Strikeback non starter emergency

[DanielFord]

I am currently sat in my house, when I should be enjoying a glass of wine in the motorhome somewhere in Dartmoor! The reason, went to pick up the van, and the non-starter will not disengage, so I can't start the van.
I've been on the phone to MetaTrak, apparently the van lost communication last week, so I have no way of resolving the issue.
Has anyone else had to reset the non-starter, perhaps you could divulge how to do this, I've tried the emergency override button, it simply deactivates the alarm, not the non-starter bit.

TIA

 

[StanandShirley]

Sorry can’t help but will watch this post as I have the same system, don’t suppose Van Bitz has an emergency number

 

[funflair]

@DanielFord If you know where it is just unplug it and the van should start.

Martin

 

[Jim]

If you know where the unit is hidden you can remove the obvious two wires and bridge them with a fuse. Vanbitz will know precisely where they have hidden it and will have written details and photos showing its location. But they don't open bank holiday weekends

It won't help you now. You can buy a blipper to hide in your van for times like this when the phone network plays up but these need to be set up to work with your particular system. Worth considering when you get sorted. I'll send you a PM with what to look for and where to look

 

[andy63]

the unit is hidden you can remove the obvious two wires and bridge them with a fuse.

May not be so obvious...it's possible that the wires that require bridging are those of a relay that is switched by the control unit that houses the SIM card... so locating the unit buried in the dash could lead you to the relay...
Unplugging the unit might help... but that depends on whether the relay requires a trigger to arm and another to disarm... if thats the case unplugging it possibly wont help..
Just thoughts...
I'm thinking the relay on mine is just a bog standard relay so I would give disconnecting the unit a go... nothing to loose..
Andy.

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[Jim]

May not be so obvious.

When you locate the unit it's obvious.

 

[Clarky]

You may have a different non-starter system to ours but at times ours won't disengage either, usually when the van has been standing for several weeks.
Ours turns off by receiving a text message and sometimes several texts don't turn it off.
If I turn the ignition on and trigger the alarm it seems to wake the non-starter up and it then responds to the text message and switches off.
Yours may be a later system as ours is 4 years old.

Richard.

 

[funflair]

We had “a customer” at our NewYear meet a couple of years ago, waited 3 hours for recovery who didn’t turn up so we read the instructions unplugged and BINGO started straight away.

Martin

 

[andy63]

When you locate the unit it's obvious.

What's obvious...
As far as i know the unit as we are calling it...that houses the SIM card is just responsible for the switching signal that controls a relay..so it could be a problem there or with the relay...
I've had my unit out.. nothing obvious to bridge on there... just a small block connector to the unit..
Andy..

 

[Jim]

I'm a total numpty at stuff like this but when I found the unit, the two wires that need bridging were pretty obvious to me.

Nothing like this at all

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[Revolvor]

I'm suprised that so many people have stated that it is easy to locate the Non-Starter unit and either unplug the relay or disconnect two wires! That seem to defeat the object of having a non starter. You might as well just have a hidden switch for the ignition or fuel pump.

 

[Jim]

I'm suprised that so many people have stated that it is easy to locate the Non-Starter unit and either unplug the relay or disconnect two wires! That seem to defeat the object of having a non starter. You might as well just have a hidden switch for the ignition or fuel pump.

Mine certainly want easy to locate. I was sent photographs to enable me to locate it.

 

[Clarky]

Mine certainly want easy to locate. I was sent photographs to enable me to locate it.

Nor was mine.
I had instructions over the phone and then it needed some dismantling to find it.

Richard.

 

[andy63]

I'm suprised that so many people have stated that it is easy to locate the Non-Starter unit and either unplug the relay or disconnect two wires! That seem to defeat the object of having a non starter. You might as well just have a hidden switch for the ignition or fuel pump.

My unit wasnt easily got at.. it required some sections of the dash dismantling .. and i dont know exactly how it works either.. my comments above about how the unit works ie direct switching or via a relay are just educated guesses...
I would suggest most systems could be defeated quite easily if you knew exactly how they functioned.. just as a switch could be bypassed if you find its location..
It's just a sophisticated switch that has a few novelty features that allow a bit monitoring and interaction.... I reckon it's the same with any system..
My point was there is nothing obvious that wouldnt take some time to suss out unless you had the necessary info..
Andy.

 

[DanielFord]

Well I've had the dash in bits this morning, and I can't find the bloomin' thing

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[Jim]

Well I've had the dash in bits this morning, and I can't find the bloomin' thing

@Revolvor has heard so many people say they are easy to find, I haven't heard anyone say that.

 

[eddie]

I'm suprised that so many people have stated that it is easy to locate the Non-Starter unit and either unplug the relay or disconnect two wires! That seem to defeat the object of having a non starter. You might as well just have a hidden switch for the ignition or fuel pump.

Anything is easy if you know where to look

Controlled by your phone its completely covert so thieves wouldn't assume it was fitted

 

[andy63]

Well I've had the dash in bits this morning, and I can't find the bloomin' thing

Mine had a couple of led that flashed... black the dash area out with a blanket or the likes and have a look.. you might see a faint light flashing ... you might have to lie in the footwell and gaze up into the back of the dash..
Andy

 

[Revolvor]

Anything is easy if you know where to look

Controlled by your phone its completely covert so thieves wouldn't assume it was fitted

I'm not knocking "non- starters" - I'd love to have one on my van.

I had assumed that anything fitted by you guys would be well hidden anyway. It's other installers I would worry about.

 

[Revolvor]

@Revolvor has heard so many people say they are easy to find, I haven't heard anyone say that.

...... well maybe a bit of an exaggeration on my part!

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[Deneb]

I assume the OP has the old system as he mentions a SIM card. With the newer system MetaTrak have recently put a new menu item for "System Reset" on the phone app. My van wasn't responding to app commands last week. I sent the reset command and it was up and running again PDQ!

 

[Speve]

I'm suprised that so many people have stated that it is easy to locate the Non-Starter unit and either unplug the relay or disconnect two wires! That seem to defeat the object of having a non starter. You might as well just have a hidden switch for the ignition or fuel pump.

If the non starter is armed and alarm is on and you try to disable it the alarm will sound so not as easy to overcome.
Folk are talking about present case where the alarm will be deactivated so not a problem

 

[Speve]

I assume the OP has the old system as he mentions a SIM card. With the newer system MetaTrak have recently put a new menu item for "System Reset" on the phone app. My van wasn't responding to app commands last week. I sent the reset command and it was up and running again PDQ!

I think that’s system restart?

 

[Deneb]

I think that’s system restart?

Yes, you're right. Shouldn't rely on memory at my age

 

[DanielFord]

OK all, there is an update. The system restart will obviously not work because of course the van is not communicating with the outside world. Kinda like a small child putting fingers in ears and yelling "LALALALA I'm not listening". I looked in all the places I could think of for the control unit, and failed miserably, me and (electrician) brother in law traced all the wires, and drew a blank!

Got a call from the man himself (mr @eddievanbitz ) on Saturday morning, who gave me a complete run down on how to bypass the system, so I am never going to get stuck again. There's no way I would ever have resolved the issue without him, so as they say, all's well that ends well.

I have just got to go back to the van tomorrow and put the dashboard back together, and refit the headlamp, all things that I removed trying to find the controller

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[Jim]

Glad you got sorted Daniel.

 

[Revolvor]

I have just got to go back to the van tomorrow and put the dashboard back together, and refit the headlamp, all things that I removed trying to find the controller

Regarding my previous comment ....... obviously NOT easy to find!!

 

[DanielFord]

Regarding my previous comment ....... obviously NOT easy to find!!

Hell no! I regard myself as a reasonably competent mechanic, and I wouldn't have even thought of looking where it is hidden. And before anyone asks, no I am not going to divulge that information, although from what I have learned from my conversation with Eddie, they can hide it literally anywhere!

 

[A S R]

What’s this “ blipper “ you speak of then? I’ve had a couple of occasions when my van wouldn’t start. The last one being on the fuel forecourt at Washington services last week. I’m guessing some sort of signal blocker there to stop mobile phones being used? I’d not disabled the system, just fuelled up and bingo....... nothing. I sent the wireless engine START unblock signal and it fired up. A zapper would come in handy and stop me panicking just in case there’s no phone signal.

 

[eddie]

What’s this “ blipper “ you speak of then? I’ve had a couple of occasions when my van wouldn’t start. The last one being on the fuel forecourt at Washington services last week. I’m guessing some sort of signal blocker there to stop mobile phones being used? I’d not disabled the system, just fuelled up and bingo....... nothing. I sent the wireless engine START unblock signal and it fired up. A zapper would come in handy and stop me panicking just in case there’s no phone signal.

It is an optional "blipper" that can be used to start the engine in case you loose your phone, or the localmast has caught fire. If you look in your Non Starter App, messages you will see that you were offered an upgrade circa February

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