Well, I got my perf board in from Parts-Express, and of course I had to start assembling the final version of my remote start cell phone trigger, so here we go.
Remote Start using Cell Phone: Part 3
First things first, I screw up ALL the way through this project. From the first picture of the tools, to the final assembly where I have a loose wire, this whole thing was a cluster. But what fun is it for you to read about something that went perfectly? It’s not. So I’ll take you through the ups and downs and ins and outs of what I did, and how I fixed it. In the end, it all worked out.Â
First, the tools:
The tools…well, some of them.
These are the tools & parts. In the picture are: The ethernet cable headphone jack thing, solder, flux (I know, I know, the wrong kind of flux…), epoxy, project box/plate/screws, perf board, mixing stick, 2-pin connector, electrical connectors, relay, optoisolator, jewellers tweezers, helping hands, needlenose, soldering iron and screwdriver. Not listed is the relay jack/dongle thingy and the hobby knife.
Ok, that was boring. Next I took the opto and mounted it on the perf board. At first I held it in place with tape while I soldered it, but then I realized I was an idiot and I took the tape off and just bent the 2 unused pins down.
Perf Board and Optoisolator
Held with tape (dumbass)
Pins bent and soldered.
- Alright, not too bad. Next I soldered on the jumper wires. Easy enough, but wait…they don’t touch? How to I get the jumper wires to touch the copper on the hole over? I’ll just solder a trace! (NO, no you won’t. This is forkin hard, and anyone who has successfully done it, it usually looks like crap.) I ended up just bending over the jumper wires so that they touched and soldered all together. I think I will use this method all the time. It was easy, and worked well.
Soldered up.
I didn’t want all the wires soldered directly to the perf board and sticking out of holes in the project box, so I scavenged some sweet little connectors that I would use to bridge between the box and ‘the outside world’. Here is my first attempt:
Something is wrong here…
Yeah…something is wrong here… It looks good, nice solder job… Oh damnit! This is the part that was gonna go on the OUSTIDE of the project box! Crap, now I have to desolder it and solder on the other part of the connector.
Other Connector Soldered Up
- Yeah, there we go. All ready to go. Now I just have to, wait… this connector…the other connector… the box, click, outside, here, there… … … AUGH! Sunnava*$@*! This connector is what goes FROM the phone TO the other connector on the outside of the box!  Dangit!
- So right about now I went and got a glass of milk, sat in my chair and collected my thoughts. I was getting a little rushed and ahead of myself, making silly mistakes. “What is the next thing I had to do? After that?” I took my time and planned the whole thing out, one logical step at a time (or so I thought).
- Next, put the square connector into the outside of the project box, and solder wires to it from the board. GO!
Lining it up to mark it. I just eyeballed it.
Marked with pencil and cut out with Xacto knife
- There is another connector (you can see it in the first picture of all the parts that everyone ignores) that I wanted to use to hook up the heavier wires from the relay. These wires aren’t gonna have a lot of current, they are just heavier cause the manufacturer thought they ‘might’.
Marking the center line and the marks for the spade connectors.
- I wanted to keep these holes small- because… just because. I decided the best way to do this would be to burn them in with something. But what? The answer was right in front of me.
Burn it down!
That’s a spade connector on my soldering iron. This worked exceptionally well. probably not an original idea, but I like it.
Here are the connectors epoxied in place.
Terminal Connector
Little white connector thingy.
Aaaannnd, solder the wires to the pins/spades on the connectors.
Small Connector Wires
Larger Connector Wired
- Next time around (I have to build some of these for friends), I’ll probably use A) Longer Wires, B) More flexible wires & C) Solder them BEFORE I epoxy the connectors in place. It’s a little cramped in there.
- Next thing, I attached and soldered the crimp type connections to the end of the relay socket wires.
Relay and Relay Socket
Relay Socket Connections
- Now this picture highlights the next time I got into a hurry. The blue wire is the wire that will connect to ground (I know it should be black, but I am too lazy to disassemble the socket and switch them). It should not have that round junk on it, rather it should have an extension and a male spade connector, as it needs to reach over to the ground and span inline with the ground wire (you’ll see later). The red wire is correct, however I need to create a sister wire for it that comes out the other side of the screw terminal and connects to the Remote Start Accessory Input. The black wire and the white wire are correct, as they are going to go inline with the current Accessory output from the remote start. Poo on putting a fuse on that, it wasn’t originally fused, and doesn’t need a fuse cause it’s running through a 30A relay. I don’t care if you are an Electrical Engineer, I’m not gonna do it.
Wires Hooked Up Wrong
Yeah, the caption is right. Remember I said that I needed to extend the blue wire to ground and make another red wire to go out from there to the Remote Start? The Blue wire should not even be hooked up there. Straight from the relay to ground.
Relay in place.
Little White Connector Male End Soldered to Phone Output
White Connector In Place
The new spanning ground connection in place. This will span between the remote start ground connection and the ground wire. I soldered the stuffed connection on the left.
Shrink Wrapped
The whole ordeal soldered up correctly.
In the end it all worked out…AFTER I hooked it up and it didn’t work.
Turned out that the little white connector I used broke. Why? Because I soldered the ethernet cable to the little tiny original wires and they could not handle the strain, so I pulled it apart, spread the crimp connector and soldered the ethernet directly to the pin. Good. No… The pins were female and I soldered the entire opening full of solder. So not only did I screw that up, I destroyed the pins in the connector attached to the box trying to jam them in.
So I rummaged some more, and managed to find an identical connector! Yay. This time I took my time and made sure I did everything correctly. That connector turned out GREAT!
But it still didn’t work. I checked for shorts, and found that one of the spade connectors on the back of the screw terminals block wasn’t soldered very well and broke off when I was soldering on the other connections. Sooo, I melted the everliving Christ outta the project box resoldered the wire back into the hole in the spade connector, taking care to not contact the plastic with my soldering iron.
With that, the whole thing was together, and once installed in my car, worked like a charm. Since using it for about a week now, I have come to the conclusion that I probably will not purchase more minutes with the cellular provider, rather I will simply use the calendar on the phone to set events for when I leave for work or leave work to go home. This is what I have been doing most of the time thus far. There have been a few occasions where I used the call function, like when I left work early; but for the most part I leave at the same time every day. A recurring event on the calendar takes care of that just fine.
Cost breakdown.
- Remote Start – $35
- Phone – $10
- Minutes – $20
- Perf Board – $0.45
- Project Box – $2.10
- Relay Socket – $1.79
- Relay – $1.69
- Solder, tools, wire, optoisolator – $Free (Had or Scavenged)
Overall Cost of project:Â Â Â $71.03
Well worth it if you ask me.
February 3rd, 2010 on 8:15 AM
Reading these kind of posts reminds me of just how technology truly is something we cannot live without in this day and age, and I think it is safe to say that we have passed the point of no return in our relationship with technology.
I don’t mean this in a bad way, of course! Ethical concerns aside… I just hope that as the price of memory drops, the possibility of downloading our memories onto a digital medium becomes a true reality. It’s one of the things I really wish I could see in my lifetime.
(Posted on Nintendo DS running R4 SDHC DS SPPost)
February 6th, 2010 on 6:47 PM
This is really amazing! It has really inspired me, but alas, my photo skills don’t translate well in the rigupthingamagigy tech realm well. I had to throw mine away in frustration.
Can you make me one?
February 6th, 2010 on 6:48 PM
what happens when the cell phone service company makes telemarketing calls to your phone? what about wrong numbers?
February 6th, 2010 on 6:54 PM
i am going to answer my own question. with your ability, it shouldn’t be a huge trouble to add a logic chip that responds to the type of ring. then set the type of ring on your cellphone to the calling number — yours. or something? must be some way? awesome project.
February 7th, 2010 on 2:51 PM
Set your default ring to silent, set the ring for if certain phones you want to use call to vibrate. That way you don’t end up with an accidentally out of gas car because someone dialed the wrong number 5 minutes after you got to work…
February 9th, 2010 on 6:01 AM
Very neat solution. Seems like you ended up with a simple alarm/timed solution. I used to do this years ago with a DEI module that did exactly what the cell phone does now, DEI part number 556T, a very neat timer programable module. http://www.caraudio-caralarms.com/dei-556t.html . It’s a discontinued product but still can find them here and there fro about $50-80. User manual from DEI site, http://www.directeddealers.com/manuals/og/valet/556T.pdf
I like the cell idea being able to ring the phone and done deal, just the monthly charge I don’t like.
October 31st, 2011 on 2:41 PM
Has anyone opened up a 556T. Was wondering if you could tap off of it and hook up the cell phone.
February 9th, 2010 on 11:28 AM
I would love to buy one of these setups, please email me when you are ready to sell these devices. david.mule@gmail.com
February 9th, 2010 on 1:39 PM
Will do. It may be a while until I have something worked up. And it will be a DIY kit…
February 9th, 2010 on 8:30 PM
Wonderful!! I agree with David, please let me know! I can’t modify my car’s electrics until August (I have an Intoxilock in there now because I am an alcoholic who can’t take responsibility for his actions), but I would be VERY interested in a DIY kit!!
Otherwise, I’m gonna bookmark and copy your write up when the time comes 😉
Thank you!
Ed
February 10th, 2010 on 1:58 PM
Let me know when you start selling you DIY kits. This is awesome!
February 10th, 2010 on 2:06 PM
This is great. Id be interested in seeing a wifi compatible phone used(even maybe a deactivated blackberry type), so I could use google calendar(or similar) and have it sync to the phone when I pull into my garage or in range of another preferred wifi network. If this was the case it could be wired it to the cars battery and shove it under the dash and never have to remove it.
February 10th, 2010 on 10:32 PM
Damn, I hear ya! That is the kind of thinking that gets me into trouble!
February 10th, 2010 on 3:36 PM
??? ?, ?????????? ???? ? ??? ????:) ?????? ????? ?????????? ?? ????? ???????
February 16th, 2010 on 7:18 PM
??? ?, ?????????? ???? ? ??? ????:) ????????. ??? ??????? ???????? ?????
February 17th, 2010 on 7:58 AM
be careful changing the oil. 🙂
February 22nd, 2010 on 12:25 AM
This idea seems great, however it has a potential to be (extremely) insecure basically if anyone dials your phone they can turn on you car… I would much rather prefer to modify a Nike + iPod device, or write an iPhone app to call multiple phones in a certain order (determined by a micro-controller), and only have the car turn on when the series of phones is called in a certain order in a certain time. Another simple (yet still somewhat insecure) is to connect this to your locking circuit, and when the car turns on, trigger an event in a micro-controller to lock the car.
January 28th, 2011 on 12:31 AM
this concern would be fixed by making it so only certain phone numbers caused the phone to ring. For instance on most phones you can set numbers to ring or vibrate in this case and set all non contacts to remain silent.
February 25th, 2010 on 10:24 AM
I am interested. When will the DIY Kit will be available to purchase?
February 25th, 2010 on 10:37 AM
Hmm. Good question. I need to get it all working first. BIG hurdle there.
February 26th, 2010 on 12:47 AM
Y isnt it working? It says that u tested and its working
March 9th, 2010 on 12:11 AM
Huh? It is working. Well, I let my phone plan expire, and I just use the timer. Well, and a wire broke that my wife kicked, and I need to resolder…
February 28th, 2010 on 3:18 AM
Hi,
Can you give the reference of your remote start module… And where can I found it ?
Thank you..
March 9th, 2010 on 12:09 AM
the company is called Directed Electronics. The product is the Ready Remote. You can Google it and find them all over. Try Amazon.com.
March 15th, 2010 on 12:10 PM
Could you do a tutorial on how to connect it to the car?
March 23rd, 2010 on 1:59 AM
Unfortunately I cannot. Well, I could…but everything is all stuffed up and zip-tied into the dash. It would be a real pain to take it apart just so I could do it again in a tutorial. Mebbe if/when I put one in my van. There are, however, many good tutorials on the net for installing a remote start.
March 26th, 2010 on 12:53 PM
Could you please explain a bit more about commecting this to the Ready Remote module? I will go to the mechanic shop to connect the module to the car.
Thank You, Great Work
April 3rd, 2010 on 1:16 AM
Cool
April 5th, 2010 on 9:44 AM
better not forget to disable the calendar events when you leave work early, otherwise, couldn’t it shut off your engine mid transit?
April 6th, 2010 on 6:17 PM
Would not happen. Once the ignition is turned on via the key, the remote start module is disabled.
April 25th, 2010 on 1:54 AM
Genius idea. You are bookmarked and RSS’ed?/feeded? or whatever the term is. I would love to get a DIY kit whenever you decide to make it. speedycheetah5@hotmail.com
May 2nd, 2010 on 1:02 AM
Hey Dave, I love the idea. However, i kind of want to use this opposite for your intentions. I would like to use this as a security feature, and have the car engine killed if the number was called, or along those lines. I have a classic muscle car thats easy to get into the wiring, plus a MSD Ignition System and Viper security system. Have you ever thought about trying a kill switch with your system.
May 14th, 2010 on 5:37 PM
Not really, but I don’t think it would be too hard to wire a normally closed relay into the ignition switch. You wouldn’t even, or rather, would not be able to use the remote start as a cutoff. They have a failsafe that will not let them shut off the car with the keys in the ignition.
July 29th, 2010 on 3:28 PM
I just snagged a Ready Remote 24926 off ebay for 30 bucks with free shipping! I’m psyched to try this project out. I’m sure you’ll hear from me begging for answers to many many problems. 😉
August 14th, 2010 on 12:17 AM
Sweet. post up links to your buld and let us know! And improvements are more than welcome.
August 18th, 2010 on 3:31 AM
is this mod cell phone and relay only work with Ready Remote 24926? can i use different remote start (ex. CompuStar, Bulldog) thank you
August 27th, 2010 on 2:21 AM
hi there, which wire (color) of the Relay connect to Activation Input of the remote start?
November 6th, 2010 on 1:20 PM
Hi been a while since this post, but dug this up after a search on google.
Any chance you were to sell this as an intergrative solution? I mean the box and wiring. I’d pay top dollar for it!
November 17th, 2010 on 11:09 PM
Did you ever start selling kits? Twisted_Samari@yahoo.com
Awesome idea!
December 11th, 2010 on 10:02 PM
So is the DIY kit ready to roll? If you didn’t want to go through that, you could just list part numbers from digikey and parts express. The little white connector looks like the same thing that is in my cordless phone. A project box is easy to find. It’s the optoisolater that is tough because you said you salvaged it. You did speak about using a relay of some kind in it’s place. BTW, I’m a member over at the 12 volt.
January 8th, 2011 on 11:12 AM
I would like to be put on your mailing list if you ever come up with a kit for sale
March 13th, 2011 on 2:03 PM
hey i love this unit i am going to try to biuld one but i need more info. on the relay did u use a 5 pin or a 4 pin realy and can u tell me where each realy wire is hooked up too . thanks
April 30th, 2011 on 10:07 PM
I HAVE BUILT MANY ELECTRICAL DOOHICHYS AND THANG UM A BOBS ! I WILL PAY YOU TO GIVE ME A FINAL WIRE DIAGRAM INCLUDING WHAT CHIP AND THE CONNECTIONS . I AM TIRED OF WAITING FOR DROID TO MAKE AN AP FOR THIS AS THEY SAID THEY WOULD . THANKS , SCOTT
August 22nd, 2011 on 10:37 PM
I have the exact same phone and I am trying to retrive some memory from it, but it won’t power on even with a new battery. I have taken it apart and I have no idea what to do next. Do you have any ideas on how to get it to power up so that I can retrieve some deleted messages from it? Thanks
October 1st, 2011 on 10:35 PM
Nope. On your own there. Sorry.
September 12th, 2011 on 9:23 AM
Thank you, you helped me a lot!
October 1st, 2011 on 12:34 AM
It`s an excellent project, you make feel like 007, congratulations.
October 24th, 2011 on 10:19 PM
Hi! I’m happy it worked out in the end, if or when u are interested in selleng a plug-and-play kit I would be interested in buying 1…
October 24th, 2011 on 10:25 PM
I assume u have my email…
November 8th, 2011 on 4:21 PM
Has anyone opened up a 556T timmer module. Was wondering if you could tap into it and hook up the cell phone.
February 18th, 2012 on 1:50 AM
Now you’re thinking. I was going to go the same route. I think I may use a 555 in conjunction with a DTMF decoder.
December 6th, 2011 on 1:30 PM
Genius! I’m in for when DIY kits are available!
December 7th, 2011 on 8:42 PM
are you selling these kits ? if so where do i need to look . thanks this is a great idea
December 12th, 2011 on 1:24 PM
Not selling a kit. Working on another version. Been collaborating with some fellow geeks, but life keeps getting in the way.
December 14th, 2011 on 12:04 PM
Definitely interested in one of these, anticipating release of new version or kit.
December 15th, 2011 on 7:17 PM
So what do you do if you accidentally turn your car on with this? Is there a way to remotely shut it off?
February 18th, 2012 on 1:47 AM
Not at this time. The timer on the remote start can be set for 5-10-15 minutes. It’s a feature of almost all remote starts. If I ever get off my ass and make ver2, then I will add that feature.
December 21st, 2011 on 10:55 AM
This is awesome!!! I have done the car, same exact phone. I am just stuck with getting the correct optoisolator. If you can email me where I can find that it would be great. Thanks
February 18th, 2012 on 1:46 AM
Don’t need the opto, just a small relay. Try DigiKey.
January 7th, 2012 on 10:30 AM
OK so I am interested in tinkering with this a little farther…any chance I could get a detailed parts list and if loadable a diagram. I will keep u posted with any. Advancements I center across
January 26th, 2012 on 4:34 PM
What kind of Optoisolator do i need to use, ans what kind of relay ?
January 26th, 2012 on 5:47 PM
and where did you bought the Terminal Connector and what are the orange stuf that u solder on the perf board how do they called, is it matter what i buying ?
February 18th, 2012 on 1:45 AM
I would use a relay, not an Opto. It was just something I had from scavenged parts. Try Digikey for a small relay. I just bought two, but I can’t find them!