# Viper remote start - on/off switch



## raouldukey (May 20, 2019)

TIA -


I live up North and have Viper remote starts installed in a couple of my vehicles and they work just fine. My problem is that they drain too much juice from the battery and a couple of weeks without driving the car is enough to kill the battery. I've had to replace a couple batteries due to forgetting this occasionally, as car batteries don't like going completely flat very often.


My issue is that I have multiple cars and the cars with the remote start might not get used for a while - especially in the summer. I only use the remote start during the winter. So if I forget to run a car for a while, it will have a dead battery when I come back to it. 



Yes, I realize the car itself is constantly pulling juice, but it is around 90mA and that will take a month or so to drain the battery. The viper remote start more than doubles this drain.



I've tried talking to my local installer, but they aren't really helpful. They say things like use a trickle charger or disconnecting the battery if I am not going to be using the car for a while. Yes, I know this would work as long as I think about it, but it is a PITA and there should be an easier way.


I've looked online and have seen references to installing an on/off switch on to the viper remote start module. However, I haven't found a clear explanation of what this does and I was hoping someone here would know. The write-ups say that it will disable the remote start. My question is does it only disable it, or will it make a big difference to the drain on the battery? I would be more than happy to install a switch and then just enable the remote start during the winter and disable it the rest of the time. 



thanks again for any help.


-Raoul


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

The Viper remote start requires being connected to a 12-volt positive lead and a ground. Insert a little simpler On/Off toggle switch in the 12-volt lead to turn the Viper On and Off.


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## raouldukey (May 20, 2019)

That would be easy enough. 



What does that look like functionally? That is, if I cut the 12V to the remote start, will the car still start normally with the key? That would be ideal, but I don't know if having the viper unpowered would kick in some sort of ignition cutout situation. It isn't a deal breaker if I have to just put the switch back to on and then only flip it to OFF when I am not going to drive the car for a week or so.


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

I supposed it would depend on how it was installed. If the Viper was added on, then the car should still work normally. If the original wiring was disconnected and then re-routed through the Viper, then turning it off would probably disable starting the car.


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## raouldukey (May 20, 2019)

Yea... I have no idea how it was installed. I always assumed that it essentially plugged right in with use of a couple of harnesses, so I expect it goes through the viper. Essentially, I just need to try it and see what happens.... I can do that.


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