WhiteRabbit

What do I see folks doing? grounding out the clutch switch. Great, but it's a highly dangerous procedure that can allow starting the car in gear.

bypassing safety features of the vehicle to me is ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE in any way, shape or form.

...but I want remote start. How can I keep the car in a safe state?

Simple answer is a sensor on the stick to allow operation in neutral and disallow operation in gear. Many ways to do it, but what's the simplest?

Here is the solution I came up with. requires the following parts:

Magnetic switch from radioshack for $5. roughly barrel shaped, like a fuse.
3 inches of plumbers backstrapping.
few feet of wire, one ring terminal, one spade terminal, one T-tap.
One small magnet.

These parts all together cost roughly $10. Many of you will have 80% of the parts laying around already.

whats nice about the install is that the switch already fits in the holes of the backstrapping. makes physical mounting VERY easy. I mounted the switch at one end of the backstrapping. The other I screwed to the plastic shifter housing, drivers side. The switch sits parallel to the shift stick at neutral, pointed at it. I faced my switch to the flat on the stick the linkage attaches to. I figured the flat would make mounting the magnet securely easier.

the switch will need some adjusting to get right. Fortunately, it's held to the housing via backstrapping which is flexible but holds its shape.

now that it's installed, the switch has two wires. one is to be grounded. crimp on the ring terminal to the end of the lead and screw it down to the star groun just behind the shifter.

Next, lead a single wire from the switch up to the underdash. use the T-tap to tap the sensor wire and hook up the switch.

hold the magnet in place with some hot glue.

adjust the switch position. The switch needs to be made at neutral, but shouldnt be physically struck when bringing the stick over for first or second gear. in first and second gear, the switch should be unmade.

now the car is bypassed in neutral, and no interface is needed for remote start at all. itll automatically work. Assuming the car is in neutral. RS will also work in gear. But the OEM car interlock will automatically disable the starter when the RS pegs the IGN wire.

The additionally nice thing about this, is that if there is ANY failure, the default position is not bypassed, and the car is never put into danger of lurching during cranking.

I've written this before, I believe it's been lost in the pages of the ICE forum.

Be safe when being fun.

electric130

iTrader: (44)

pics?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

nice mod

WhiteRabbit

wow, I actually have some old pictures taken of this one!

http://semi.noobing.com/NeutralSensor1.jpg
http://semi.noobing.com/NeutralSensor2.jpg

Thanks gearbox. I have a million of these things.

I've posted already the DIY to make the radio stay on till the door opens, like a chevy.

But beyond that, there are so much more. A recent project was with ribbon cables. Specifically how to extend a processor faceplate so I can tune from the drivers seat but keep the processor in the trunk.

The newest project is a way to install four CD changers (total of 41 cds) in my car and control them from up front with high quality digital signal transfer. For less than $150.

Full of great ideas.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

need more pixs....some ppl like [me] are stupid and need visuals...lol


but great mod...sounds awesome...

2002ExCivic

iTrader: (1)

I need pics. And the Radio thing is a must for me, it sounds so cool!

smjocivichy

Hello I'm new to this forum but have done some time on InsightCentral forum. I want to install an home made auto start for my wife's 09 civic hybrid, suggestions? I wanted to just hook up a 12v heater in the car with a remote for that, but I don't know if it will do a good enough job for her. So I'm back to looking at starters, however I just thought I could tap into the ignition wires with a remote, can that work? I read somewhere that the problem with the key can be solved by just leaving a spare key in the car near the steering wheel?

rjones7755

*waits for ezone's sarcasm*

WhiteRabbit

wow, bringing up such an old thread! And one specifically written to help those with manual transmissions to "have their cake and eat it too" so to speak (bypass in a safe way, that does not disable the clutch when in gear)

Anyways, I can help you. Here's what I distill from your post:

#1 - want to install home-made auto start.
#2 - Really, just want to heat the car in the driveway before leaving the house
#3 - Need insight on how the car transponder system works, and how to bypass it (without bypassing security)

So with those in mind, I have a few comments:

#1: I assume you know what a relay is, what it does, and how to wire one up. If you don't, don't worry. It's a prerequisite to make everything else I'm about to suggest work, but the information is searchable online in great detail, no need to go into it here.

#2: The reality is the the ignition sequence for the car is really straightforward, but it's not so simple as flipping a light switch. There's a sequence. The fuel pump primes the lines, the accessory ports are powered in sequence, then the starter is activated not based on time but based on the reaction from the engine (start till it turns over). You can use a microcontroller and a relay to simulate what you do with your car key, but why? There are off the shelf remote starts that do all the work for you. I REALLY RECOMMEND buying an aftermarket remote start and integrating it into the car. I like Autopage brand, because they make a remote start that will interface with your existing alarm (even factory), or if you want they have remote start car alarms too. I install just the add-on remote start from Autopage into all my cars.

#3: Using an off the shelf autostart (this can't cost you more than 50 bucks on ebay or the like), you get your one push operation. Not only does it safely start the car, it will sense the tach so the unit isn't pushing the starter motor while the car is already dunning. It will turn on the heater ACC line without having ACC2 on (radio, lights, etc). It will auto-shut-off if she forgets to go out to her car after a selected time you set (I set mine to 5 minutes). And you can link it to the lights or horn so she gets feedback that the command was accepted when she pushes the start button.

#4: This way, she just turns the heat to max when she stops the car the night before, and it's all set up for pre-heating the next morning. This is exactly how I use my remote start. Do you know how nice it is to have the heated seats already toasty hot on a cold morning?

#5 your wife drives a hybrid so I assume it's a CVT, not a manual. Therefore, you don't have to worry about the clutch interlock. (must depress clutch for engine to turn over). Nothing more to say.

---------------------------

#6 you DO have to worry about the transponder. It's a pretty simple system:

inside every key is a small antenna (very small). The way they make them, there are millions (or billions) of unique identifiers inside the antenna. Inside your steering column is an antenna. Its a piece of plastic that encircles your ignition switch. It's an antenna too. The ignition-switch antenna "reads" any antenna in proximity to the ignition switch when turning the key, and reports the identifier to the ECU. If your key is sensed, then the car is allowed to start. In the honda civic, the interlock hits the starter motor. You'll get all the clicks and prep to start, but the starter will not engage.

without this, your remote start will not function.

You can actually test this. Go have a spare key made, the $6 spare key with no "chip in it". It won't start your car. Then take the Honda key and hold it up against the $6 spare key, and the car will start. Doesn't need to touch, just needs to be near the ignition switch. Now, try taking TWO chipped keys and hold them up to the column. The car wont start again. The presence of TWO keys will send a "different" identification signal to the car antenna, and will fail the sensor.

something else you can do, is take apart the steering column shroud, and unclip the plastic ring around the ignition switch. THIS IS THE TRANSPONDER ANTENNA. Pull it away from the ignition switch. The honda key will no longer start the car. Put the honda key inside the ring and ANY non-chip key will start your car.

Neat, huh?

So what do we do about this? You have two choices.

1) they make special modules for bypassing this feature. You open up the box, stick a transponder key in there. Either your spare or buy a transponder key for $60 from a locksmith. The module when closed up looks like any other car alarm module. You install it somewhere in the car tucked up in the dash, and it has two interfaces. A secondary antenna, and a control. The control line hooks into your remote start module so the bypass is only "active" when the remote start is trying to start the car. That way, your transponder is still a functional security feature. The secondary antenna you route into the steering column and wrap around the ignition switch.

This device is nothing more than a dual antenna. The key sits inside an antenna, that's connected to another antenna. That antenna goes around the ignition switch. When active, the car antenna senses not a key, but another antenna which is linked back to the car key hidden in the dash, transmitting the needed signal to start.

2) This is all well and good, but you can actually do it one step cheaper. What is an antenna in this case? Nothing more than a loop of wire. You can technically take a long length of wire and make a dual antenna. Just make one big circle (maybe 2 yards of 26-20 gauge wire). Wrap the wire around the head of the key several times. Route the wire loop into the steering column, and wrap around the ignition switch several times. You've now permanently bypassed your car transponder.

I don't recommend this! Permanent bypasses are no good in my book. But here's how to make it work:

you can cut the loop of wire and insert a relay into the system. Fire the relay from the "transponder bypass" wire from the remote start. When you do this, your car will be bypassed, but only when the remote start is active.

Otherwise, it's normal and secure.











Hope that helps,

-Steve