jgojohn

I was wondering if anyone knew how to make a safe and reliable neutral position sensor for a manual transmission.I know the safest thing would be to buy an remote-start alarm that is meant for a manual transmission, or mimic a turbo charged car so that you need to leave the car in neutral, but I don't want to buy another alarm. I want to make a sensor that is rock-solid reliable.I've read that people have used Magnetic Sensors (for home window security) to determine when the car is in neutral like this guy did: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/28230/3. I've also read that they are temperamental and unreliable at times. They won't always let the car start when it should. Magnet sensors:


I've also read that Astrostart (or Astroflex) use two pairs of Optical Sensors. This sounds like the solution I am looking for, but I can't find any information on it. The installation manuals are not available (surprise, surprise), and these are not as popular, so there are less people talking about them.

Question: Has anyone installed an Astrostart alarm with optical sensors on a manual? Can someone give me some insight on how these work?

Tedmond

the optical sensor sits on each side of the shifter. When the optical beams are black and not in gear, the car can remote start... if the beams are met meanding the sensor can see the beam(so stickshift not in neutral) it wont allow remote start. if you want to save money and time, tape some 16 gauge COPPER wire, do a few loops around the shifter and leave the ends un connected. Make sure the ends are long enough to the point that when its placed in ANY gear, it will touch ground or chassis. From that copper, run a wire to your HOOD PIN. this will tell the unit that the hood is open really when your car is in gear, and will not allow remote start.

jgojohn

So the optical sensors are positioned much like the magnet sensors in the picture.

The copper wire setup sounds like an inventive solution to the problem, but I would not want to risk using it, because I think it would be more likely to fail.

The optical sensors will probably be the most reliable setup.
Anyone knowwhat type of optical sensors to buy, and/or where to get them?

Tedmond

i am not an astroflex dealer so i dont have their products. Its similar to the magnets expect its placed on each side of the shift. not directly in front of each other like the magnet sensor used for home alarms.