Car starters..... anyone know anything about them?

[Junkman]

A few years ago, I had a car starter installed in my wifes car and it works well, that is, unless she forgets to turn off the lights and the battery goes dead. Every time something like this happens, whether it is a battery change over etc, the unit will loose the programming. I have to go back to were it was installed and they charge $25 and in less than 2 minutes, it is working again. They won't tell me the secret to the programming and this is getting old. The car was serviced last week and the dealership disconnected the battery to do some of the work.... now it will no longer start with the auto starter. The brand is Astroflex, Inc from Canada. I have tried to get the information from them also, but they protect the dealers and won't give it out. The model is a 1000.... does anyone here know how to program this unit when the battery is disconnected????? thanks.....

 

[BobReeves]

That really sucks, I don't know anything about the unit but I do know electronics. Should be no reason a remote starter ever needs reprogramming unless it is a poor design in the first place. Sounds to me like the company designed in an ongoing income generator for it's dealers.

If it was mine I would get a 12 volt lantern battery and a couple of diodes from Radio Shack. Before you take it back to get it reprogrammed cut the power wire to the brains, insert a diode with the cathode pointed at the device, Connect the other diode's anode to the plus terminal of the lantern battery and the cathode to the cathode of the other diode. This will give you battery backup, replace the lantern battery every year and no more reprogramming charges.

 

[Junkman]

If they detect that you have made any wiring changes to the unit, they will not activate it. Your assumption is correct.... they have created an ongoing income producing situation for the dealers. I have tried to get the codes from the manufacturer, but they claim that for safety reasons, they will not give them out. They further claim that if the codes are entered incorrectly, that damage to the engine could result. To me, this is totally bogus!!!!!

 

[tomnky]

Here is a website if You don't already have it.
Astroflex

 

[BIGUN]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Your assumption is correct.... they have created an ongoing income producing situation for the dealers. )</font>

On a similar situation, a coworker told me that after the battery went dead in his wife’s late model Volkswagen, it required that the dealer reset the computer on it and cost him like $200. Don’t remember if this even included the battery or not. I told him that would be reason enough for me not to want one.