Speaking of odd car problems....

[B.D.F.]

My wife and I went out Sunday morning in her car; when we got to our destination, I turned and removed the key, climbed out of the car as all normal people do, shut the door and started to walk away. That was when she pointed out an interesting thing..... the car was still idling! Hmmmmm. She had started the car with the remote starter as usual before this trip. The system is supposed to disengage with the application of the brake pedal so I climbed back in the car, pushed the brake pedal down and.... still idling. She checked and all the brake lights were working so that circuit was intact. Hmmmmm. It ended up that the only way to shut the engine off was to again use the remote start pendant.

This is the second problem with that remote starter in a couple of months: the first one was that it would not crank the engine long enough to start it. After a bunch of contortions, I found out how to teach the device to get to a minimum engine RPM before backing off the starter and that problem is gone. This whole thing makes me wonder if the entire remote stater / alarm unit is failing.

Brian

[Conrad]

Aftermarket?

[B.D.F.]

Yes, installed by the dealer when the car was new. The brand is "Code Alarm" which is really a Rostra apparently. Model is 420A if I remember correctly.

Brian

Aftermarket?

[VirginiaJim]

Time to get a Yamaha..

[B.D.F.]

Well, things have not progressed that far yet. 

Brian

Time to get a Yamaha..

[VirginiaJim]

We'll see.  A human being can only take so much from something electronic that starts a vehicle you know...

[B.D.F.]

I have no experience with that but I have heard that somewhere.... I cannot remember just where right at the moment though.

My problem is a little different though: the vehicle starts just fine, it is the shutting it off part that is troublesome. I do not yet know if the remote starter still has the 15 minute time- out in effect or not; if it is then at least the car won't run beyond 15 minutes after being remotely started. If not.... well then I may not need to bait any more mousetraps for the garage 'cause the CO will get them. 

The really sad part of this whole thing is that I was perfectly happy to walk away from the car without realizing it was still running.  My wife had to point out that I might want to attend to that 'problem'. It is really starting to look like this whole age- dementia thing could cause some problems beyond telling the same joke over and over again.... who knew?

Brian

We'll see.  A human being can only take so much from something electronic that starts a vehicle you know...

[VirginiaJim]

This happens to me all the time with the Prius.  I'll stop somewhere, get sidetracked, and forget to turn it off (the engine cuts off, but it's still on).  Course it won't let me out of the door without yelling at me with all kinds of warnings and such.  It should know that I want it to shut down.

You should be able to make a connector to make yours work correctly.  You are the master connector guy.

[B.D.F.]

Maybe but I think this one needs a different approach- just fixing it will probably work best. :-)

Brian

<snip>

You should be able to make a connector to make yours work correctly.  You are the master connector guy.

[stevewfl]

Great excuse for a new car

[Conrad]

snip...
It is really starting to look like this whole age- dementia thing could cause some problems beyond telling the same joke over and over again.... who knew?

Brian

Well, Brian. That's actually been going on for quite some time now, we weren't going to say anything...   

[VirginiaJim]

Until just the right time..

[RcrBoy]

Sometimes it's due to a logic error inside the ECM unit of the remote starter kit that the dealer installed, they're not a quality part. I'd never have one of these if it was not a factory manufactured assembly.

Just my 2 cents.....

-Mark-

[Miss Silvera]

Its the freaking  GPS saying your not to where you are supposed to be yet....it has taken over and won't let the car shut down....

RISE OF THE MACHINES
 

[B.D.F.]

Yeah, that thought crossed my mind too. There are lots and lots of failures showing up in a quick Google search. The thing I do not know is how many of them they sold so I have no idea what the failure rate is like.

The actual unit (easy boys!) is right above the brake pedal and easy to get to. Replacement would be quick and easy as along as the same unit was available (it is not) or a direct fit replacement was available.

Brian

Sometimes it's due to a logic error inside the ECM unit of the remote starter kit that the dealer installed, they're not a quality part. I'd never have one of these if it was not a factory manufactured assembly.

Just my 2 cents.....

-Mark-

[B.D.F.]

You know, now that you mention it.... I did start the car again not all that long after I tried to shut it off. Maybe it was just efficient thinking by the car?

The GPS is always saying I am not where I am supposed to be. Half the time, it does not know where it is supposed to be either. My very favorite GPS 'feature' is the long satellite acquisition time which really helps when leaving an unknown place; you get to guess at the first turn and then the GPS 'locates'.... and suggests a legal U- turn when possible. :-(

Brian

Its the freaking  GPS saying your not to where you are supposed to be yet....it has taken over and won't let the car shut down....

RISE OF THE MACHINES
 

[Pokey]

Jim owns and drives a very odd car. 

[Strawboss]

At least your car us RUNNING. Ours died Friday during the storm. 15amp fuse blown, spark plugs weren't getting juice. Running ok now. Its a 2002 and we want to keep it as its simple.

[VirginiaJim]

Jim owns and drives a very odd car. 

Truly.

[Leo]

I tend not to trust aftermarket technology.   I had a car that I really liked and wanted cruise control, I paid more for the factory parts than an accessory shop wanted for a completely installed aftermarket system, but I felt it would be more dependable.  Never had a problem with it.