Truck Electronics - A Cure for the Common Cold - Trucktronics

  |   truck Electronics remote Start Ho, ho, ho, and mistletoe. Deck the halls and climb the walls. 'Tis the season once more, that special season when many of us get bundled up for several months of very nasty weather. What season are we talking about? That's right, it's remote-start season again. Ah, remote start - the cure for the common cold, remote-control anti-freeze for your truck. Santa's little helper makes sure your truck will start on those sub-zero winter mornings, so you can drive off to your lousy stinking job and not get fired and have to go on unemployment, sitting around watching soap operas and Oprah all day. Let's take a deep breath and start over. There are three issues to cover in this month's TruckTronics column:Remote start - Why is it so cool?Why is two-way remote start the coolest?What if you have a chip-thingy in your key? Do you ever ask yourself how those nerdy-looking guys get all the hot-looking chicks? We'll let you in a little secret - its initials are RS. Yes, that's right, geeks hook up with Victoria's Secret models every day of the week because they can start their truck by remote control, from the comfort of their home or office. One press of a button on that key chain remote, and Vroom! Remote start really gets some people's motor running. But wait, there's more - two-way. What we're talking about is the two-way transceiver on your key chain. Two-way is the hottest thing to hit remote start since super heterodyne receivers. These little marvels typically have an LCD screen that can display the status of your truck, and most importantly, confirm that it has started. That's the killer application for these two-way remotes - that and telling you that someone is in process of trying to break into your truck a quarter-mile down the road. You get this kind of two-way heads-up if you have a combined two-way security and remote-start system. Two-way is definitely useful, and the next frontier is inexpensive two-way. These new transceivers skip the cost of an LCD in favor of less-expensive LEDs that give you the confirmation you need and alert you to security triggers. Talk to your mobile electronics retailer about all your two-way remote-start options. Finally, the chip-thingy in your key. It could be a transponder, or it could be a resistor, but many trucks these days come from the factory with some kind of anti-theft system that looks for that special key before the truck will start. That way some thief can't just jack your ignition cylinder out with a screwdriver, hot wire your pride-and-joy, and scream out of there. Factory anti-theft is a good thing in that respect, but the downside is it also prevents remote start, which after all is trying to start your truck's engine without that special key in the ignition. So, you need to bypass it during remote start, but you want to leave the factory anti-theft system fully functional at all other times. Don't worry, the remote-start companies have you covered. There are now factory anti-theft bypass solutions for almost every vehicle on the road. The only issue is that some of them require an additional key, which can be a hassle to get coded at the new car dealer, and may set you back $60, $70, or more. The good news is there are more bypass solutions available all the time that don't require an extra key, so be sure to talk to your installer about this. That's the gist of it. Remote start is the performance supplement that works. Consult your doctor; side effects include a feeling of euphoria all winter long.