What's a good keyless entry system?

[Dino]

There's so much out there I figured I'd ask here and see if anyone has experience with these keyless entry kits.

Here's the plan:  Both doors and trunk need keyless entry.  I'll get actuators for the doors but will use a mopar direct bolt in electronic trunk release lock.  I'm pretty sure all of the kits have an option for trunk release.  However, I also want all 4 windows to go down with the remote.  Having them go back up with the push of a button is a bonus but nothing more.

I don't care for a remote start and I'm not sure about an alarm system as I really don't want to get up every few nights to go turn it off.  I hope they don't do that anymore though.

I also would like my doors to lock when I reach a certain speed or once I put it in drive or something like that, but I need to be able to unlock the doors without having to shut off the engine.

Any recommendations?  

[nascarxx29]

Our 1998 Dodge Caravan locks doors after you pull away .Maybe those parts and diagram are available 

[twodko]

The wife. 

[Dino]

The wife. 

You and I need to be looking over our shoulders right now. 

[twodko]

Roger that!

[Dino]

Looks like I'll be the one finding out what will work.  With all these electrical options I'm adding to the car I've essentially turned my car into a guinea pig.

A lot of the features on these keyless entry and alarm systems are real nice but that made in China stuff is holding me back.  The kits actually look cheap and I don't want to do this work more than once.

It's sad that even when you are willing to spend some good money on a good system your only choice is cheap Chinese junk.

I finally found a few kits that had good reviews, Viper kits, but unless you buy it from an authorized dealer AND have it installed by one of their techs, the warranty is void.  How do you like that?

[Troy]

I may be wrong about this, but the motion activated auto locking features are generally controlled by your car's ECU (since it knows when you're moving, at what speed, what gear you're in, etc.). I'm not sure an after market solution would have that capability - unless it has motion detection or a GPS built in. If you decide to EFI your car the newer MegaSquirt systems could probably control that. Win-win!   You should have the ability to unlock doors that auto-lock - but my car will just relock them if you're still moving at anything more than 15 mph.

The standard PW functionality is probably easier to install using a pre-built kit. I like 1-touch down but it's generally only on the driver side front. I suppose you could make it work on all. To get them operated by remote you'll likely have to go with an alarm. My new (to me) truck has remote start and it's awesome (now that it's cold)! I can see how it would be beneficial on my older cars as well since I usually give them a bit of time to warm up - although most of them won't start without a shot of gas. It's built in to the alarm (which has a silent mode) along with the door locks. Older alarms had hyper sensitive pressure sensors and would seem to go off in a slight breeze. I haven't noticed that problem with the newer systems. I haven't researched this stuff in a long time. My truck has a Python system so I just cruised through their site and all the toys are pretty impressive! Most of their systems have a "nuisance" feature to keep the alarm from going off continuously.

Troy

[Dino]

Good info Troy!   

I was thinking about that one touch window feature and thought that unless it's a real easy install I probably shouldn't bother with it. 

The auto lock feature is being advertised as anti-carjack and it's either a timer that prevents the carjacker to get very far or in the case of the ones I found online it simply locks the doors as soon as you start the car.  It'll unlock again when you shut it off.

My Honda does the same as your car, it'll lock the doors at 10 or 15 mph and won't unlock untill I put the car in park.  I don't think it's the ideal solution to have the Charger lock the doors whenever I start it up but maybe there's something better out there.  Definitely something I want to keep on the list though.  I probably do need an alarm but I think I'll get that regardless.  I read that these new sensors are indeed much better than they were a few years ago.

You know, I may end up with a system that has a remote start feature simply because it is hard to find a kit without that feature.  I don't know if I'd ever use it, mainly because of the same problem, the car won't start when it's real cold and I don't have my foot on the pedal to feather it.  Still, no harm in having it.

Python eh?  Will look into that.

You know what the biggest red flag is for me with these kits?  Many of them are so dirt cheap I just can't believe they're any good.

[Troy]

I think some cars lock when you put them in gear. I don't know of any that lock as soon as you start the car (from the factory at least). However, they unlock when the car shuts off - not when you put it in park. Seems inconsistent to me.

When I was into car stereos a long time ago good alarms were expensive and had very little in the way of features compared to today. Of course, back then a "mobile phone" was the size of a lunchbox and had a Duke boys antenna. These days every one of us carries a computer in our pocket (cell phone) that's powerful enough to run the first space shuttle. I'd hope that alarms would have gotten better and cheaper at the same rate! Heck, the key fobs on some of these alarms have touch screens! Many are GPS enabled and you can communicate with them through your cell phone. I think the installers make more money than the alarm costs though. For the price I don't think you can go wrong. If you don't need the remote start then don't use it. As long as you get all the other cools stuff I think you're still ahead.

Troy

[Dino]

I think some cars lock when you put them in gear. I don't know of any that lock as soon as you start the car (from the factory at least). However, they unlock when the car shuts off - not when you put it in park. Seems inconsistent to me.

The only systems I found that would lock the car when you start it are aftermarket kits.  For the life of me I can't find the one that had a nice anti carjack feature but it should be in my browsing history on my work pc so I'll check tomorrow.

My Honda has two options you can set.  It either locks the doors at 9 mph or when you move it out of park and it unlocks when you put it back in park.  Then you have an additional option to unlock only the driver's door or both.

When I was into car stereos a long time ago good alarms were expensive and had very little in the way of features compared to today. Of course, back then a "mobile phone" was the size of a lunchbox and had a Duke boys antenna. These days every one of us carries a computer in our pocket (cell phone) that's powerful enough to run the first space shuttle. I'd hope that alarms would have gotten better and cheaper at the same rate! Heck, the key fobs on some of these alarms have touch screens! Many are GPS enabled and you can communicate with them through your cell phone. I think the installers make more money than the alarm costs though. For the price I don't think you can go wrong. If you don't need the remote start then don't use it. As long as you get all the other cools stuff I think you're still ahead.

Troy

I saw those key fons, are they considered smart fobs now?      Yeah nothing wrong with having remote start, if I don't use it Idon't hook it up, simple as that.  IF I ever get lucky enough to have efi on that thing then it will come in handy. 

[Troy]

Forgot to mention: the remote start doesn't just crank until the engine runs. It tries for a second or two and then waits about 10-15 seconds before trying again. If your mechanical pump can get fuel to the carb without pumping the pedal then it will probably still start. My truck has EFI and generally won't start on the first attempt when it's cold outside. Mine will also leave the doors locked when it starts. You have to insert the key (of course) before trying to drive or it dies as soon as you put it in gear. I think some probably have those proximity keys at this point so all you have to do is get in the car. As mentioned, the remote start comes standard on most alarms as you go up in features but it's a separate button so you don't need to use it. I suppose you could just have the installer leave that part off.

I keep meaning to post a cool trick I found for a low cost GPS tracker. I just need to go through my references and write it out. Cheaper than Lojack with more info.

While I was playing around with this stuff and looking at transmission swap I also found GPS connected speedometers. How cool! One will also provide a lot of other information but, with the right setup, can also tell your phone where the car is and what it's doing. Not sure if this could be added to an alarm or if they'd be competing but it would be nice to shut the car down and be able to give the exact location for the police - without relying on a company or the government to be involved.

Troy