working, it happens. What do you do? Oh no im stuck … blah blah, you push the button on your keypad to open the other door. Problem solved.
Fail safe. If for some reason you’re cursed by the gods above, go to your local bicycle store and get a brake cable for a ten speed. Run this from your door latch up under the fender well somewhere and you’ll never be locked out.

[DREAMER1]

^^i like the brake cable idea^^

I have a prestige alarm with a kill switch.( Won't start unless you electronically unlock it ) Since my Square is carbureted I was told not to do the remote start.
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[JWall]

I have had good luck with AutoPage brand stuff.
I've had them on the last 3 of my daily drivers.

[DREAMER1]

There was a guy on another forum that was looking for the same answers and came acroos a site called Auto-loc that had a bunch of gizmos for keyless entry and push button starters. Wouldn't hurt to take a look at
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[INSIDIOUS '86]

If your carbureted how does the auto start feature become beneficial when the engine is cold? I had a alarm and remote start in a old Buick before. Car ran great but the remote start can't do what a person does and start and keep your car running
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[Number21]

Originally Posted by INSIDIOUS '86

If your carbureted how does the auto start feature become beneficial when the engine is cold? I had a alarm and remote start in a old Buick before. Car ran great but the remote start can't do what a person does and start and keep your car running
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Why not? I've been looking into a remote start for my truck - you will need an extra solenoid to pull on the throttle if you have a carb, but otherwise it should work the same.

As for keyless entry...I just leave them unlocked.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Keyless entry can't pump the accelarator two or three times to pump enough fuel to start it other wise it cranks and cranks and cranks and cranks. This is where a fuel injection such as tpi or tbi or efi is good

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My best alarm is lowjack. So even if you steal my truck. Me and the police will be there in half hour lol

[zaccaglin]

I put a keyless entry kit in my suburban and love it. It was just a cheap Bulldog set I bought from samsclub.com. It works great and was fairly straight forward to install. I wish I had remote start but just didn't want to have to deal with the glow plug factor. As for an alarm system I just didn't want to have to mess with it.
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[bigblock73]

I use and like Spal, they have nice kits
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[GmtGmt]

all non OEM keyless entry, immobilizer etc suck plain and simple
i have delt with so much of that crap and most of the instaltion jobs are really crappy,

[Number21]

Originally Posted by INSIDIOUS '86

Keyless entry can't pump the accelarator two or three times to pump enough fuel to start it other wise it cranks and cranks and cranks and cranks. This is where a fuel injection such as tpi or tbi or efi is good

My truck starts with just 1 pump...don't even need to do that in the summer. I have an Eddelbrock carb though...

Somewhere I saw a remote starter that was designed for carbs, but I can't find it now. I've read about people using the trunk popper solenoid to pump the throttle as many times as necessary.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by Number21

My truck starts with just 1 pump...don't even need to do that in the summer. I have an Eddelbrock carb though...

Somewhere I saw a remote starter that was designed for carbs, but I can't find it now. I've read about people using the trunk popper solenoid to pump the throttle as many times as necessary.

Don't sound bad. A trunk button on the key fob and a cylinoid may work with a fast idle and a carb with a good electric choke. Should work. Be a pain to get all that wired but so would an efi system
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[homemade87]

I put in a viper 350hv. Works great. The only thing I found out is if you dont drive your truck much the alarm will kill you battery with it armed. I left mine for about 4 weeks and went to crank it and dead. I dont drive my truck much. If I had know this I would have done some research to see if there was one that would not drain your battery when armed. Might be worth looking into if you truck sits around much.

[mrhino]

I ended up getting one off ebay. It is a Crimestopper CS2011RS IV Alarm / Remote Start Unit. it looks like it will do everything I want and then some. Keyless entry and remote start are the main features I wanted. This unit looks like it will unlock just drivers door and a second push of the remote will unlock all the doors which will be nice. The wiring looks fairly complex so will see how that goes.