I just had a remote starter&alarm installed in a 2002 gmc sierra and the teck told me ?

Question

i just had a remote starter&alarm installed in a 2002 gmc sierra and the teck told me i SHOULD NOT use the remote if my blower fan is on high,now did he s***w something up ,or is this normal?

Answer 1

In NO WAY OR SHAPE is this right. He did not set the remote start tach signal and/or voltage check feature up corectly. Take it back and demand it be set right. Hopefully it wasnt a Best Buy purchase. Good Luck.

Answer 2

If it's installed correctly, I don't think it should be a problem.

His concern is that you'll overload the remote start relay pack's power supply. Here's some background:

When your truck is started with the key, the power for all the accessories runs through the key switch (obviously).  Your truck's key switch has two input wires delivering current from the battery, and four output wires delivering the power to various ignition and accessory circuits when the key switch is on.  Each power wire supplies a different set of outputs, so your switch doesn't have one single wire supplying power to every accessory:  the two separate input wires share the load.  Make sense so far?

When the remote start is activated, power doesn't go through your key switch any more; instead, it goes through the remote starter's relay pack.  Most remote starter relay packs are set up much like your key switch: there should be (at least) two different power input wires going to the relay pack.  Ideally, your installer should have connected one of the relay pack's input wires to each of the key switch's power input wires.  That way when the remote starter is activated, the power wires share the load, just like they do when the key is on.

Many installers, instead of taking the time to connect both power wires, will combine them into a single wire; or connect both wires to the same power wire at the key switch.  In this case, when the remote start is running, one power wire ends up supplying power for all the different accessories.  If the accessories require lots of current (because, for example, your blower fan is set on high) then there may be too much load for the one wire.  That could result in a blown fuse, if you're lucky; melted wiring if you're not.

If a remote start is installed correctly, then there shouldn't be any difference when the vehicle is running with the key vs. running with the remote starter.  There should be enough current capacity to supply all your accessories.

Your remote starter may not be installed correctly.  On the other hand, the installer may have seen the aftermath of an incorrect installation that overloaded the circuit.  In that case he could just be trying to play it safe.

If you want to e-mail me with the make/model of the remote starter, I can tell you where to look and what to look for to see how it was installed.  It would require some minor disassembly under you dash.  Or, you might have another technician look the job over.