So I had a 97 Maxima with my Hornet 564T alarm/remote start installed for about a year or two. Never had any problems with it, everything worked great. Boom, I got in my car accident, totaled my car, and took out all of my electronics. Then I bought a 97 Infiniti i30 (practically the same car). I reinstalled the same alarm and everything works fine except the remote start. I've tripped checked all my wiring, it's definitely all correct. All connections are secure. Changes from the Maxima to the i30: from auto to manual, no factory alarm to factory alarm. I put the key in, turn to ignition, push in clutch, and hit remote start on the keyfob and still no go. It blinks "INHIBIT" on the keyfob. The manual says, and I quote "the remote start safety shut down icon indicates the vehicle may be in gear or other unsafe condition inhibiting remote start operation". And nothing more. Not very helpful, since there is no unsafe condition when the car is in neutral, the clutch is in, and the key is in ignition. To isolate the problem, I unplugged the entire remote start relay satellite (which used to try and fail to start the car) and it still says inhibit. The neutral safety switch is grounded. What's goin onnnnnnn??? Can the alarm module be damaged in a big bump in an accident?

 

Did you ensure that the brake wire and emergency brake wire is connected properly?

 

Neutral safety switch should Not be ground, unless through a switch. BUT since you have a manual it should go to the neutral safety wire or do not install it at all.

 

Neutral safety switch should Not be ground, unless through a switch. BUT since you have a manual it should go to the neutral safety wire or do not install it at all.

 

+1. there is a neutral safety wire at the ECM, you should use it.

as for it not working, check all connections and grounds. do you have a test light?

 

well, with a stick, there is no neutral safety switch in my car. and the manual says the remote start won't start unless the wire is grounded. for the record, I tried it both grounded and ungrounded with the same results. which were no results. In the Maxima, it had it constantly grounded though.

I have definitely checked all connections. It's not that, since if I unplug the relay satellite it still says Inhibit. There's not much that will prevent it from not starting.

Brake wire only shuts it down, but either way, yea, it's correctly hooked up. I checked every wire that shuts it down. well, being that and the hood wire. There is no ebrake wire for this alarm.

I got a DMM. who uses test lights nowadays?

 

btw, thanks for the help thus far, I really am perplexed by this, and have been working on gettin my car back together before my semester starts again tomorrow, so it took me a while to get back on here. thanks again, please, any other ideas are greatly appreciated.

 

Actually yes there is a NSS wire your car, as with all Maximas. Ive used them, search. Without using it I would highly recommend Not using remote start at all.

Brake wire doesnt only shut it down, it will prevent from starting if it is seeing power.

Actually I own 3 flukes and still use a computer safe test light. So yes, some people do still use them.

 

Man, you obviously don't know what you're doing, or what you're talking about. Our cars DO have neutral safety wires, we're talking about the manual ones - what would be the point of hooking it up in an automatic? the wire shows ground ONLY in neutral, thus it will only start in neutral, and we're suggesting you do this because its the right way to do it, it has nothing to do with the problem you're having, you're right. But we never said it did.

Read the manual, if you have it. It should tell you what the 'INHIBIT' could mean. If all your connections are correct like you claim, and everything is programmed properly, you shouldn't have a problem. Could be a bad unit or remote. Take it to an authorized dealer..

oh and btw, everyone on the planet uses a test light now, actually, much more convenient.. unless the wire at hand is very sensitive.

 

got to it before me don.

 

ouch.

 

oh screw it... i'll reply...

someone know what the neutral safety wire is then? since every source I checked said it didn't exist (or at least didn't list it). and I double checked w/my boy @ the Best Buy install bay, and he confirmed it didn't exist. so I guess they don't know what they're doing either. But I technically already knew that.

I've read the manual repeatedly. No, it says nothing about the inhibit. If it did, I wouldn't waste everyone's time here on the forum. As much as I love Directed, I've found several inconsistencies and mistakes in their manuals in the past.

about the test light... do whatever makes ya happy, go read the MECP manuals, they say very plainly to not use test lights. I'm a certified installer, not a mechanic. I prefer digital to stay safe. Chill.

And I thought I made clear that I checked the brake wire and it wasn't the cause of the problem.

Correct, I *shouldn't* have a problem. But I do. Which is why I made the mistake of posting my question on here.

 

I should probably tell you most bestbuy installers arnt exactly the best around so dont take there word for it... sooooo you still think the wire doesnt exist ? Thats funny because ive done more than 20 4th g maximas that are manual and the wire does exist. Its green/white located @ the ecu. Additionally you can find it at the transmission, it is also green/white located there too be sure to test all wires i know theres more than 1 green/white located @ the tranny harness. Also i should mention that you should check to make sure the hoodpin isnt bad, by disconnecting gray wire that goes to the hoodpin, along with checking to make sure you have the correct brake wire. Did you bypass the clutch wire ????? Hold down the clutch and attempt to remote start with the car in N. Temporarily ground the NSS wire to see if thats the case dont forget to make sure your using the right wire for the Neutral Safety because there are two black/white wires, one is for dome supervision and the other is for the neutral safety.

 

call DEI then dude. or take it to a freaking dealer. its pretty difficult to help with anything like this over the internet..

 

What sources did you check? I installed my remote start/alarm with the assistance of my haynes manual. I'm 90% sure it's in there. My remote start in my 97 maxima 5 speed has been using this imaginary wire for about 4 years. I agree with you about using DMM over test light I guess some people are just too lazy.

 

Obviously you didnt check enough sources, oddly enough its right on this very forum. Go figure a wire for a Maxima on a Maxima forum. Sorry my friend, cant sppon feed it to you, try Searching.

Yes ! A BestBuy employee should be a competant source.

If your a certified installer, then why can you not figure this out on your own. We didnt always have tech sheets and thats how it was done. MECP Certified? That really doesnt mean much, Ive hired then fired more 'certified' installers than non certified. Hell if its a bragging right to say your MECP certified then I should say Im so much more superior since I became certiied when you were uhhh prolly in diapers.

Again with the MECP ... "Dont use test lights" ? Perhaps theyre not aware that for well over a decade test lights have been proven safe for computers and ABS? Thats humorous since Ive been using the same one for quite some time without EVER having a problem..

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....&group_ID=1393

Guess it just must be my luck right?

 

How, may I ask, is using a test light classified as being 'lazy'? Unless Im searching for more than polarity it's quite enough and never failed me.

 

ding*

go into any installation shop, Im willing to bet they use test lights for remote start/alarm installs.

pistol grip style huh Don? i cant get used to those..

 

LoL I cant get UNused to it.

 

tend to get a bit irritable....?

what an understatement!

 

not that it really matters, but I did get into a discussion (read: argument) w/my BestBuy boy about how I didn't believe him that my car didn't have a NSS, but in the end, I didn't really care because I never leave my car in gear, so I decided to just ground it. Now that I know it *does* exist and actually know what wire it is, I will change it over... assuming I get the remote start to work.

Dcman, everything else you said is exactly what I did before ever posting. Checked hoodpin, brake, and bypassed clutch. To no avail. But thank you much for the information on the NSS.

I have called DEI, they won't help unless you *are* a dealer. I haven't looked at local dealers in the area yet. I'm avoiding that solution, since I am assuming they will be useless or charge me money to 'fix' it.

Don't have the Haynes manual. Left it at my dad's in my hometown. Used the internet. ::shrugs:: Best I could do.

 

lol, that's totally fine by me. I'm in college working towards making a life for myself that's a bit more rewarding than arguing with or insulting people over the internet. But whatever works for you.

and who says I don't still wear diapers?

 

And ignorance is bliss ....

 

Why would I dare step foot in an installation bay for? I install everything myself including my remote start/alarm. I don't get why anyone would use a test light for. A DMM has everything you need.

 

you'll take twice as long to test with a DMM, period.

Im done argueing this point, everyone who works in the car audio install field on this forums uses a test light for r/s and alarm installs. get over it

 

I use an analog Multimeter. lol jk

 

I just use a piezo siren duct taped to the side of my head. i keep one lead grounded and use the other to test. if it goes off, then i've found a 12v+ source. it's even faster than a test light because ears can't blink.

 

Limiting time is never a good thing during an install or anything else if you want to make sure it's done right.

EDIT: how long does it take anyway 300 ms?

 

I agree, but to extent.

When Im doing 5,6,7 even 10 Remote starts or alarm per day the use of a DMM will cost over time. Computer safe test light is quick,small and nothing to read. A time saver definitely and at no risk cost.

 

lmao...

so did you ever get it working or?

 

haha, yea, I did. I figured it out. friggin 3 days of troubleshooting, but the end justifies the means.

For anyone who was wondering... I had everything installed correctly, tested each wire individually, isolated, fixed, isolated, fixed, back and forth, I was getting really confused... and then figured it out FINALLY. This car IS different from the maxima with respect to the running lights. I had tapped into the brake at the pedal and the running lights in the kick panel. UNLIKE my maxima, this wire was connected upstream somewhere and everytime I tried to remote start, it would blink my running lights, thus deactivating the start process. Incredibly stupid, but it took me forever to figure it out.

So anyways, to fix it, I relocated the running light tap to the steering column right behind the headlight stick. And bam, problem solved. Oddly enough, both the brake light and running light wire were the same wire&color (red/green), so the location of the tap mattered. There is some diode or relay system somewhere up in that crazy i30 that I wasn't aware of that wasn't in the Maxima. Probably the factory alarm had something to do with it. I don't really care now though, cuz I'm DONE with it... now I'm onto building door panels, chyuh!

Hooray. Thanks DCman btw, I now have the NSS wire as well. Dare I say it's a full happy professional install.

 

Both brake and parking can be located in the kick. Yes even on the i30.

So yopu had a wrong wire connected, but everything was connected correctly? Please clarify.

 

lol. if you had taken it to a professional when you had problems to begin with, they would have figured it out in about 5 minutes.