Anyone with aftermarket remote start?

[xmaciek82x]

My QX4 came with some type of an aftermarket alarm system with remote start. It was a nice plus since the car will only live outside and the remote start will come in handy during Chicago winters. My issue is that the heater only turns on when I put the key in the ignition and switch to On position. Otherwise the entire time the car is warming up after being started remotely, the heater is off no matter what the setting is on it.

Is this normal? My CTS-V would turn on the heater or AC depending what the outside temp is. I obviously don't care about how summer days and AC, but it would be really nice if I can get the heater to turn on after car was remotely started.

[04pathse]

What if you leave your heater controls turned "ON" before shutting off the car, would that work for you? works on my 04 Pathfinder but we have entirely different heater/ac control units...

[xmaciek82x]

I tried that. Left it On in manual mode and auto mode, still won't turn on after remote start. I even checked when the engine is fully warm to see if the heater would turn on (some GM cars only turn on heater once engine reaches a certain temp).

At this point I'm not sure if it is something the QX4 ECU just doesn't support or if it is missing functionality in the aftermarket alarm/remote starter.

[Buzzman]

I had remote starts installed on my 2002 Pathy and my 2006 Altima (a few years ago).
Heaters/AC in both cars come on when remotely started.
That's kind of the point really: warm up the inside in the winter, or cool it down in the summer.
I suspect that whoever installed the aftermarket remote in your vehicle either didn't wire it correctly, or just didn't know how.

[04pathse]

Aftermarket remote starts can't be tied in with climate controls unfortunately.
Most vehicles all you can do is leave your heater/ac settings ON when you shut off the car, and when you remote start the vehicle the ac/heat
will come on.
However, some vehicles (which I believe the QX4 is one of them) because of the way the climate controls are designed will not do this.

It is likely the previous owner of the vehicle wasn't aware of this prior to having the remote starter system installed.

[Buzzman]

However, some vehicles (which I believe the QX4 is one of them) because of the way the climate controls are designed will not do this.

I find that hard to believe. Why would the Q be different?
Now, my Pathy only has the manual heat/AC controls. When it starts with the remote, the climate control kicks on.
I just leave the heat settings on in winter, and the AC on max in summer.
With that in mind, I can understand what you are saying in that cars equipped with the manual controls could be made to work.

However, my 2006 Altima SL has the auto climate control system, and it still works with the remote start.
I preset the heater or AC prior to leaving the car. When I start it remotely, the climate control system activates like normal.
My rear window defrost will also activate on the Altima when I start it remotely. That's a great feature this time of year.
By the time my wife goes out to the car, the front and rear windows are clear.
The heated seats also begin to work on remote start.....in both vehicles.
The other thing both cars do when started remotely, if the doors were left unlocked, the doors will lock while it's running.
(My son got fooled once and locked the keys in the car while it was still running. Lesson learned.)

[Jake2.4]

The remote starter was likely installed incorrectly. The qx4 uses 2 accessory wires. Take off your lower dash panel so you can see the ignition harness. Both red/yellow and white/blue should be connected to the alarm. If not a relay can be added to power up the other wire.