kyle7

So when i bought my truck in april 08, it came with an astrostart autostart. i personally had never heard of the brand but it worked so i didn't really care. It worked fine until maybe late august or so, then one time i went to start it and all the engine did was turn over and i think the ignition did'nt catch and it would just sit there and make the noise as if it were trying to start but it wouldn't, so i would hit the off button and try it with the key and she fires right up... weird huh?... so i spent a while trying to figure it out and i turned the on/off under the dash switch off for about an hour and then back on and it worked. so i thought it was fixed. well every couple of weeks or so it will do this and i will just simply turn it off with the keypad and not use it for a few days and tehn try it and it would work. so anyways its gotten to the point were i won't trust it to use from far away were my truck cannot be seen because i dont want the engine to just sit there just turning over. The only time i use it is within sight of my truck and some might say then its pointless and to just not use it, call me crazy, but i just love hearing the sound of my exhaust from outside the truck when i start it. haha well just thought i'd ask if anyone had any ideas of what is wrong with it and if it could be an easy fix or not.
Thanks

shakie33

The only thing that I can think of is that it might be shorting out some where. I don't know for sure since I don't know how it is wired up. But my suggestion would be to follow the wire and see if one has rubbed thin and is touching something that is making it ground out. If not I don't know. Good Luck.

cole_ford

Have the astroflex autostart too, and ive never had a problem with it other than replacing the remote. Ive learned some about autostarts recently but not how to diagnose problems. I also know someone who had that same problem but it was few years ago, so I cant remember what the cause of it was.

savestrong

Is it possible to have auto start on a manual shift. If the gear is in neutral it should start right.

savestrong

I forget that you still have to press the clutch when it is in neutral or not. Hmmmm
It has got to be a better way

kyle7

I'm not positive but ive heard that you can get them in manuals but they are more expensive because you need to override the clutch to do it. not sure excatly how it works but im pretty sure it can be done.

thebecwar

You can do it, you need a starter that supports it, and you have to install a special part called a neutral safety switch that ensures that the transmission is in neutral. Some transmissions are compatible, some not. YMMV.

If you did something like this, definately make it a habit of putting the transmission in neutral and setting the parking brake every time you exit the vehicle, just to be extra safe. (Enough people have installed these kits wrong, and had cars go driving off by themselves, so whatever you do be careful.)

You may also want to double check that the setup is legal in your town/city/state. Local laws vary, and I'm not a lawyer, so make sure you do your own research.

Karb

Mine had started to do the exact same thing you described. I too would have to walk out to listen to see if it would start or not. I blamed it on the sub zero temps (-25 lows) but it has not done it for a week. The only thing that I have done was put in a new K&N air filter. Now I know this has no effect whatsoever but it hasn't done it to me since and it has gotten really cold again and still fires up fine. So it can't be the cold. Huge coincidence with the filter, I know.

Karb

I think I have figured out my problem almost a year later. I was having the same problems you were explaining. Well tonight I figured I better try to figure this out before it got too cold out.

I went outside and I looked under the dash to see if there were any bare wires and I checked the key and made sure it was taped up alright. Then the dinger was irritating me so I pulled the other key out of the ignition. Tried the starter and it worked fine. Thought, okay all is well for now. Put the key back in the ignition and locked her up. Walking away I thought I would try it once more. Same issue. Turning and turning no fire. So I went under dash again and again the dinger annoyed me. Pulled the key and it donned on me.

Hit the starter and it worked. Put the key in the ignition and tried it again, no fire. The two keys were the problem. One under dash in the wiring for the starter and the one in the ignition were both trying to bypass the anti-theft. I guess that is what I get for keeping a key in the ignition.

So, if you had your key in the ignition at the time, that may very well be the issue.

DIABL0

also a bad battery can cause this check your terminals