When the weather turns cold, one of the most common questions we get at Perfectionist Auto Sound & Security is “My remote starter stopped working. What do I do now”? If this applies to you, the good news is that, most of the time, one of these situations will apply to your vehicle. While many of the situations with a remote starter apply to all brands, we are going to focus on Compustar, our feature brand. Here are some of the things that might come up.
My vehicle will not respond to my remote control.
The first thing to look for is the LED flashing when you push a button on the remote. If you have an LCD-based remote control, is the display dead? If the remote is not responding to you, there is a good possibility you just need a battery for it. If you own one of the high-end Compustar remotes that have internal batteries, then it needs to be charged.
Your remote might also have lost programming. If the remote seems to be functioning normally but the vehicle is not responding, it may be as simple as the remote needing to be programmed to the vehicle again. Call us or stop by at your convenience and we can walk you through programming the remote to your vehicle.
My remote start will lock and unlock the doors, but the parking lights no longer flash, and my vehicle won’t start.
This one is very simple. Your remote has been put into “valet mode.” This function was designed by Compustar as a safety feature so you could lend your vehicle to a friend, and they would have the keyless entry function but not use of the remote start. Not to worry – getting it out of valet mode is pretty simple. Press the lock button and the trunk button on your remote control at the same time. If the parking lights flash two times, your remote and vehicle have come out of valet mode, and you should be good to go.
When I ask the vehicle to start, it flashes the parking lights several times and never tries to start.
If this happens to you, you might have a broken or failed hood pin switch. Perfectionist Auto Sound & Security installs a simple device to alert the remote starter that your hood is open. If the hood is open, the device defeats the remote-start function to protect someone who may be working on your vehicle.
If this scenario sounds like you, call us, and we will set you up for a quick diagnostic appointment and get you back to being warm and toasty.
I asked my vehicle to remote start, and it shuts right back off after it starts.
This means that your vehicle may have lost the tach signal, which tells the remote start when the engine is running. It also might mean that the integration module is not communicating properly with the car computer. Don’t worry – no damage to the vehicle will happen, but we will need to schedule you to bring it in for a short diagnostic appointment to remedy the situation.
Whatever the situation, however rare, please know that Perfectionist Auto Sound & Security is here for you. Our customer service is legendary here in Alaska. You have our word that we will do everything in our power to get your remote starter working again as quickly as possible.
Feel free to contact us HERE for more information about anything related to your remote car starter.
