Last week I installed the MPC remote start in my wife’s 2009 LX570. This kit is about $100, and allows you to use the factory remotes. Once you done, it does work well.
This kit is not for the faint of heart. It’s not plug and play, requiring wire splicing of the harnesses on the body control module. The very small 20 gauge wires require a good set of wire strippers and a lot of patience. There really isn’t a lot of room, especially for someone with meaty hands.
Start by opening the dash. Start at the bottom and work your way left and up.
The kit only uses 6 wires, but the harnesses have about 50. I separated the wires on the bench before starting, and eventually cut all the unused wires short because of the significant volume they had.
I used the strip/poke/wrap technique recommended by MPC. There just wasn’t room for soldering, IMO, and I really dislike T connectors, which you can’t use on CAN bus wires, anyway. For stripping, I used the strippers to cut the insulation in two spots about a quarter inch apart, then split the insulation between the “rings” with a razor blade (very gently). The wire getting spliced in I stripped an inch off to have enough for the wrap technique. It wasn’t pretty, but it worked. Wrap everything up with electrical tape and make it look pretty.
It does use power from the 6 gauge main power wire. I stripped just a section on top of the wire and was able to tie to one of the strands.
Finally, the programming instructions can be a bit confusing. I wasn’t letting the programming cycle run long enough, which caused problems at first, and led me to recheck my connections. I recommend doing a continuity check from the Toyota harness plug to the MPC plug before you do programming to have confidence in your wiring.
Finally, I used zip ties to bundle up the wires and secure the box.
Have fun.
This kit is not for the faint of heart. It’s not plug and play, requiring wire splicing of the harnesses on the body control module. The very small 20 gauge wires require a good set of wire strippers and a lot of patience. There really isn’t a lot of room, especially for someone with meaty hands.
Start by opening the dash. Start at the bottom and work your way left and up.
The kit only uses 6 wires, but the harnesses have about 50. I separated the wires on the bench before starting, and eventually cut all the unused wires short because of the significant volume they had.
I used the strip/poke/wrap technique recommended by MPC. There just wasn’t room for soldering, IMO, and I really dislike T connectors, which you can’t use on CAN bus wires, anyway. For stripping, I used the strippers to cut the insulation in two spots about a quarter inch apart, then split the insulation between the “rings” with a razor blade (very gently). The wire getting spliced in I stripped an inch off to have enough for the wrap technique. It wasn’t pretty, but it worked. Wrap everything up with electrical tape and make it look pretty.
It does use power from the 6 gauge main power wire. I stripped just a section on top of the wire and was able to tie to one of the strands.
Finally, the programming instructions can be a bit confusing. I wasn’t letting the programming cycle run long enough, which caused problems at first, and led me to recheck my connections. I recommend doing a continuity check from the Toyota harness plug to the MPC plug before you do programming to have confidence in your wiring.
Finally, I used zip ties to bundle up the wires and secure the box.
Have fun.