legacycentral bbs

alright so i just bought an 03 wrx with 95000km. i love it! its completely stock for now.
so it came with a remote starter/alarm
the alarm and remote door locks work great but when i hit the car start button the exterior lights flash 10 times and thats it.
car in neutral, hand brake on, doors closed locked etc...
theres a toggle switch and a tiny red button switch under the dash and i've tried pressing/switching them and no difference. what do they do?

worst part is i dont know the brand or anything the box under the dash for the alarm/starter says nothing but "for manual transmission only" and theres a long number that is not readable i think it says sc1800103.
the remote has no tag on it either.
it looks identical to the stock wrx remote but it has a wood grain finish and a third button for the remote start.

any ideas?

-Alex

It's aftermarket, so it's anybody's guess.

The thing you're seeing that says "for manual transmission only" is an override for the clutch safety switch to make the ECU think the clutch pedal is depressed to allow the engine to start.

Since all remote start systems that I know of, OEM or aftermarket, are designed for automatics only... fitting one to a manual usually turns into a hackjob.

So I'd start there.

no thats the actual unit. like the computer or whatever you want to call it. the thing that receives the signal and then says lets unlock the doors or start the car blah blah. its one thats actually meant for a manual transmission.

i'm down to 2 things. i've read of people saying if the hood is open sometimes pressing the start button can cause the lights to flash 10 times, so i'm gonna see if theres an underhood switch unhooked or something.
and also on alot of manual cars there are retarded sequences or procedures that you have to go through everytime you get out of the car if you want the remote starter to work so i'll try a couple that i found online.
but feedback would still be appreciated from the more experienced than me.

-Alex

on most i've seen, you put the car in neutral, handbrake on, push some button, turn the key off (engine will stay running),get out, and lock the doors. the system will shut the engine off. this is the only way it can know the car is in neutral. if you unlock/ open doors, it disables and you would have to rearm it from the start. kind of a pain.

roundeye wrote:on most i've seen, you put the car in neutral, handbrake on, push some button, turn the key off (engine will stay running),get out, and lock the doors. the system will shut the engine off.

Yup, this is what my friend does in his 02 WRX.

hmm i'll try this, theres a toggle switch and a little red button under the dash, i'll play around with them.
thanks!
-Alex

I've installed expensive remote starters and I've installed cheap assed remote starters and all of them had a manufacurer and model number on them. Usually it will be molded right into the case on the under side. it wont have a sticker or something on it. if that fails, take the cover apart and look for a name on the printed circuit board.

any chance you could go through some of the more common "procedures" so that manual cars will start with the button? i've tried a few with no luck.

the casing for the computer under the dash has nothing imprinted on it just that sticker. i thought about opening it up but i dont want to mess anything up... i'll leave that for a last resort

on a lighter note i found the po's ownership in the car! so i'm gona call him up and see if it even works.

thanks guys
-Alex

you're not going to mess anything up by opening it. trust me on that. it would be alot easier to open the case then to sit here and speculate on what it is and what the procedure is. What about the remote, that could tell me pretty easily what make it is. Get a picture of it uploaded so i can see it.

http://img524.imageshack.us/g/1031091247.jpg/

3 buttons, looks a lot like the oem remote (from what the pics in the owners manual look like it just has the extra button) has a wood grain like finish. a lot like my legacys dash lol.

-Alex

ok well i'm stumped. It looks like an old school Alpine remote a little. Heres a thought. Most of these combo units have an extended range antenna that mounts the inside of the windshield. We usually put these behind the rear view mirror. if you have one of those you should see a name on that.

I FIGURED IT OUT!!!
with the eng still running in neutral park brake on i hit the start button on the fob 3 times. this unlocks the doors and then i take the key out but the eng stays running so i g et out of the car close all the doors and then hit the start button on the fob twice and the car shuts off and locks.
and then it will start with the remote
thanks to you all! your insights gave me the idea
-Alex

How the Hell did you figure that out?

roundeye wrote:on most i've seen, you put the car in neutral, handbrake on, push some button, turn the key off (engine will stay running),get out, and lock the doors. the system will shut the engine off. this is the only way it can know the car is in neutral. if you unlock/ open doors, it disables and you would have to rearm it from the start. kind of a pain.

read this and then started to push buttons. i pressed it once and nothing so i pressed it and held it and nothing then i was getting frustrated cuz nothing was working so i went crazy and started pushing it again and again and then i heard the doors unlock so i took the key out and the engine didnt shut off
weird i had no idea these systems were like this but cool it works, it'll help plenty in the winter months
-Alex

lol were canadian just happens

amen

I guess that's true. You guys just push (people's) buttons until you get what you want. Hahaha I kid.