Help... Has anyone installed the Remote Engine Starter themself?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by GreenMaterialism, Jul 31, 2012.

  1. GreenMaterialism

    GreenMaterialism Junior Member

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    Greetings!
    I'm in the midst of installing Toyota's remote engine starter and need some help. I'm following the directions diligently, but have run into a problem:

    On Page 14, figure 4.4, the directions clearly say to install a wire from the new wiring harness into an existing connector. However, the indicated slot is already taken by a yellow wire. There's an empty slot next to it, but electrical wiring is not horseshoes nor hand grenades! Unless Toyota just goofed by one - but that seems highly unlikely.

    Directions are here: http://www.toyotapart.com/PT398-47091.pdf, with the picture in question looking like this:

    [​IMG]

    Next beer's on me if anyone can help me figure this out! (If it matters, I'm installing on a 2010 Prius 3.)
     
    #1 GreenMaterialism, Jul 31, 2012
  2. GreenMaterialism

    GreenMaterialism Junior Member

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    Hmm... I think i've got it... will post back shortly.
     
    #2 GreenMaterialism, Jul 31, 2012
  3. GreenMaterialism

    GreenMaterialism Junior Member

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    My rookie mistake. The car has two identical connectors, one on top of the other, and the top one is obscured by wiring that runs over it. Based on the photos in the install directions, I just pulled and was looking at the bottom one - since I didn't even see the top one. Once I got under there and figured it out, the correct connector did indeed have a blank spot for the red wire. Crisis averted, and I know have the magic of remote start!
     
    #3 GreenMaterialism, Jul 31, 2012
  4. GreenMaterialism

    GreenMaterialism Junior Member

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    A couple other notes: 1) After the physical install, before you press the start button 14 times, it says to "close all doors" - this means you must OPEN and CLOSE each door once - not simple make sure they are closed. It's part of the programming dance.

    Now mine is up and running, although I'm curious how it works for others. Does activating the remote start always start up the ICE, or does it just start the car up to "ON" - where the actual engine may or may not start as needed? Mine seems to do the latter, which doesn't feel right.
     
    #4 GreenMaterialism, Jul 31, 2012
  5. Judgeless

    Judgeless Senior Member

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    I had the OEM remote start and after one winter I upgraded to a Viper unit. The OEM unit only works from 30 feet and turns the car off after 10 min. You can start it again for another 10 min. After that it will not start.
     
    #5 Judgeless, Aug 1, 2012
  6. peterjmc

    peterjmc Ping pong in Ding Dang...

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    The remote starter only starts up the ICE if:
    - The battery is low
    - Your climate control settings are on which require ICE (Heat, or A/C).

    Otherwise remote starting just leaves your car in the ready position and turns your radio on if you left it on.
     
    #6 peterjmc, Aug 2, 2012
  7. Judgeless

    Judgeless Senior Member

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    Warming up the car or cooling it down is the purpose people install the remote start. A remote start on a Prius does exactly that. It starts the car and the car takes over what needs to happen.

    - For heat it will start the ICE to create heat to warm up the car.
    - For Cold it will run the electric A/C until the battery gets depleted and the ICE will start to charge it.
     
    #7 Judgeless, Aug 2, 2012
  8. Darth_Irritable

    Darth_Irritable New Member

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    This was a life saver - thanks for posting. I ran into the EXACT issue.

    One Question. Where do you get the Techstream software to complete the installation?
     
    #8 Darth_Irritable, Nov 17, 2013
  9. GreenMaterialism

    GreenMaterialism Junior Member

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    Glad it helped - that's exactly why I posted it! I figured that if I got myself into that situation, it was bound to happen to someone else too. As for Techstream, I borrowed a netbook with it preloaded from a fellow PC member.
     
    #9 GreenMaterialism, Nov 23, 2013
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