remote car starter cs-555

[rangerb]

Hi there,

I have a 99 ford F-150 and the remote starter stopped working about 1 year ago! I went to our ford dealer and was told it would have to be replaced at a cost of over $400.00 so I decided not to do it! A friend of mine says he can fix it if I can find a user manual for it. I cannot find one anyplace! The unit under the dash is grey/blue in color and measures app 4" wide by 6" high and maybe 1" thick. It has a white 9 pin harness in the middle of the top section and a long narrow 11 pin connector and a round connector beside each other on the very bottem of the front plate. There is absolutly no model number, codes or any writing on the outside of the unit!
The back of the unit has a slot in it which reveals a bar code of some sort. The remote says command start CS-555 on it!
Can anyone help me figure out how to get a manual for this unit?

[canuckcarguy]

I don't know if this is helpful or not, but a few years ago I bought a used Ford truck with a starter installed, but didn't get a remote or any instructions. I brought it to a good local shop (Decibels in Edmonton) and it took them about 5 minutes to look under the dash, figure out the brand / model, find an appropriate remote, and reprogram the unit. They didn't even charge me for anything other than a new remote, which I think was about $20.

I would bet that Ford looked at it and either it's aftermarket and they don't recognize it, or they don't feel like doing the diagnosis. If they work on it and charge you money, and it doesn't work properly, they know you'll be back, and that's simply a risk they don't feel like taking.

Try visiting a reputable car audio shop and ask them to look at it before abandoning it, at a minimum they might be able to tell you what brand it is and help you to secure a manual.

Good luck!

[rangerb]

Thanks, I appreciate the response. We do have a good car audio shop in New Liskeard, not too far from here. I will give them a try!