Viper Alarm Activation Problems

Hey guys,

So i've been meddling around all day trying to find guides and what not on these damn alarm systems. Basically most searches on google came up with this forum so now its my turn
I beleive, after much annoyance in trying to get to the little box
That my car is running a Viper 800 ( here is the awkward digi pic of the model number i took of it as i cannot see around that far ) if anyone thinks different please say :P
I have a remote with I II III IV
Now the car had the viper alarm working when i bought it(second hand car) however have had some work on brakes etc done recently and when the cars come back it no longer has a red LED, it is now GREEN.
The LED becomes solid when car is locked and flash 1 per second when unlocked.
The I on the remote still central locks the car, but does not arm the alarm.
If i hold down the I it sets off the PANIC option.
After much fun i was unable to find a valet button, however there are two silver switches, reading through an online manual i found for the alarm i beleive these to be 'ghost switches'.
Now beleiving it maybe in valet mode, i switched these both twice(said this is the default amount of times in the manual) with the ignition turned on, when i turn off the ignition my car sirens once.
But still im left with a green led, and no alarm.
Also i've tried the I II I with door open and this changes nothing either.
Any ideas? i'm at my wits end hehe
Also i've seen alot of posts that viper manuals cannot be found online, it took me a while but i found a source of them located at: http://www.directed.com/guides/ogs.asp and many other car alarm brands too are there.

Any suggestions as how to enable the alarm will be of great appreciation

unplug it for a little bit(couple minutes)..... then plug it back in and try it

Since you did not buy the alarm and basically have no warranty, seriously consider getting a new alarm. What is the most popular brand of alarm in this forum for having problems?

yeah i understand its a piece of crap :P
but ya know, its installed and considering the amount of answers given in here i guessed someone might know
as for unplugging it, where the hell do i unplug it from :P

unplug the main harness from the alarm brain.

What kind of question is that???

Unplugging a Viper wont do anything, they hold their memory. How a red LED changes to Green, thats beyond me. To me it sounds like its in some sort of vallet mode, but, that sure isnt a normal valet mode from what your saying, unless something is messed up with the LED .

It means that I'm am sick of hearing how awesome Viper alarms are. There are more complaints about Viper in this forum than any other brand of alarm. If DEI had any decent help that the customer could get, maybe that would eliminate some. But they don't help anyone but their dealers. As for your advise (unplug it for a little bit), what kind of advise is that?

If you want DEI customer service, and deal with installing their products and troubleshooting their products on your own, Buy a Rattler DIY series product, thats why they designed that line.

If you want a high quality professional alarm installed, buy a Viper series. If you have a problem with it, take it back to the dealer that installed it. If the brain took a crap on it, they will swap it out for a new one because of the lifetime warrenty. DEI shouldnt have customer tech support for this, because customers shouldnt be touching this equipment. The only questions they should have is how to use it, and their dealer can answer that, thats why you pay the money you do to have it installed.

I've installed DEI products for close to 5 years, including Viper/Vallet/Hornet/Rattler/Python, and only twice have I seen a DEI brain go bad. The only thing I've seen go bad other than that, are the old 790 LCD transmitters. If somehow your alarm went to crap by having a brakejob done, I would greatly assume that its a poor installation if anything. Anyone that knows anything about installing knows that alarm work is 95% install, 5% equipment, the install will make or break the product. Im new to this forum, so I cant speak from experience on here, but the other security forums I frequent, Seldom do I see posts from people complaining about problems with a DEI product, and if they are, its installation related.

Last but not least, often when you unplug an alarm, it will reset. Usually when theres a weird problem with an alarm, like is mentioned, a installer will unplug the alarm to reset it, to see if that helps. So, I would say that would good advise

I agree with 95% install, 5% parts is the problem. As for the lifetime warranty, I have yet to see a shop honor a warranty when there is a change of ownership of the vehicle. I was merely making an observation as to the amount of complaints about Vipers compared to all other brands combined. I've been installing for over 16 years. I've seen my share of crap installs and crap products. DEI is not known for crap products, but I do believe they are overrated. There are things about them that I don't like, but other installers DO like. For instance, the external relays for remote starts. I hate it. I know it's for the convenience of swapping out relays when they go bad, but I can count on one hand the amount of times I've seen a remote start come back due to a bad internal relay (not counting the Ungo/Clarion keyless/start systems, they suck out of the box). This is an opinion forum and as long as we all keep that in mind, there won't be any problems. As for your advise, you said the customer shouldn't be touching the alarm but to try unplugging it. Self-contradicting.

You also said "If you want a high quality professional alarm installed, buy a Viper series". Buying a Viper does not ensure a professional install, which we agree is usually the problem. Actually, I think the percentages are a little off. Most of the time it's operator error. Not in this case, but usually. He did not buy the alarm and have it installed, therefore he probably does not have a warranty. I'm still baffled about the red to green LED. To my knowledge, DEI does not use bi-color LEDs.

I dont know how warrenty would work with being a second owner also....my guess is that the second owner gets nothing. I would try to contact the original owner of the car and get them to take the car back. If thats not possible, take the car to a DEI dealer and see what they would do. My guess is nothing. If they charge you to look at it, see if they can credit that charge towards a new alarm if something is wrong.

Viper exists because you are supposed to get a professinal installation with lifetime warrenty, thats why you pay the big buck. Of course, all installers are not the same, and your right, it doesnt insure u of a professional install. I used to install at circuit city, and I can say from first hand experience, that some of the installs that came out of the shop were horrible, I know because I was the one that fixed them when it came back in. Like anything else, if your going to make a $400 investment in something, do your homework, talk to the shops, talk to the installer, dont just make an impulse purchase, just like anything else in the retail business.

I wouldnt recomend someone to mess around with their alarm system if they dont know what their doing, and I never said that. All I did was give reasoning to why you would unplug the harness from the brain. I'm a good installer, as im sure you are also. If we wernt, we wouldnt spend our free time going on forums trying to help people, and learn things for our own future installs, but everyone has their own opinions on things.

Going back to the original post.....just take your car to a professional. I dont see how a red LED can turn to green either....theres obviously a complex problem with not too easy of a solution. I would also be in contact with the shop that made these problems happen, and get them involved.

The reason you hear about more complaints of problems is that there are more Directed products out there than the others. I personally liked the Ungo stuff we installed, so there is another personal opinion.

A lot of people claim to like Compu-Star.... sorry but I don't.

Install is THE most improtant part of an alarm. Just like window film.

I guess I am in the minority of installers that actually take the time to hide the brain and wiring. I challenge my customers and the other installers in the shop to find mine when I get done.

ok need some help i know that this is a easy fix it has been a long time since i messed with the viper alarm battery died now car wont start alarm is preventing that from happing please let me know how to fix

[b]prelude97, with the door open disconnect car battery, turn ignition on, hook up car battery, the siren might blast a sec. but you should be able to start your car. I have been a D.E.I. dealer/installer for 20 years and you have an old model. They don't have memory so a new battery puts it in alarm mode. If you can find the valet switch you have a 10 sec. window to use it after you turn on the key. As for a red/green L.E.D. never seen it in a dei product. you def need to take it to an authorized dealer. Warranty? Does not mean FREE I charge $75 to diagnose and send it(u.p.s.)back to D.E.I. but if it's too old they charge a fee to up-grade. I always offer to the customer "I will waive the $75" if they up-grade today and I don't charge for removing the old alarm like most other shops do. Besides why wait 2-3 weeks and put a $75 band aide on an old unit when you can up-grade on the spot?[/b]

Me too i wanted a car with alarm system but i heard already that there are so many defects with those alarm systems.
Maybe i just f**k it and do it the old school way - i pretend to have an alarm system with this lable ;)
But I might get an alarm system for my house - there i really need it ...