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The DIY $10 Prepaid Cellphone Remote Car Starter
An anonymous reader writes "Wish you could start your car via your cell phone, but don't feel like ponying up the $40k for a Chevrolet Volt or $499 (plus $29 a year) for an aftermarket system from Viper? This hack relies on a cheap prepaid cellphone that has had its vibration motor surgically removed, replaced by a couple of leads triggering the car's starter. Whenever the phone receives a call it starts up the car — a somewhat dodgy proposition if a telemarketer ever gets hold of your number, but an interesting solution nonetheless. Total cost of the project: $71.03."
Unfortunately, an AT&T Go Phone costs minimum $100/year. Net10 appears to cost $200/year. Virgin Mobile costs $80, and TracFone costs $100. So it isn't cheaper per year.
According to Consumer Reports AND The Tappet Brothers (Tom and Ray Magliozzi) it's bad for the engine to "warm up" your car by letting it run idle in park. It's also a waste of time and gasoline.
Damping absorbs vibrations. Dampening is caused by moisture.
CVTs (which are automatic) are more efficient than manual transmissions. I recently bought a 2010 Subaru Outback and the mileage numbers are a couple MPG better w/ the CVT than the 6-speed manual.
North American car owners prefer automatics because you can't eat a cheeseburger and talk on the phone while applying makeup & reading the newspaper if you're driving stick.
The DIY $10 Prepaid Cellphone Remote Car Starter
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The possibilities are endless!
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Can't speak for other people, but I warm up my car so that the engine is running smoothly before I head out into the 10-degree winter weather up here in the northern U.S. It's for the engine's sake, not mine.
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According to me it is bad to drive with near zero visibility due to condensation or frost on the interior of the windshield. My life trumps the life of the engine.
Anyways a bock heater or garage is the way to go, at least if parked at home.
I agree. I just scrape the ice off and drive off right away. Of course, then my windscreen fogs up on the inside due to chilling from the airflow over it, but fuck you or your kids if you happen to walk in front of me: better you die than I "waste time or gasoline", right?
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Those guys can eat my ass if they think I'm driving around in a cold car I can't see out of. They are also welcome to scrape my windshield for me.
Drag racing is probably the one exception to the rule, as its just a straight line and you don't have elevation changes, curves or other vehicles to worry about.
To me, drag racing is barely racing. Its more like an engineering display. Besides the launch, there isn't much for the driver to do but keep the wheel straight for 10 seconds or so.
"However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation."
Yup - I have a remote starter on my car - aftermarket.
These sorts of devices aren't all that expensive. I'd have no issues with hacking an alternative receiver (phone or whatever) into the INPUT on the unit, but not directly into the starter.
A typical remote starter does stuff like:
1. Have a sensor on the spark plug wires so that it can detect the engine RPM and figure out when the engine has turned over. It runs the starter "just enough."
2. Refuses to start the engine if it is already running.
3. Has a timer so that it won't run the starter all day if something goes wrong.
4. Has a safety interlock on the hood, so that your mechanic doesn't lose his hands when the engine cranks without warning (granted, whoever installs it might not bother to wire this up).
5. Have some kind of mechanism built in so that somebody can't just drive off with your car.
6. Has some kind of way to transition to normal operation when you insert the keys.
7. Often they have extra features like a mode that will periodically run the car for 15 minutes to keep the engine warm - for cold climates I guess (though I suspect an electrical heater would be safer).
I would never wire something like this to my car without some basic safety/control functionality. By the time you do all that you could have just bought one - they aren't actually that expensive if you install them yourself.