2001 F150. My wife got me an auto start for my birthday. Brand is Astro-start, and it's the 2-way model. I've taken it back to the shop 4 times now because 95% of the time the doors won't unlock with the remote. He's telling me that the BCM (Body Control Module) is going into stand-by mode and won't wake up for some reason. If you remotely start first then they will unlock. He said he called Ford and it is just a bad BCM or something to do with the door latch, and I'll have to take it to them to fix it. I've never had problems with the dome light staying on like some have, and the Ford remotes have always worked flawlessly. What's going on? Is this guy incompetent? Any ideas of what I could do about it myself?

Thanks. It's driving me Crazy!

 

Guy has no clue what he is doing.

Start with Fords do not have a BCM that is a GM item.
If the Ford shop he called really told him the GM part on the truck is bad, might want to stay away from that Ford dealer as well.

If the CSM ( Central Security Module ) worked correctly before, it is a case of the RMST / RKE that he added to the system is in error.

BTW : The CSM does not go into stand by if he trys to tell you that one.
It is a hot at all times fuse powering it, and the module is always looking for the RKE signal.

 

So, is the CSM bad? I don't think so, because the factory remotes work fine. The auto start installer said that the astro start unit sends a pulse to "wake up the BCM" (CSM) and then another signal to unlock the doors. He said that if you leave the window down and wait until the "BCM" goes into standby then you can reach in and hit the unlock button and even it won't work. He said that Ford only used this standby mode for 5 years or so and has since gone away from it. The remote does seem to unlock the doors after starting (with the remote).

I still don't know what to do to make it work!

 

That sounds like the generic answer for a Ford with the locks installed as part of the GEM. Non applicable to you.

This has no clue what he is doing.