Directed Electronics is removing the need for a separate analog remote starter on certain vehicles by offering a digital $299 interface that includes a two-way transmitter to remote start the car.
The new interface, the Viper Responder LE 2-way Xpress-start kit, is one of the first to attach directly to the car’s data bus to “tell” the car what to do, said the company. It also reduces the installation time down to 15 minutes, from two hours, in a four-wire connection for this first version of the new interface, which works with 2008 and later Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles, said Directed.
Cars are now “smart-wired on a network. The switches are not just power and ground, but are on a data bus or network. It means we can connect to a specific data bus wire and send a message instead of connecting to 30 wires and directing current,” explained Derek Schumann president of OE integration for Directed Electronics Canada.
The Xpress-start kit, which is now shipping, contains a data bus interface and Radio Frequency to Data (RFTD) module, plus a Viper two-way remote with 2,000-foot range, a transceiver/antenna and an interconnect cable.
