Hey.

A while back I asked about a strange pin switch I had under my hood which was ultimately identified as applying to remote start. Well it turns out there's definitely something installed on my truck by the previous owner because I was doing some cleaning up behind the dash and I found a few things, ie a box, evidence of aftermarket wiring plus the obvious antenna up behind the mirror.

When I bought this from the dealer there was no mention of it having this installed, but it would be cool to have. Is there any way to make this work?

Just curious.

 

Make what work? You haven't even told us what it is.

 

O.o

It appears to be an aftermarket remote start system of which I was not aware, for which I have no key and know not if it even works ... I just see all the components installed.

 

can you find a manufacturer name or part number or some identifying feature. if so, then google it. if not, take a picture and post it here and other forums, someone might recognize it.

do you know who the previous owner was ? from an old title or registration. you could try calling them and asking about it. unlikely, but they might even have the control in some forgotten place.

 

my guess would be it is prolly more then just a remote start. im guessing a aftermarket security system. i would be willing to bet it it taped up to the wireing harnness under the dash. if you look at the box it should have the name of the system on it with a model number. most of the time you can get a remote straight from the comany that makes it and just bond it to the system you have. if its one of the cheap bully remote start you can buy from walmart take it out. seen alot of problems with those

 

Remote start hood switches are tilt switches, is that what you meant by "pin switch" ?

The concept is pretty simple.
They are filled with mercury, which is a liquid, conductive metal.
When the hood is open, the metal rushes one way, closing the circuit and preventing a start.
With the hood closed, the circuit is open, and ready to be used.

 

I'll post some pics as soon as I have a chance, the batteries in my camera suck. I have to schedule my pictures around remembering to charge the things.

I bought this truck from a Ford dealer in another state via eBay. Dealers will not divulge previous owner information, I had a problem years ago with another vehicle and tried to do just that ... erm, NO.

By "pin switch" I mean like a door jamb switch, but mounted to the fender up near the windshield. When you lower the hood it presses the switch.

The "box" is tucked way up above the harness inside the dash and has one "leg" strapped tied to a bundle of wires. It's going to be a miserable **** to get down in order to identify it, so will have to wait until I have a bit more time.

There's a tiny button switch attached to two tiny gauge wires hanging down from the box.

There's also a harness wired into the steering column wiring but nothing is attached to the plug ends.

I don't see anything "alarm" related but I might be wrong.

I found all this because I was running a new dedicated primary line to power my audio head unit, seems I was getting some noise using the factory harness. The new line solved the problem, btw.

I know without pics this is pretty weak, I just wanted to post the last info I accumulated today.

ANOTHER QUESTION: Has anyone here had to come up with a quick fix design to keep rodents from building nests on top of their air filters? If so, tell me what you came up with!

 

I had that style pin switch with an alarm I bought off eBay years ago for my Dakota. It's supposed to be for the hood or the tailgate. Sets the alarm off if someone opens either. This doesn't happen to be on a 98 purple Dakota does it? Sounds almost exactly how I wired mine, zip tied to a harness under the dash. Picked up the most vibrations there.

 

how often do you not drive it?

 

i have the same pin switch on mine as well. Its on the drivers side mounted on the front crossmember. I have no idea what it is either, but when i unhook my battery, and hook it back up, a security thing goes off and the truck will not start unless you have someone turn the key, and have another put the terminal on wile the other holds the key to start position. So it may be an anti-thet system or something