Remote A/C versus remote engine start

I think you need energy from the solar panels to power the remote A/C fans. I think HTMLSPINNR answered this question in another thread. :mod:

 

Newbie question. Is the remote engine start installed at port or is it at the dealer?

 

Does anyone know if you can order the Remote Start later after you receive the car and have the dealer or a local auto aftermarket shop install the Toyota Remote start system?

Or do you have to order it from the Port and have it installed at that time?

 

Both. I have heard that you will save a few bucks if it is done at port.

 

I don't know how to post a thread in this post but if you go to search and look up "2010 solar roof questions" there are many posts explaining the differences between the remote A/C and the remote starter. I was the thread creator.
Htmlspinnr does a great job explaining the system and even includes diagrams.

 

solar ventillation is directly powered by the panels. it does not have a battery system.

remote a/c used the traction battery for up to 15 mins or something like that.. it won't turn on unless certain battery and temperature settings are reached.

remote engine start does exactly that.. turns your prius on where all your preset radio volumes and a/c setting will engage.. the car will do it's warm up cycle and continue on.. as a running prius... untill you jump in. i'm not sure how long the timer is for this. I think it's 30 mins and if the doors are not opened, it shuts off.

 

My recollection is its 3 minute auto shutoff for remote a/c, and 10 minutes auto shutoff for remote engine.

 

3 mins.. 5 mins.. shrug.. i really don't care about the seconds you can use this system. i'm just trying to clearify processes.

the solar panels do not tie in with the car's battery systems in any way. don't so would have caused a huge amount of static to the car.

so.... the vent motor can not be tied in with the normal A/C.. and the panels do nothing to help remote A/C functions in any sort of way.

so... NO.... these fans are NOT the same. the vent fan is isolated to the solar panel circuit, while the remote A/C function feeds off your auto climate control aka large battery.

 

Does remote start allows you to turn on heater to defrost?

Remote A/C will not allow you to do that, right?

 

Once the remote AC is activated the solar ECU switches the relay for fan power source to the cars 12 volt system and uses that to power the fan. The A/C ECU determines fan speed needed at that point based on interior temperature, exterior temperature, A/C temp setting, etc. , different fan speeds need different power levels. The solar panel will only be able to spin the fan based on the solar energy received which may not be sufficient depending, hence the switching of power supplies.

Wayne

 

Here's the remote start instructions:

 

This morning I had the remote start installed on my Prius II (two days after purchasing the Prius). This was the first unit installed by my dealer (probably why it took almost five hours to install). They had to order the part from another dealer out of state. The part I had installed was a Toyota branded item.

Contrary to some posts on this site, I find that both the A/C and the engine are turned on when the remote is activated (assuming you had A/C going when you last shut down the engine).

 

I would think that the engine turning on would depend on how much charge there is in the battery, whether the engine is already warmed up, etc.

Please post your experience with the remote start. Do you notice significant cooling? If so, how long does it have to run to make a difference? Bottom line, do you think it is worth it?

 

I think a sticky might be needed for this? I can no longer recall how many times I have explained this and how many times I ve seen folks like Tideland and HTmlspinnr explain it as well:


Remote A/C :

• Turns on the Air conditioning system only.
• Draws its power from the Prius battery and therefore the engine is not powered on.
• Since it is battery based, it is limited to 3 minutes running time.
• If your battery is low, it will not work (you can call it "safety" feature)
• It is only available through the Solar Roof Package, nowhere else.

Remote Start :

• Turns on the engine, period. Anything else that turns on as a consequence of turning the engine its no different than when you get in the car and turn on the engine yourself. Any switches that are already flicked on (such as the A/C) will obviously turn on.
• Again, you just turned on the engine, so this has nothing to do with the Prius battery nor the solar panels.
• Limited to 10 minutes (security feature).
• Available either as a dealer installed option or port option.

I hope that clears things up for most people..