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Solved! 1995 Tacoma SR5 Power Locks/Viper Alarm System Question

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by MAUIAUSTIN, Mar 31, 2025.

  1. Mar 31, 2025 at 5:52 PM
    #1
    MAUIAUSTIN

    MAUIAUSTIN [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2016
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    #188067
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    90
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    Male
    First Name:
    Austin
    Maui, Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    1995 Ext. Cab 4x4 SR5
    Sway A Way 2.5 Coilovers JBA Upper Control Arms Old Man Emu CS019R Leaf Springs Old Man Emu Stock Length Greasable Shackles 10" Travel Bilstein 5125 17" DX4 Terrain Wheels 265/70 R17 Falken Wildpeak AT3
    Hello All,

    I recently had a Viper 5706 2-way 1 mile system installed on my 1995 Tacoma SR5 with power locks, windows and mirrors factory optioned on the vehicle. Only problem is I sometimes have to press the lock button 4 or 5 times to actually lock the truck once the doors are closed. The symbols on the viper remote show it trying to communicate to the truck then failing. I took this problem to the professional shop that installed it and they tried giving me a new set of remotes. After a couple weeks this still didnt change anything so they replaced the whole alarm system brain and antenna. Still about 50% of the time I press lock, the remote fails to communicate to the brain until pressed about 4 times as im walking away from the truck. The shop is now saying that there is no way it can be the alarm system malfunctioning and it must be the trucks electronics. The unit works flawlessly when unlocking and setting off the alarm and communicating with the remote then...

    Here are my thoughts:
    1) Could it be interference around me or the fact that the antenna is mounted on the a-pillar? Signal may be blocked by the metal of the a-pillar though I doubt it as its a strong 1 mile system and the shop installs all vehicle systems in a similar way without problem.

    2) I could potentially be the computer responsible for locking and unlocking the doors in these trucks if that exists. I cant seem to find anything regarding a module that controlls this function so any info is much appreciated.

    3) Maybe the shop missed something with the grounding or something of the unit. The did say they mistakenly used an old coroded ground and had to relocate to a proper ground but that did nothing.

    I just want it to work how its supposed to :/

    Heres a photo of the truck to make up for the long post.
    IMG_3704.jpg

    Thanks in advance!
     
  2. Apr 1, 2025 at 9:29 AM
    #2
    time623

    time623 Well-Known Member

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    James
    AZ
    Vehicle:
    1995.5 White Tacoma 4x4
    I have a cheapo Amazon special keyless entry system, and it gives me trouble if I do any lock-unlock out of sequence from the remote.
    What I mean by that is if I lock the truck with the keyless, then unlock manually, then try and lock again with the keyless, it doesn't like to work. I have to 'unlock' again using the keyless (even though the truck is already unlocked) before the keyless will lock correctly.

    This could just be my cheap system, but worth a shot to check if something like that is happening with yours!
     
    MAUIAUSTIN[OP] likes this.
  3. Apr 1, 2025 at 2:16 PM
    #3
    MAUIAUSTIN

    MAUIAUSTIN [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
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    #188067
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    90
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    Male
    First Name:
    Austin
    Maui, Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    1995 Ext. Cab 4x4 SR5
    Sway A Way 2.5 Coilovers JBA Upper Control Arms Old Man Emu CS019R Leaf Springs Old Man Emu Stock Length Greasable Shackles 10" Travel Bilstein 5125 17" DX4 Terrain Wheels 265/70 R17 Falken Wildpeak AT3
    This is interesting. Thanks for the feedback. I never thought of that as a possible suspect. I did semi recently (before the system was installed) replace the passenger power door lock actuator with a cheap china model from Amazon. The part got good ratings but I have a problem where it wont actuate high enough to unlock the door sometimes. Or if i close that door too hard the the door lock will slip just slightly down and now that door is locked so i have to press unlock again. Maybe this lock motor is the cause of my problems. Just tough to find a oem replacement out of a parts truck to try it out. Can you or anyone else confirm wether these locks can actually tell what position they are in or if thats even relevant? should i attempt to replace that part again? its a PITA but ill do it if it will fix my problem.
     
  4. Apr 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM
    #4
    MAUIAUSTIN

    MAUIAUSTIN [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2016
    Member:
    #188067
    Messages:
    90
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Austin
    Maui, Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    1995 Ext. Cab 4x4 SR5
    Sway A Way 2.5 Coilovers JBA Upper Control Arms Old Man Emu CS019R Leaf Springs Old Man Emu Stock Length Greasable Shackles 10" Travel Bilstein 5125 17" DX4 Terrain Wheels 265/70 R17 Falken Wildpeak AT3
    Problem Solved!
    Update time: Last week I installed a new power antenna mast. New to the list of possible problems but it was the ticket. The old mast was stuck in place with the geared cable that actuates it broken off in the electric motor. The motor would spin for about 15 seconds when turning on and turning off the truck which kept the accesory electronics system on and didnt allow the alarm to lock on command (because the alarm isnt active until the truck is fully powered down accessory wise) Which explains why i never had the problem when unlocking the truck cuz the power antenna isnt in operation until the ignition turns on or off. So in conclusion, now that the new antenna mast is in, the truck will be able to lock as soon as its fully retracted and the electric motor turns off and the accesory power system cuts off, instead of waiting the 15 seconds for the electric motor to time out it now take about 5 seconds for the antenna to go down then i can lock and arm the system with 100% success rate. Id say its a pretty unique situation and i doubt many have had this same problem or question but figured id share for anyone looking in the future. Good luck to all. I also replied to a thread of someone with a problem that i had on removing the old power antenna mast. Ended up having to remove old and reinstall new mast by taking the electric motor off the tube that goes up the the fender and putting it in/out through the bottom of the tube. that thread is linked here. For some reason it was impossible on my truck to remove and reinstall the new mast through the top of the fender on the oem power antenna unit.
     
    Black97v6MT likes this.
  5. Apr 22, 2025 at 9:45 AM
    #5
    nzbrock

    nzbrock Well-Known Member

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    Wow how did you actually figure out that the power antenna was the problem? Just coincidence that you were replacing it?
     
  6. Apr 22, 2025 at 5:28 PM
    #6
    MAUIAUSTIN

    MAUIAUSTIN [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2016
    Member:
    #188067
    Messages:
    90
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Austin
    Maui, Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    1995 Ext. Cab 4x4 SR5
    Sway A Way 2.5 Coilovers JBA Upper Control Arms Old Man Emu CS019R Leaf Springs Old Man Emu Stock Length Greasable Shackles 10" Travel Bilstein 5125 17" DX4 Terrain Wheels 265/70 R17 Falken Wildpeak AT3
    It came up in conversation with the alarm shop. I was telling them how it would happen only when i would shut the truck off, exit the truck immediately and try to lock it. Never really thought of it before as i only listen to music via bluetooth and i got used to the sound of the antenna motor running so i kinda just ignored it blindly for years. But in the conversation, the alarm guy was turning on and off the igninion and i could hear the antenna motor running and the light bulb moment happened. So i set out to fix the antenna and report back to the shop my findings. Now thinking about it, of course that makes sense i was just blind to it after so much time. In the end im happy to keep the power antenna running how the truck came from the factory AND my alarm system works. just after i wait for the antenna to retract fully :)
     

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