fngrpilot

My 1998 that has been a honey of a vehicle for the last 6 yrs, all of a sudden dies on me on my way to work and will not start. Have a friend of mine put it on his error gizmo and comes up no errors, the only thing I notice that is different is the LOCTRONICS that was on it when I bought it, when security key was plugged in, green light was on, now no light, take security key out and green light flashes for a min or 2 then flashes red, plug security key back in, goes solid green for a sec or 2 then goes out. Looked up loctronics and can find nothing on what this means or how this stupid thing works. Is this my problem or is it something else that would not show any error codes. Thanks any help would be greatly appreciated

karl4x4

Diagnostics of no start with aftermarket alarm systems are the worse. I usually tell people to see the people that installed it for fault finding and/or replacement.

If it is a used vehicle, I just remove the whole thing and return it back to stock. I've been burned once by giving a quote and spending lots of hours trying to find why there was no spark and it was the hidden alarm system. Owner came to me about 3 hours later "maybe its the alarm system, it was acting weird"... FFFFFUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKK

Willys55

lose the alarm then diag it. Besides, if a thief wants it bad enough no alarm system will stop him

dave1123

A friend had a Corvette stolen twice and the cops found it undamaged but out of gas. He installed a fuel shutoff in the floor under the seat. No more theft.

fngrpilot

I got a call back from the people at Loctronics, much to my surprise. They told me that the system has died, and they sale a bypass kit for $29.99 plus shipping and handling. or I could try to find someone around here that knows how to bypass it and that they charge $50.00 for that where they are at in California. I am currently stranded in Illinois, so it looks like I'm gonna be here for a bit.

dave1123

I'm sure the Jeep dealers could solve your problem, although it will probably cost you your first-born.

karl4x4

Of course I have no idea of what your system is like and what it disables but for mine, I just took the panel by driver's knees off and there is a wire that is cut and bypassed going through the unit. it is only an ignition enable/disable wire.
It may or may not be obvious. Mine was. I just re-attached the wires and the unit had no more effect on the ignition.

Turbo X_J

This.
Your just waiting to be stranded + it's silly to have a security system on a 15 year old Jeep.
Moral of the story:
If it's worth stealing, it's worth a roll on.

dave1123

Case in point; When I bought my WJ, the PO had installed a remote start unit with programmable garage door opener. I don't ever intend to use it and wanted to have it removed. I have NO idea whose unit it is or where it was installed. I dread the day it screws up and leaves me stranded. It was started ONCE by the guy I bought it from and I haven't used it since. I just leave the key fob at home and pretend it doesn't exist. I'm afraid if I mess with removing it, I'll open up a stinking fish locker. Am I right?

BTW, I've even taken the battery out of the fob.

fngrpilot

The stupid thing was already on the jeep when I bought it. I have the lower dash apart and found the black box with all the wires going in and out of it, no cut wires, all wires run into a jumble of black tape that then head off to the brain box. Not sure I want to begin unravelling tape and accidentally disconnect some thing that opens that big can of worms. I only found 2 places around here that install alarm systems and niether one new anything about loctronics, one of them said he might be able to look at it in a week or so. looking like my best bet is to order the bypass plug from loctronics. There ya go here I sit.
this saying comes to mind right now, BETTER TO BE JUDGED BY 12 THAN CARRIED BY 6

fngrpilot

ok got the bypass plug from loctronics and installed it. still not starting, pulled a plug and got no fire. friend of mine is coming over with his diag gizmo to see if we can get any error codes now. If no error codes what the heck do I do next?

PocketsEmpty

I think a service manual for your Jeep might be handy...figure out what each of those wires are for, and yank that stupid, worthless piece of crap out of there, and put the worms back in the can. lol

Willys55

it is not really that hard to remove any alarm system. Generally they stuff the unit under the dash with zip ties and in most cases the wires are "wire tapped" to the ignition switch, sometimes the body control module and the coil or an injector wire. Just trace out each wire and remove it from where it is tapped in. In some cases you may have to remove electrical tap and physically remove and reconnect factory wiring. However for the most part, after market alarm systems are mere tinker toys.

fngrpilot

The old paint is up and running. Is there a big dummy of the year award? I'm sure I would be a good cadidate. Next time there is a problem I will start with the basics. Had checked fuel pressure, was good, had checked battery, was good. Checked for spark, none, went into panic mode instead of working from the plugs backwards. Was just about to go buy a new cps when a thought arose, why don't I check the coil pak. Took the coil wire off distributor and a buddy of mine held a screwdriver close to the end of it while I turned the key to see if there was any spark (had no tester,using basic tools) well after he got a good shock (lmao) pulled the cap on the distributor and low and behold the whole end of the rotor was gone and laying in the bottom, turns out the distributor had developed a wobble and was cutting a groove in one side of the contact points then instead of going inside the groove it had made it wobbled enough to smack the side of the contact point and broke off. New distributor cap and rotor and fired right up. Was relieved and felt a little dumb at the same time lol. Thanks for the input everyone and any negative comments are welcome lol

karl4x4

I have a few similar stories..>lol... for an other time.

Im glad you got it going. At least we learned a few things in the process too..