viper 550 remote

has anyone had problems with the remote not working that well? i just put a new battery in, and tested it in both remotes, and i have to keep pressing it over and over before the alarm will actually arm.
what could be the problem? i dont want to spend 50bucks on a new remote if i dont need to.

OK, first when you press the button does the litle light on the remote go on? If it does, and its a fresh batery then clean the battery contacts, if that doesn't work, and you know its a fresh batter, then I'd check make sure you alarms antena is still in place - ie it hasn't been torn off or something due to some type of modes you've been doing under your dash or somethin... If the little light on the remote doesn't come on then do the following:

open it up again, and clean the battery contacts, with contact cleaner, or use an eraser head.
Then clean the button contacts and the buttons (on the inside).
While you are cleaning the remote, give it a really good visual inspection, for any cracks in the board, any loose connections - ie maybe one of the battery contacts broke off, or perhaps one of the little resisters has broken off the board a bit.. If something like this has happend then its just a matter of pulling out the sodering gun...and it'll be ok.

hope this helps

hey thanks.
yea, i went to circuit city where i got it installed. and they said it could be a bad brain/receiver or the antenna could be loose. where can i find all these things?

ive seen the box under the dash that you can adjust sensativity with.. is that the main control box that receives the signal? does the antenna come out of it?

the wierd thing is, this morning when i got to work, i tried to arm it. i stood there for a couple minutes, pressed it at least 15-20 times, and nothing. i just ended up locking the doors by hand, no alarm. then later today i was out running errands, and numerous times i armed and disarmed with ease. most of the time i only had to press it once or twice.

doesnt make any damn sense. and yea, its a new battery.

the antenna is just a black wire that comes out of the control unit, its about 4 feet long (give or take a foot) - usually this wire is ruted up towards the dash, optimally up one of the front window colums - anyrate it should be easy to find it if you grope around for it.

So i take it that the light on the remote does go on when you press the button?

I guess i should mention that i used to have a viper 500 HF and after a couple of years it started acting a bit screwy - little things like occasionaly not alowing me to arm it, or disarm it (I'd half to do the old key in the egnition and press the "secret" button), and sometime the light would just stay on sold, even after the elarm was off...
AT ANY RATE when my alarm would start doing this, i'd half to disconnect the battery for a couple of minutes, then reconnect it, then, after i'd shut the siron off, it would be back to normal (at least for a couple of weeks) sorry don't think i would buy one again

yea the light comes on bright, battery is about a week old now. anyways, its coming and going even more now. i tried locking myself in the car. i stuck the remote under the dash, and nothing. i was less than a foot from the receiver and it wouldnt work. but then sometimes it still works fine.

man i wish i hadnt gotten that damn viper bs

If I were you, i'd get under the dash, find the control unit (it wont be to hard - take you 30 min) then i'd pull out the wiring harness, give it a visual inspection...then plug it back in... then check the connections of some of the other wires, specifically the connection that powers the unit (probably a red wire - check the manual) anyway your problem could be caused by a poor connection or somethin...
p.s. - don't buy a Clifford Alarm either - I think DEI has bought the company.

sounds like.. Ignition wire is not hooked up right.. I work with viper alarm all the time at work.. anyways.. they way Circuit city hookd up ur remote start is not 100% to tell u that.. If one wire is wrong. it takes awhile for it to respond to it.. bring it back and have them chekc it out.. dont mess with it.. Keep in mind that the alarm itself is LIFETIME warrenty.. so let Cirrcuit city deal with it.. they install it.. all install should have life time warrenty on installs too.. juss go back and tell them

2 remotes... 1 has remote start programmed & the other doesnt. how do I program it?

Turn the ignition switch on, press the valet button once, release, then press and hold it. You should hear it chirp. When it does, press the lock button on each remote.

BTW, The easiest way would be to take it to Circuit City and you better do it fast since they are going bankrupt!!!!

ponchonutty, weren't you the one that got me to buy that Compustar ? If so, I have a couple of quick questions.

Yes I am. Having problems with it?

I ended up getting the 2WSS-A and I have two small questions. On the pre-wired starter kill relay there are four wires, 30 is yellow black and 87 is yellow these are to interrupt the actual starter wire. Pin 85 and 86 are wired straight into the alarm connector with very thin wires, but the green one has another 12-14 Ga green wire - where does this wire go ?

The other question I have is about programming the aux outputs to be latch. I found a canadian site last night that looks like it might have the info - I will have to go thru it when I get the car back today

1) on the extra relays yes, the one with the yellows are for the starter interrupt. Make sure to have the yellow and yellow/black on the right sides of the cut starter wires or the vehicle will not remote start.

2) on programming I am unsure because us dealers have a programmer that does all of that for us. Also, on some of the units especially the Pro versions you HAVE to use the programmer. They've made it so the extra menu items are not accessable to anyone else but a dealer.

I do not have remote start, but from my knowledge of relays I am sure it's on the right side. But what I need to know is what the extra 12 Ga green wire is for on the prewired relay harness on like pin 85 or 86. That might be something for the remote start that I do not have.

As for programming, iirc that's why you advised me not to get the pro version ..... because I would not be able to program it.

Some of the harnesses are the same whether you have an alarm, remote start, or combo unit. What's the model # on the brain? Is it a CM3300?

I will have to get back to you ... it's in the shop and I may not get a good look at it until fri, Dec 5. I will let you know though.

No problem.

CM3300 V.3 is what the module says. It seems that large green wire is to connect to the switched power wire to let the brain know when the key is on.

OK. Yes, the green wire is the ignition sense wire. You can go to www.compustar.com and then go to dealer support then select your brain you have then print out the install manual.

ok, now the door lock won't work. I wired the 451M module to interface to the alarm along with a DPST switch for manual lock/unlock. It worked for a while .... am I supposed to put a diode or something inline with the outputs to protect the 451 module ?

No. All the 451m is nothing but 2 SMPT relays together.

somebody told me I was going the extra mile, all I had to to was the same thing with an SPST switch and ground out either the lock or unlock input into the relay instead of the outputs.

What car is this for?

i my sig above .... I had to put the door locks and power windows in myself since it didn't come with them, even as an option.

Gotcha. So, you used aftermarket door lock actuators with no door switches? If so, then yes I guess you'd need the 451m relay and hook it up as a reverse polarity set up. Both the purple and small red wires would go to 12v power then follow the instructions in the 451m kit on how to hook it up from there to the alarm.

I actually already had it working, but I think wiring in the switch in parallel with the output of the 451M blew the module output. Using the module inputs for the extra switch is a lot easier since I am just grounding it out, not applying any voltage.