420A 98 RS Not starting I think alarm might be interfering

[bo0st2]

I have a 1998 Eclipse RS that’s been sitting for a while.

Last time I drove it was like 2018.

The car had issues with the left turn signal staying stuck on but besides that it drove perfect.

It would start every time with the key/remote & unlike my 2G GST it wouldn’t have any idle problem or anything , but now it doesn’t start at all and I think it might be related to the Viper remote start.

My neighbor and I have been trying to get it to start for a while and we’ve put fresh gas in it, swapped out the fuel pump and tried using a couple different car batteries that are all good according to the charger.

The car itself is lightly modded, it has an intake, Megan racing headers, Catless exhaust, MSD ignition, little wet nitrous kit, viper remote start model 5704v (I think this is the bad boy causing us problems)

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For the life of me I can’t get this remote to sync up with the car anymore.

The remote still works but it won’t sync up to the car whenever I press that little valet thing near the windshield .

So it’s like my theory that the alarm is like cutting fuel or something to the car - I just can’t figure out how to bypass the alarm because the valet button isn’t working

The only time we got it to almost start was when my neighbor sprayed some starter fluid in my intake manifold, I turned the key and the car revved up! It sounded like it was going to fully start for like half a second and then it just cut off..

I tried starting it earlier tonight, made a little video to show you guys what it’s doing:

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In the video I start out using the Noco boost jumper, if the battery was the only issue I think that Noco would have enough juice to get the car going (used it to start other cars before with bigger engines no issues)

Any help is appreciated guys I definitely think it’s alarm related but could be wrong, thanks again for reading I appreciate everyone’s input

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

If it starts with starting fluid then it must be a fuel supply issue. Any idea if the Viper acts as a switch to the fuel pump? You could simply bypass it if that's the case.

 

[bo0st2]

If it starts with starting fluid then it must be a fuel supply issue. Any idea if the Viper acts as a switch to the fuel pump? You could simply bypass it if that's the case.

It acted like it was going to start but didn't fully start with the starting fluid, I suspect the Viper might be killing the fuel but I don't know much about these things or how to bypass

 

[bo0st2]

Anyone familiar with this alarm? or know an expert that's mobile that can come to my house to fix it?

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Where are you located?

 

[bo0st2]

Where are you located?

In Phoenix AZ

 

[Car Cannibal]

This isn't going to help now...

I ditched all alarms in my cars, the 90s are over and no one cares your car is going off, get a car GPS to replace this. I have 2 Prime trackers in my cars and a 3rd is coming later for my Talon restoration finale.

You need gauges, consider a Scanmaster etc, you gave us no details like...

Battery volts
Fuel pressure
Coolant temp (car won't start if ECU sees 312+ temp from faulty sensor)

There's a way to trigger the fuel pump in ECMlink to confirm that's working if you don't have a FP gauge.

Power Transitor/Ignition Module are no start culprits too. When they go, you might get lucky and you're driving it on your driveway and the car rpms act like a rev limiter, goes haywire and then swap without a tow or shop diagnostic fees.

 

[bo0st2]

This isn't going to help now...

I ditched all alarms in my cars, the 90s are over and no one cares your car is going off, get a car GPS to replace this. I have 2 Prime trackers in my cars and a 3rd is coming later for my Talon restoration finale.

You need gauges, consider a Scanmaster etc, you gave us no details like...

Battery volts
Fuel pressure
Coolant temp (car won't start if ECU sees 312+ temp from faulty sensor)

There's a way to trigger the fuel pump in ECMlink to confirm that's working if you don't have a FP gauge.

Power Transitor/Ignition Module are no start culprits too. When they go, you might get lucky and you're driving it on your driveway and the car rpms act like a rev limiter, goes haywire and then swap without a tow or shop diagnostic fees.

Yeah that wasn't very helpful.

Lol @ the 90's are over

Car alarms deter theft by creating loud sounds & drawing attention to the scene:

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Also car GPS's can be unplugged if they are simply in the OBDII port. A viper alarm would require some sort of a skilled thief to drive off with it. As clearly I'm the owner and I can't even get the thing started

There's a way to trigger the fuel pump in ECMlink to confirm that's working if you don't have a FP gauge.

I also like how you think my 1998 Eclipse RS has ECMLink. I mentioned in the first post it's a 98 RS so it's going to be running the 420A platform.

I have a 1998 Eclipse RS that’s been sitting for a while.

Also the fuel pump is new.

swapped out the fuel pump

As previously mentioned car would start up just fine with the alarm but it was sitting for a few years so I think maybe the vallet switch has to be replaced and from there it'll spark right up.

You need gauges, consider a Scanmaster etc, you gave us no details like...

Battery volts
Fuel pressure
Coolant temp (car won't start if ECU sees 312+ temp from faulty sensor)

I gave tons of details you just might not be picking up on them correctly.

1. Fuel pump has been changed. It's a brand new fuel pump in there.
2. Multiple batteries used & the voltage was good on all of them. We even used a battery jumper. If it was just a bad battery we'd be on the road by now.
3. Car is 420a (ECMLink doesn't support 420A platforms)

I found a local guy that is rated heavily 5.0 on Yelp for alarm installs, so I guess I'll give that gentlemen a call because this is 2024 to me and car alarms still work. If they didn't Viper, CodeAlarm, IGLA wouldn't be here.

As long as people will be around, people will steal stuff & alarms may prevent that.

 

[Car Cannibal]

I don't have and wouldn't recommend an OBD GPS, that's ghetto. I track my cars in real time every 10 seconds via a module hidden in the car, pay a yearly fee. I then added a hidden kill switch and ditched the alarms so that alarm factor is gone in all no start issues, unfortunately these older cars have this more and more.

Agree, the Alarm has some positives, in an old car it just creates uncertainty in no start issues that happen more often in old vs new cars. BTW look into Chicago and San Francisco car break ins, the crooks don't care.

How are you reading fuel pressure while you're in the car, cranking it over etc?
Swapping the fuel pump is good, unless the issue is somewhere else in the fuel system which is why the pressure reading matters most.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

I've personally seen freshly stolen cars speeding around, with alarms ACTIVELY going off. Maybe it's because I travel near 2 cities in the top 10 most dangerous U.S, but those criminals do not care. Anyway.

At this point you just need to do some diagnosing. Check for fuel and spark. I would assume it has spark if it tries to start with ether, but assume nothing and seek facts. There is AN fitting on the end of the fuel rail, you can hook a fuel pressure gauge to. Check for pressure while keying the ignition switch, the pump will run for 2 seconds with ignition in "ON" position. Doing this once or twice should build max pressure. Make sure the pressure doesn't drop to zero while trying to start the engine. Using a wet gauge is preferable for accurate readings.

Checking for spark is easy. Just remove each spark plug, while attached to the cable and grounded to the engine look for visual spark. Make sure to test all 4. The ignition coil has two busses, it's common for one to fail and only have spark in two cylinders.

You may just find that the security system is breaking power to the fuel pump. In which case it would need to be bypassed or have the remote fixed/re-synched. I don't think anyone here specializes in this outdated system, and this is the best I can help you. I know you aren't sure how the system is wired in, but you can simply look around and find out. You'll see the bundle of wires somewhere, trace them out and see what they all tie into, whether it be fuel or spark. I'm sure you can find a Viper wiring diagram online somewhere for reference. Also you mentioned a valet button near the windshield. Follow the wiring for that and it should lead you right to the module.

 

[We're on Boost]

I just can’t figure out how to bypass the alarm because the valet button isn’t working

Do you have a pdf copy of the manual? They are searchable so easier to find specific subject matter.
I'm looking at it and page 41 says how to use the "Control Button" on that little module with the 2 little antennas to get in and out of valet mode. Maybe you aren't doing it right.

Use the following steps to manually enter and exit Valet Mode:
1. Turn the ignition switch On and then Off
2. Immediately press and release the control button once
3. The control center LED turns On when entering and Off when
exiting.

About 4 pages before the end of the manual is a sort of schematic of the system.
Pair a new remote is on page 28.
Here's a pdf copy of the manual if you don't have it:

 

[We're on Boost]

Also, Crutchfield has a pic of all the parts and wire harnesses which would help if you need to know what to look for. The manual is really bad about that. The Control Center with the Control Button is shown in the lower right corner of this pic.
Here:

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[bo0st2]

Do you have a pdf copy of the manual? They are searchable so easier to find specific subject matter.
I'm looking at it and page 41 says how to use the "Control Button" on that little module with the 2 little antennas to get in and out of valet mode. Maybe you aren't doing it right.

Use the following steps to manually enter and exit Valet Mode:
1. Turn the ignition switch On and then Off
2. Immediately press and release the control button once
3. The control center LED turns On when entering and Off when
exiting.

About 4 pages before the end of the manual is a sort of schematic of the system.
Pair a new remote is on page 28.
Here's a pdf copy of the manual if you don't have it:

Thanks everyone!

I tried performing those steps but the LED never blinks on the Alarm switch (this thing below)

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I'm thinking the unit might need some servicing so I'm gonna save up some $$ and call an alarm professional since this is a little too much for me. He can either remove the alarm or replace it with a newer one

 

[90awd4g63]

The antenna wire may be brittle and have lost connection to the main unit.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Any resolution to this?