Recent Keyless Entry/Remote Starters?

[JHZR2]

My 96 Ram Diesel (MT) has an old CrimeStopper keyless/remote start. The remotes are no longer available, the company has changed hands multiple times, and the new company has but a lousy installation diagram.

The good news is that the installation seems to have been done well. And the truck wires are “standard” to a year range. Should be reasonable to use the existing wiring setup.

Honestly I have no use for remote start. I do want keyless entry.

Most of the documentation on the forums for folks installing systems are from the 2010-2012 timeframe. Everything is obsolete from an “I installed model x” perspective.

So… has anyone installed a good one recently? There’s units from the no name $15 units on Amazon, up to the $150+ units. I doubt there’s much difference.

But any recommendations? Particularly for an MT mechanical injection diesel (if recommending a remote starter)?

Thanks!

 

[ctechbob]

You'll most likely end up with one of DEI's 10000's (Not really, it just seems like it) of brands. They're probably the biggest player in that market, and there's nothing wrong with that, their hardware works and is fairly robust most times.

Directed - Car Alarms | Remote Starters | SmartStart | Vehicle Telematics

Directed is the largest designer and marketer of consumer-branded car alarms and remote starters in North America. Maker of the award-winning Viper SmartStart mobile app.

www.directed.com

 

[Jimmy9190]

DEI is the one you want. Your factory power door locks need to be interfaced with a 5 wire reverse polarity configuration with two Bosch type 30 amp SPDT relays. I remember from your earlier post about this the existing remote start may have already been interfaced with the power locks. If it is, the relays have already been wired in and you should be able to use them to interface with a new keyless. You would just need to verify how the existing relays are wired, whether they are using a negative or positive pulse to one side of the relay coils, and wire in the new keyless the same way. Chances are they wired it with a negative lock/unlock pulse from the remote start. You would just wire the inputs to the existing relays and be sure the rest of the relay wiring is intact for power, switch and motor and you should be good to go. You could even add in another relay for dome light supervision, if the Crimstopper did not have it. That is a relay that you connect in to the dome light wire so the dome light turns on for 30 seconds or however long you program it, when you unlock the truck with the new keyless entry remote.

Unlock wire is pink with a purple stripe. Lock is orange with a purple stripe. Dome light wire is a negative trigger so you just wire that relay for a negative output and connect to the yellow dome light wire. All 3 of these are found in the driver's kick panel. Here is a wiring diagram for the alarm/keyless installation on your truck.

1995-97 Dodge Ram Pickup Alarm and Remote Start Wire Colors and Locations

www.the12volt.com

The trick with DEI/Viper is going to be finding a shop or online store that will sell you one over the counter. DEI used to have a lifetime warranty that required any of their systems to only be installed by an authorized retailer, they did not sell them at retail over the counter. If you run into trouble with that, the Avital brand may be easier to buy. Avital is also good quality and like most others they are owned by DEI anyway.

 

[atikovi]

Was keyless entry available from the factory for that model? If so, a factory wiring diagram and a trip to the junkyard for the module may be all you need.

 

[JHZR2]

Was keyless entry available from the factory for that model? If so, a factory wiring diagram and a trip to the junkyard for the module may be all you need.

Some years but don’t believe the 96 had it. I think it was part of the 98.5 update.

The thing is I’d kind of like to get rid of the liability of an unknown system in my wiring, which is already there…

 

[atikovi]

Shouldn't be too hard to trace the wires from the add-on kit, remove them and reconnect the cut wires. Then start from scratch. Early factory systems use a separate module so it shouldn't be too hard to wire one up from a later model junk yard part. Did Dodge sell an accessory RKE kit? I got a factory Ford accessory kit for my '03 van on Ebay. As for aftermarket kits, I got one for my '95 Mercedes for under $50 on Ebay and it worked great. Even had a chirp function.

 

[JHZR2]

Shouldn't be too hard to trace the wires from the add-on kit, remove them and reconnect the cut wires. Then start from scratch. Early factory systems use a separate module so it shouldn't be too hard to wire one up from a later model junk yard part. Did Dodge sell an accessory RKE kit? I got a factory Ford accessory kit for my '03 van on Ebay. As for aftermarket kits, I got one for my '95 Mercedes for under $50 on Ebay and it worked great. Even had a chirp function.

An aftermarket kit will be easier to get and deal with. The wires are already cut into.

The thing is which is the good option to get?

 

[atikovi]

I used something like https://www.ebay.com/itm/174943729841?hash=item28bb7578b1:g:FGEAAOSwsOdhLzMV