Speed & Sound: Plugged In – Security and Convenience
Text by Dave MacKinnon (www.osmlabs.com). Photos by the Manufacturers
Back when I got into the industry, a mere 22 years ago, the car alarm installed in my 1982 Dodge Aries (sedan version, don’t you know) included an impressive two wires and a knob to adjust the shock sensor sensitivity. We have come a long way, and now have security and convenience systems that can tell us the location of a vehicle, allow us to remote start a car from more than a mile away and even let us use our cellular phone to activate functions from another town, province or continent. In this issue of Plugged In, we are going to look at modern security and convenience systems for you car.
It used to be easy, installing a car alarm that is. Mount the brain and siren, tap into the door pin wires and install a relay to cut the starter wire if the alarm was set off. Now, we have cars with complicated data bus systems that use digital communications to activate door locks. We have keys with built-in transponders that must be present for a car to start. And scariest of all, the wiring in cars has become so complicated that what was once a simple skill of a good installer has turned into a specialty talent that has been perfected by only a select few.
Most of us think of these systems as car alarms. You push a button, the siren chirps and the car is protected from damage or entry. The evolution of the convenience system began with the ability for the car alarm to lock the car doors. Quickly following that was trunk-opening ability and then came remote start systems. Early remote starts weren’t overly complicated and their reliability (actually starting the vehicle and keeping it started) took off once all the cars on the road moved from carburetors to fuel injection.
Modern remote start systems are very intelligent. They are connected to not only your ignition and starter circuitry, but to the engine as well. They are capable of monitoring engine RPM and will shut down if the engine speed is too high, or attempt to restart the vehicle if the engine doesn’t stay running.
The next evolution in security and convenience came with the battle for long range communication. Being able to be further away from your car, and still start it, is one of the key marketing features of every system in the industry. Entry-level and basic systems often claim a range of 300 feet, the better ones are 500, and with the use of the 900 MHz and 2.4GHz spectrum, computer-controlled communication allows for one mile of range. Like any feature or specification that the marketing guys focus on, these numbers are based on ideal conditions – your performance may vary by as much as 50 percent.
Once we had the ability to communicate reliably with the vehicle, the next step was to allow for the vehicle to communicate with us. Fifteen years ago, I had a pager for my car alarm that I wore on my belt. It had two lights to tell me if the shock sensor had gone off, or if a door had been opened. Now, the keyfob that you have attached to your keychain can include an LCD or, in some cars, colour OLED display that will confirm that your car is locked, tell you once it’s started or, in the event of foul play, tell you what zone is being affected (doors, shock sensor or trunk). Remember the good old days when a cell phone only displayed phone numbers? The epitome of two-way transmitters is the new full-colour OLED unit from Clifford in their Responder HD systems.
So, what’s next for security and convenience systems? Companies are always adding features that make them easier for installers to integrate them with your complex vehicles. For example, Fortin Electronic System of St. Leonard, Quebec offers an extensive line of programmable data interfaces for vehicles that have their accessories on the CAN data bus. These modules allow a security or convenience system to monitor door, hood and trunk pins, lock and unlock doors, arm and disarm the factory security system and even provide an engine rpm signal to the system to ensure the engine is running. These modules do this all digitally via the data bus. Most importantly, these interfaces allow installers to remote-start vehicles that have transponders built into their keys.
What is a transponder? It’s a small RFID chip embedded in the head of your car key. When you start your car, a code is read from this chip and compared with what is in memory in your vehicle’s engine management system. If the codes match, the car starts. If they don’t, even if the key is cut identically and you can turn the ignition barrel on, the car won’t start, or won’t continue to run. The implementation of this technology has dramatically reduced auto theft, since it is very difficult to bypass.
Many remote start systems now include logic to allow them to be installed in vehicles with standard transmissions. In the past, crude designs that included micro switches were the only way to detect if your car was in neutral. Now, when you want to remote start a vehicle with standard transmission, you simply need to go through a quick procedure before you turn the car off the night before. For example, DEI (best known for its Viper and Clifford products) requires that you set the parking brake, activate the remote start then leave the vehicle and close the doors. The remote start system will then shut down the engine. If a door is opened before you remote start the car, it exits remote start mode, as someone may have put the transmission in gear. Simple, yet very effective.
Another cool new technology I found is from Zenesis Electronics Corp. Its ZN-502, ZN-302 and Z-101 systems come with a new feature called Z-Pass TOUCH. This is a small touch-sensitive pad that is installed on the inside of your windshield. You can use this pad to page the person with the keys to the vehicle, or in the unlikely event you have lost the keys, you can disarm the vehicle by simply typing in a preset code. If you want to see it in action, head to YouTube and search for Zenesis Zpass. VERY cool!
The last item of interest is the new Text Start system from Titan Innovations. Using cellular phone text messaging, the TMS100 Vehicle Messaging system can provide you status updates from an OEM or aftermarket security system. You can send commands to the system (also via text message) and have it unlock the doors or remote start the vehicle (if you have a remote start installed). The system will even tell you if someone has disconnected your battery. Now, you can be on the beach in Mexico and keep tabs on your Hot Rod in Kelowna via your cell phone.
You might be thinking to yourself – why should I install an aftermarket system in my car? I already have keyless entry. Like anything aftermarket, it’s all about performance and convenience. With an aftermarket system, you get increased range, so you can start your car in the underground parking lot of your apartment building. If you choose a two-way system, you can keep tabs on your vehicle when you are in the movie theatre or at the mall. Finally, you may get some cool add-ons like an integrated turbo timer, or a headlight car-finder. Ultimately, you need to decide your goal for the system, then have a qualified shop integrate it into your vehicle for you.
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