HI, I have an Avital 4500 remote start and keyless entry for my 95 Maxima SE. For those who have something similar, how is the range and is it consistent? It was professionally installed and has a claimed range of 1/4 mile. My problem is that occasionally I can't get the car to unlock/lock/start with the remote from even 5 feet away. But sometimes it works from 50 feet away through walls. Is this a defect? It seems to be very inconsistent! Why? What should I do?

My 2nd problem is that the car will not start in cold weather. It worked fine until I brought it back to the shop so they could make the climate control turn on with the car. It tries 3 times, but won't start. If I try it by key, it starts with no problem. Anyone have this problem? Solutions?

Thanks in advance, the shop is going to charge me a lot just to troubleshoot and I was hoping to get a little insight before they start.

-Andy

 

ahhhh i got the cold weather problem too.. but i know the fix.. u need to build a cold start relay.. does it go crank crank crank crank crank and then keeps cranking but never starts? but when u stick the key in and crank it it starts rite up? then i'm guessing u need to do a cold start relay. u gonna need to hook up another wire by your ignition key cylinder and then another signal wire from your remote start module and a brand new relay. it's not hard. your installer should know how. and as far as range, mine is inconsistant at times. oh by the way i have the viper dei esp800 with the valet remote start module, window roll down, remote stereo on, remote headlights, remote trunk and stuff.

 

yea my friend just got the new top avital one for his qx4, i think its like 3500 or something, and his range sucks too! and its inconsistant, but he can only open it from 20 feet away or less about. hes taking it to the shop and theyre gonna boost the range though. anyways..peace

 

yea my starter dont work too well in cold weather either.
i got a clifford solaris ... sometimes the remote works from real far away and then sometimes it dont work 10 feet away, i think its the nature of the remotes to bother the **** outta you

anyways ... 1 thing to try and do is get one of those optima batteries (red top ones). they supposedly supply more cold cranking amps (this could be the problem, but i dunno i had some spare cash to blow so i grabbed me one)another thing to do is to try to get the installers to shorten the time between cranks, for me i *think* it works ... i hit the button once, 3 cranks and car didnt start, but right after the 3rd crank and my lights go off i hit the button again and the car starts

hope this helps you somewhat
next time that i go home i may just ask about cold start relay that ahkim talked about

 

oh yeah one more thing ... if you have like $120 to blow on the optima battery it may be a good way of solving the problem.

before my optima battery i would hit the remote button like 4 times (3 cranks per try = 12 cranks) and it would start eventually

but with my optima battery it starts in the first 3 cranks all the time

just an idea ....

oh yeah im in state college pa (dead middle of pennsylvania)

 

or 15bux for a relay and 20-40bux to get someone who knows what he/she is doing to fix it.. the battery is good enuff. imo.. if u can crank it with your key, y not be able to crank it with the remote? wehn i had the remote start ealier last summer there was never really a problem (not until the module got friend and i don't know how) but now that it's cold.. it gets on my nerves.

 

where did the installer put the antenna.... hope fully in front of the rear veiw mirror... ive installed viper's and avtial's remoter starters there no problems with range only if ur near a poilice department or hospital... i know the range in the avtial is longer than the vipers... but i use a compustar that has the best range ever...u an goto the compustar web site compustar.com

 

First, I wanted to say thank you for the great info! The range problem is possibly a defect according to my installer and Avital. The antenna is mounted on the upper part of the drivers’ side windshield. It seems like a good place.

The cold start problem is exactly as Mingo stated, I will look into the cold start relay. If that doesn't work, then I guess I'll look into a new battery.

Finally, I don't know if I made this clear in my first post, but the cold start problem only started after I had the installer add an accessory wire to get the fan going for the climate control. Initially, the car started okay but the inside would not warm up because the fan would not turn on. Now the fan comes on, but the car doesn't always start. Seems like they are related somehow.

Thanks

-Andy

 

im having trouble with the cold start and i cant figure out which wire to put the relay on. i tried the starter wire and the ignitiion wire and they both dont make a difference. i was told to use relays by 2 or 3 people but they dont know which wire to put it on either. My question is does anyone know which wire to put the relay on

 

When I bought my Max, I was talking to one of the managers and he said that you can get a bit longer range by holding the remote close to your head, like under your chin. I haven't really tried it to see if it works, but he said that the waves it sends out are magnified by your head....somehow!? This could be something to try if you still are having problems with the distance. Maybe I should run an experiment to see if it actually works! HMM I guess we'll have to wait and see. Good luck getting everything figured out!