Compustar installed wrong.... Help!

[TripleBlack]

So yesterday (Wednesday) I took my car to a Compustar AUTHORIZED installer out here in Los Angeles County to get an alarm/ remote starter installed.

I got the 2w900FMR- 3A pager and an FT 5000as-cont brain installed.



The reason I bought this alarm is because it's supposed to be designed for manual transmissions and if you happen to leave your car in 1st the vehicle will NOT start.

So here is the problem...

After waiting like 7 hours for installation the installers told me it was done and gave me a VERY brief run through on how to work the alarm. One of the installers told me NEVER LEAVE YOUR CAR IN FIRST, otherwise your car will crash into whatever is in front of it. I told him thanks but that this alarm was specifically designed to prevent that from happening.

He immediately got a nervous look on his face and told me that ANY alarm can be wired to remote start a vehicle with a manual transmission. I told him that I understood that but that this alarm had a safety that prevented the car from being started in first. He again repeated to me that any alarm could be wired to start but that I shouldn't leave it in first gear. So again I repeated the same thing to him again and he told me the EXACT same thing again! So I told him that he didn't understand what I was saying (I think he was just trying to avoid the subject).

They also also told me that it didn't come with a user manual OR second remote. I went and talked to the owner about the remote and manual and he went and got me both items and got mad at the installers, but since by that time I was in a big hurry I didn't have time to test the remote start safety feature in front of them in the shop.

***flash forward to today***

I had my suspicion that the alarm wasn't installed right because the 'safety' steps stated in the manual to safely remote start my vehicle wouldn't work. It states that when in 'reservation mode' the car will remain ON even after I take my keys out and will turn off only after I close the door and ONLY then will I be able to remote start my vehicle.

Well low and behold that DOESN'T HAPPEN. If I do the safety steps the car just turns off. It DOES start with the 2 way remote but here is the problem....

I parked my car in my back yard leaving plenty of space in front of it. I turned it off but stayed inside. I hovered my feet over the clutch and brake and remote started my vehicle. To my dismay my ****ing car nearly started to jump forward but I quickly depressed the clutch and slammed on the brakes. The car turned off fine but now I'm ****ing furious! :fm:

So my plea to you guys and gals is if anyone of you guys know what could be wrong with it can you please tell me. I know a few of you guys swear by compustar so I was wondering if you could chime in.

Also if any of you guys can give me any links with useful info about the safety feature can you please post them? I plan on printing out as much info as I can get and hopefully have those guys realize they ****ed up and fix it for me. I paid a lot of money and I don't want to get screwed.




Sorry for the novel I just wrote but any help would be appreciated. Thanks. :beer:

 

[Instigator99]

Once you get ready to turn off the car here is what you do:

-Put car in neutral
-Put foot on brake
-Engage parking brake
-Take foot off break
-Exit car and shut the door

Once all the doors are shut then the car will turn off on it's own. This is the ONLY way that the car will be able to be started using the remote. If the parking brake is not engaged or if it is not in neutral the car simply will not start.

If all else fails bring it back to the shop that installed it and talk to the owner, as his installers are obviously shady. Or bring it to another Compustar authorized shop, as Compustar offers a lifetime warranty on their products.


-Eric

 

[T-Bolt]

My suggestion: put a stop payment on your credit card, call Compustar, and tell them this shop fudged the install, then ask them where to have it re-done. I don't really know about the specific steps on what needs to be done for a manual car, but it is not complicated, and these guys are not brain surgeons, nor are they honest (those 2 remotes are zip tied together in the box BTW). Chances are they did a hack job too. BTW, when I was working at a shop, a skilled technician could do a remote start in about an hour and a half, and that was doing it mint.

 

[RDJ]

you suspected something was wrong, and instead of taking the time to check it out before you left the shop, you just drove off? did I read that right? what is your life/car worth to you?

 

[TripleBlack]

Once you get ready to turn off the car here is what you do:

-Put car in neutral
-Put foot on brake
-Engage parking brake
-Take foot off break
-Exit car and shut the door

Once all the doors are shut then the car will turn off on it's own. This is the ONLY way that the car will be able to be started using the remote. If the parking brake is not engaged or if it is not in neutral the car simply will not start.

If all else fails bring it back to the shop that installed it and talk to the owner, as his installers are obviously shady. Or bring it to another Compustar authorized shop, as Compustar offers a lifetime warranty on their products.


-Eric

Those are the steps that I did and the car jumped forward so I slammed on the brakes and the clutch.


Do you have a link to where it may say this on a website? I know it says it in the manual but the more places I can reference the better. I'm going to stop by tomorrow.

 

[TripleBlack]

you suspected something was wrong, and instead of taking the time to check it out before you left the shop, you just drove off? did I read that right? what is your life/car worth to you?

The alarm won't magically make me crash or blow up. In fact the alarm works fine. The proximity sensor, shock sensor, relays and all that work. The remote start works, EXCEPT it still works even with my car in first.

If I suspected anyhing it was because of the guys tone. Not because the alarm itself felt weird. The alarm is hooked up like a viper alarm. Had this been a viper alarm I would have no complaints because starting it in first is the risk you run with them.

So there is nothing life threatening there.

Thanks though RDJ I appreciate your concern. oke: :lol: :beer:

 

[T-Bolt]

The alarm won't magically make me crash or blow up. In fact the alarm works fine. The proximity sensor, shock sensor, relays and all that work. The remote start works, EXCEPT it still works even with my car in first.

If I suspected anyhing it was because of the guys tone. Not because the alarm itself felt weird. The alarm is hooked up like a viper alarm. Had this been a viper alarm I would have no complaints because starting it in first is the risk you run with them.

So there is nothing life threatening there.

Thanks though RDJ I appreciate your concern. oke: :lol: :beer:

Arm the car and have a friend with a loud exhaust drive by it. I bet it goes off because they couldn't set the shock sensor right either.

 

[Instigator99]

Those are the steps that I did and the car jumped forward so I slammed on the brakes and the clutch.


Do you have a link to where it may say this on a website? I know it says it in the manual but the more places I can reference the better. I'm going to stop by tomorrow.

Correct me if I'm wrong, which I doubt I am, but there is no possible way that the car will jump ahead if the parking brake is engaged and the car is in neutral.


-Eric

 

[TripleBlack]

Correct me if I'm wrong, which I doubt I am, but there is no possible way that the car will jump ahead if the parking brake is engaged and the car is in neutral.


-Eric

The car was in first. My bad I thought I was clear about it.

I did the safety steps but left the car in FIRST to see if the safety mechanism was working properly. Unfortunately as you have read it ISN'T working properly and thus my cause for concern.

 

[snowborderus]

After waiting like 7 hours for installation the installers told me it was done and gave me a VERY brief run through on how to work the alarm. One of the installers told me NEVER LEAVE YOUR CAR IN FIRST, otherwise your car will crash into whatever is in front of it. I told him thanks but that this alarm was specifically designed to prevent that from happening.

He immediately got a nervous look on his face and told me that ANY alarm can be wired to remote start a vehicle with a manual transmission. I told him that I understood that but that this alarm had a safety that prevented the car from being started in first. He again repeated to me that any alarm could be wired to start but that I shouldn't leave it in first gear. So again I repeated the same thing to him again and he told me the EXACT same thing again! So I told him that he didn't understand what I was saying (I think he was just trying to avoid the subject).

Sounds like he was trying to tell you it wasn't going to work like that.

 

[Iman01]

Sounds like a simple case of the installer not hooking that feature up. Could be it isn't compatible with your car or he was lazy. Call the manufacturer to find out for sure?

 

[TripleBlack]

Sounds like he was trying to tell you it wasn't going to work like that.

Yeah I tried to get him to say that but he just wouldn't commit to it, and again I had other things to do in the afternoon so I didn't have time to check it out.

I'm definitely going to ask him about it. I didn't get a chance to go today because of school and work, and it seems like I won't get a chance to go until Tuesday. :fm:

 

[wvmystichrome]

Good read but the longer you wait to go back is more time for him to get an excuse ready to why it won't work the way it's supposed to.

 

[GloomySVT]

Why would you put a remote start in a manual anyway? :??:

 

[TripleBlack]

Good read but the longer you wait to go back is more time for him to get an excuse ready to why it won't work the way it's supposed to.

Yeah I know. I've already registered my alarm with compustar and I made several copies of my receipt. I'll be heading down there on Tuesday and see what they tell me. If they give me the run around I'm going to just call compustar and let them know.

Why would you put a remote start in a manual anyway? :??:

There are plenty of reason's why. Look up compustar. :read: It's perfectly safe (when installed right :cuss.

 

[Instigator99]

Why would you put a remote start in a manual anyway? :??:

Umm, why wouldn't you?

On hot days you can leave your a/c on so when you start it up you have a nice cool car to get into.

On cold days (up in the north) you can start the car and have it be nice and toasty when you get into it.

Not necessarily in this application but Compustars have a turbo timer feature that is great for the life of the turbo(s).

Also he said it is also an alarm, so it has that going for it.

Just because a car is a manual does not mean it shouldn't need an autostart.


-Eric

 

[ford_racer]

PM blown_by_you. From what I hear, he is a wizard with these things, and I he might have the same model alarm that you have installed in his 95 Cobra. It's a Compustar for sure.

 

[Thump_rrr]

Once you get ready to turn off the car here is what you do:

-Put car in neutral
-Put foot on brake
-Engage parking brake
-Take foot off break
-Exit car and shut the door

Once all the doors are shut then the car will turn off on it's own. This is the ONLY way that the car will be able to be started using the remote. If the parking brake is not engaged or if it is not in neutral the car simply will not start.

If all else fails bring it back to the shop that installed it and talk to the owner, as his installers are obviously shady. Or bring it to another Compustar authorized shop, as Compustar offers a lifetime warranty on their products.


-Eric

Those are the steps that I did and the car jumped forward so I slammed on the brakes and the clutch.


Do you have a link to where it may say this on a website? I know it says it in the manual but the more places I can reference the better. I'm going to stop by tomorrow.

I have had remote start equipped manual cars since 1991.

The way mine work is as follows.

Park car leaving it running in neutral with all doors closed, the hand brake applied and you still in the car.

Press the button on the remote and the lights flash twice indicating that you can pull out your key.

You pull out your key and the car continues to run.

(If you remove the handbrake or touch the foot brake the car will die and not remote start.)

With the car running and the keys in hand everyone exits the vehicle and all doors are closed. Remember the engine is still running while the trans is still in neutral.

Once all doors are closed you press the button on the remote and it stops the engine and the auto start is now enabled.

If you open the door to get something out of the vehicle after you turn it off the remote start is now deactivated since someone can accidentally shift the car into gear.

The assumption is that by going through the whole exercise of having the car running while everyone exits the car is that nobody is stupid enough to put it in gear while running.

If you leave the windows open or the convertible top down and someone can reach in the system is no longer foolproof.

If I wanted to get something out of my car while not disabling the remote start I would have to start the car with the remote starter, unlock the vehicle and remove what I wanted, close the door and press thr button on the remote which would lock the dorrs and kill the engine allowing it to start the next time.


There is no actual switch which senses if the trans is in any gear at all.

 

[FordSVTFan]

One common denominator I have found with places that install car alarms and stereos is that they typically hire those who can make a radio/alarm work in your car regardless of whatever they screw up to do it. Most installers are not professional installers and have no formal training. Often times you will have other electrical problems down the road. Even worse you will have mechanical problems that relate back to the install because of the way they jacked up your electric system which is causing your car's computer to malfunction.

Pay the extra money and go to a shop that hires professional installers who are trained.

 

[TripleBlack]

PM blown_by_you. From what I hear, he is a wizard with these things, and I he might have the same model alarm that you have installed in his 95 Cobra. It's a Compustar for sure.

Will do... Yeah from what I've read the man swears by them and in fact the good things he's said about the alarm are what made me look into this particular alarm. Thanks. :beer:

One common denominator I have found with places that install car alarms and stereos is that they typically hire those who can make a radio/alarm work in your car regardless of whatever they screw up to do it. Most installers are not professional installers and have no formal training. Often times you will have other electrical problems down the road. Even worse you will have mechanical problems that relate back to the install because of the way they jacked up your electric system which is causing your car's computer to malfunction.

Pay the extra money and go to a shop that hires professional installers who are trained.

I did pay the extra money to go to a 'professional' shop. They are listed as 'authorized' installers for Compustar.

I know I could have bought the complete alarm with proximity sensor for like $200 on ebay and had my buddy (who is a head installer at a best buy) install it for free, but I took it to one of THEIR authorized places so that I could have my lifetime warranty and tech support on the alarm module.

Now I payed a hell of a lot more than that and this is the shit I get. :mj:



From other threads that describe shady deals you seem to give good advice, so assuming they refuse to fix it or say that this is how it's 'supposed' to work what should I do?

Some quick key points:

1. They didn't warn me that it wasn't installed right.
2. I still have my original receipt.
3. They are an authorized installer.
4. The fine print on the receipt states that they guarantee that all of their products will be installed correctly and to spec.