Bulldog RS1100 Remote Starter with Keyless Entry

I received this unit for Christmas, and installed it in my Ford Explorer. The instructions are not as direct as they could be, but the video helps organize things. I needed to call tech support for a question/clarification and after a fairly long wait on hold (two days after Christmas so I expected that) I got the info I needed by a cheerful tech. The biggest problems with any of these self-installed units (this brand or others) are (1) people who don't have any electrical experience or tools, and (2) installation on cars that have difficult to access wiring (most). The latter can make the difference between a relatively easy or relatively hard installation. The kit electronics appear good for this type of item. All parts (and a small installation tool kit) are included - - except for any small relays that may be necessary for some door locks, security bypasses, and some dome light activiation situations. They are not needed on every vehicle, but many. A couple should be included...Read more

Once installation was complete, the unit worked perfectly. However, the installation was more difficult than it needed to be.

First, the installation instruction referred to a WHITE wire that was to be connected to a bypass module. This part of the instruction was vague in a couple of ways. 1) It did not specify what WHITE wire it was referring to while other areas of the instruction were quite specific (i.e. - BLACK wire with the Blue stripe on the 16-pin harness). 2) It said that the WHITE wire was to be connected to the BLUE wire on the bypass module. However, since there are mutliple different bypass modules available using a variety of color codes, this step created confusion.

Second, when it came time to connect the various plugs to the starter unit, there was no mention of a need to initialize the unit by stepping on the brake pedal and pressing the start button on the remote. Without this information, when I plugged in the unit, it began a repetitive...Read more

I spent much time asking tech support questions prior to the install since it is my first attempt doing something like this. The VCR tape is worth the time to watch, and I watched it several times before and during the install. It went fairly well, except for needing some resistors (not included) and having a remote with sticky buttons, which they have agreed to replace. The actual install took about 5-6 hours on a system with no factory alarm. Overall I am very satisfied with the remote starter, and found tech support reasonably available (busy season?) and willing to help. The written manual is a bit confusing, as is online info, but tech support is very knowledgeable and answered all my questions. They helped me immensely. I love having the remote starter. I recommend it highly.