I had a Viper 650 XV alarm installed in my '97 Integra LS a couple of days ago by a local retailer, and so far they have been unable to properly install and/or configure the options that I had requested. After working on it for the better part of a day already over the past two days, the closest that the installer has gotten to ignition kill is starter disable, while passive arming only disables the starter, but fails to lock the doors or arm the alarm. And the shock sensor initially was set so poorly that I could not even set the alarm off by striking the car all over. About the only options that have worked properly from the start are keyless entry, ignition-controlled locks and domelight supervision, all of which could have been done with a simple keyless entry system for much less.

Also, they installed the brain in a different location from what I had specifically requested, without informing me that they would not perform the requested installation, and I was able to find the actual location used by the installer in all of a minute, if even that long, especially since the wiring is not split-loomed to appear remotely factory. Now they tell me that they will need to call DEI tomorrow to make sure that ignition kill can be done, before working on the alarm for the third day this week.

Is this such a complicated installation that I should be experiencing so many problems? Can't ignition kill, rather than starter disable, be implemented for a manual transmission car? Can the dealer get away with not refunding the installation labor for an alarm that they all of a sudden are unable to install to work as advertised and/or requested, if they did not initially indicate that the alarm was not suitable for the particular application?

TIA!

 

Very simple alarm to install. There shouldnt be any problems at all.

To passive lock the door locks, read the manuals that came with it and program it in.

Standard installation is to kill the starter circuit (as noted in your installation manual), but any competent installer can add in an ignition cut with your starter cut and if he chooses a fuel cut.

 

get your money back and go to another shop.. that alarm is cake to install..

 

I went back to the shop this afternoon, and they came back with a story that they'd called DEI about the ignition kill, and were advised strongly against doing it, citing potential damage to the car should it be accidentally engaged while driving. Instead, DEI recommended doing fuel cutoff, if I continued to insist on something other than starter kill, but stated that the relay couldn't handle more than just fuel cutoff or starter kill at a time. Also, DEI supposedly could not provide the location of the fuel cutoff wire, so the shop said that I would have to find that out.

When I replied that ignition kill and fuel cutoff were being done by other DEI installers, the shop offered to do the ignition kill, but only if I first signed a release. I agreed initially to waive any claims associated specifically with the ignition kill, but a quick reading of the actual release form revealed that they wanted me to release the shop and anyone associated with the shop of any and all claims of any nature whatsoever related to the entire alarm installation, so I had to take a pass on signing it.

In the end I let them take a shot at resolving the remaining programming issues, and they appear to have gotten everything else fixed. So they only two items that still were not done as requested were the location of the brain and starter kill instead of ignition kill, which the shop would probably claim were out of the ordinary and not recommended by the alarm manufacturer.

As much as I'd like to return the alarm and start over at another shop, I got the distinct impression that my credit card company might not side with me if I were to dispute the labor, the cost of which the shop has already said that they would not refund if I returned the alarm. With all the time that I have spent so far on this installation, I wonder if I wouldn't be better off simply having a more competent DEI installer handle the ignition kill and/or fuel cutoff; however, I'm not sure if relocating the brain would be worth the additional expense.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I went back to the shop this afternoon, and they came back with a story that they'd called DEI about the ignition kill, and were advised strongly against doing it, citing potential damage to the car should it be accidentally engaged while driving. Instead, DEI recommended doing fuel cutoff, if I continued to insist on something other than starter kill, but stated that the relay couldn't handle more than just fuel cutoff or starter kill at a time. Also, DEI supposedly could not provide the location of the fuel cutoff wire, so the shop said that I would have to find that out.</TD></TR></TABLE>

funny, seeing how the 40 amp relays that come with the remote starts work fine for accessory, ignition, and starter....

 

**** that shop...ive been installing profesiionally for almost 1 year and have nver had a problem w/ dei alarams.. get your money back and go to a shop that know what the hell is going on..

 

They were claiming that they had used a "standard" 30-amp relay for the starter disable, but looking at the DEI relays at AutoPreservers.com, the DEI 8618 FailSafe Starter Kill relay called for in the Viper 650 XV Installation Guide is 40-amp.

I guess it doesn't surprise me that they'd be wrong about that, since their sales guy had originally claimed the 650 XV was a newer version of the 600 ESP, and it was only after I found out that it couldn't do all that the Avital 2200 would have been able to do that they suddenly stated that it was actually an updated 500 ESP. Unfortunately the DEI website and out-of-date Viper brochures do not make comparing across DEI brands and/or Viper models straightforward, or I might have found out in time that the 2200 would have been better suited for my application.

 

I checked with the shop to see if they had used the DEI 8618 relay for starter kill, and apparently they've never used it and don't even carry it. They showed me the relay that they do use, a DEI 610T rated at 40/30A.

 

Hi there, im new on the forums and since my problems is almost similar to Viper Alarm 650XV model. i could used or hear any answer pls, my problem is i bought my car like 1month ago and the alarm is not letting me start up my engine, called the dealership and they say i should be able to fix it byt turn off all the cables on the brain box or w/e they call it . i finally got the chance to unhook everysingle one of then but nothing has changed , im still stuck at the same place cant start my angine , idk what to do , if anyone have a solution please help me out. thank you all