No start-“unknown driver”

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Michigan

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So I haven’t drove my truck in a week. I go to start it. Battery dead. It was under 4 volts. Got it up to 12.6 or so. Tried starting it but it says “unknown driver” in the dic.

I have a viper alarm/remote system. I think that locked it out?


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Big Mama

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Start with the battery. It shouldn’t discharge in a week. Does your alarm require a fob to be present to start it like newer rigs? Have the owner’s manual for the alarm?
 
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Michigan

Michigan

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No my fob doesn’t need to be present to start I’m pretty sure.

I should note that once the battery was up to voltage the power locks were still not working.

So it had power and wanted to start but just would not turn over. There was no clicking noise when trying to start once the battery was charged. I think it might be some type of kill switch with the viper system

I’m thinking to try disconnecting negative cable and reconnecting. The alarm install place (Mickey shorr) says not to do that because it will send a second surge and possibly cause more problems. Any advice?


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Doubeleive

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disconnect your battery again and then go flip the lights on/off and turn the ignition on/off a couple times, hit the brake pedal. (this will clear any static power) then hook your battery back up and try again, you wont hurt the alarm, you do want to be sure it is disarmed with the fob though of course the viper does have a start kill but wouldn't make the DIC display anything like that
 
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Michigan

Michigan

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disconnect your battery again and then go flip the lights on/off and turn the ignition on/off a couple times, hit the brake pedal. (this will clear any static power) then hook your battery back up and try again, you wont hurt the alarm, you do want to be sure it is disarmed with the fob though of course the viper does have a start kill but wouldn't make the DIC display anything like that


The thing is I think since the battery got so low on voltage the key fob will no longer respond. Even after getting the voltage back up to 12.6. If I hit the key flood buttons it doesn’t do anything. The light comes on the key fob so I know the battery in the fob is good but no response to the alarm


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Doubeleive

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The thing is I think since the battery got so low on voltage the key fob will no longer respond. Even after getting the voltage back up to 12.6. If I hit the key flood buttons it doesn’t do anything. The light comes on the key fob so I know the battery in the fob is good but no response to the alarm


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did you try what I said to do?, however dumb or stupid it may sound just give it a try these trucks have weird electrical problems sometimes especially when the battery goes dead.
if what I said does not work, then proceed and to check the voltage at the battery terminals with the key on, if you have a helper check the voltage again while the ignition is in the start position. if it drops below 10.5 volts it "might" not start no matter what and the battery is probably still not charged or has gone bad.
 
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Michigan

Michigan

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did you try what I said to do?, however dumb or stupid it may sound just give it a try these trucks have weird electrical problems sometimes especially when the battery goes dead.
if what I said does not work, then proceed and to check the voltage at the battery terminals with the key on, if you have a helper check the voltage again while the ignition is in the start position. if it drops below 10.5 volts it "might" not start no matter what and the battery is probably still not charged or has gone bad.

Will try and respond back here. Just trying to get all the info I needed since I have a tight schedule and not much free time. I appreciate and let you guys know the outcome


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Doubeleive

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Will try and respond back here. Just trying to get all the info I needed since I have a tight schedule and not much free time. I appreciate and let you guys know the outcome


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other things you can check is your battery cables be sure the ends are clean, battery terminals are clean, if you get it started then also check your alternator power output with the engine running you should be getting 13v+ at the battery. good luck
 
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Michigan

Michigan

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Well guys, you can officially call me a *******. So I charged up the battery fully. My plan was to go unhook the negative cable but as soon as I had opened the door to pop my hood my alarm went off and this was 12:30 am. I panicked because of the noise and tried to unhook the negative but I didn’t think about how the battery basically sits in the tray backwards so I’m thinking righty righty from the front of the hood and I tried hurrying up and doing it so I can disconnect it and turn the alarm off but I stripped the bolt. Finally alarm stops and I just quit till the next day. I guess there was some corrosion around the bolt and inner cable.

I got the cable bolts out and bought new ones. Again short on time and rushing to get the new bolts through the cable rubber housing seams impossible as the ring around the bolt is larger than the rubber housing. The guy at the parts store told me to heat it up with a blow dryer and see if I can get it in that way but seams impossible. Again I was short on time. I watched a video of a guy do it fairly easy using Vaseline to live it up and a small picker to work around the rubber housing. Any tips on how to get the bolt through?

Also regarding the unknown driver I called the dealer and he read about it and came up with a pinched wire underneath drivers seat. I don’t know about that but I also found this relearn procedure on the internet although I’m hoping it corrected itself after I get the battery back in.

Also I did have the battery tested at advanced auto and it came back good and I got some crc battery terminal spray to spray and clean with a brush

https://www.justanswer.com/gm/2qxkv-unknown-driver-reset-theft-security-so.html


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