Phiz
Member
So I have recently progressed from possessing a car where theft would involve refitting an axle and fuel tank to a car where you'd just need to know what wires to twist and you're off.
I've got a LONG list (seemingly infinite at this stage) of jobs I'd like to do on the Panda but really security has got to be high on this list. I want to go on adventures in the car and I don't want the freedom of the road to be watered down by worry about where I can or can't park the car, or to a lesser extent what I can leave in it.
So two things to cover, some kind of secure storage (given if I upgrade the locks windows will be smashed or doors bent) and some form of immobiliser. For the minute I'll start with the immobiliser. Electrics are very much my weakness, I just about understand a multi-meter and though I sort of know what they mean complicated wiring diagrams scare me, I'm starting this thread for a few reasons, help for me being one, social being two and thirdly hopefully by bouncing ideas around it might help others too!
The Panda is great as it is so simple to work on but I can't help but think that this would also make it easy to nick for the same reasons. I'm not kidding myself that some career criminal is going to show up hot wire it and ship if abroad for vast sums of money
, more likely some ned/chav/scrote (call them what you will) will see something easy to nick and go for a joy ride (or even a cheap alternative to a taxi home).
I've searched the forum regards immobilisers and generally the threads that have come up have been people removing the pesky immobilisers when upgrading to 16v fire engines. I really do not want to add a possible electrical gremlin but figured if I wired in a simple toggle switch somewhere it would be unlikely to cause problems but for a thief who does not know about it, it would be time consuming to discover.
I've heard of people removing relays/cables from under the bonnet to this end but a) you'd have to get under the bonnet to do this, which is obvious when parking and a pain and b) if the thief has any idea what they are doing it may well be obvious what the issue is.
I could wire the switch on the ignition, starter motor or fuel pump. My initial thought would be the fuel pump for several reasons:
-Ignition circuit handles higher volts, more likely to cause issues and switch would need to be strong (or wire in a relay which adds complication and potential issues). Also if starter and fuel was working the engine could become flooded and if hydrolocked (or whatever it is called), damage eg bent conrod could be caused.
-By stopping the starter motor the theif would know something was up (as with ignition really) and could easily bump start the car anyway.
-Power to fuel pump could easily (I assume) have a switch put on it, it runs the length of the car so plenty of places the wires could be cut so hard to locate and options available. When attempting to start the car it would not be obvious it was immobilised, also the potential theif would sit there cranking the starter drawing attention to themselves and I hope give up.
So that's thoughts so far, welcome ideas and opinions ranging from what I'm looking at is pointless to the other end of the scale people who already have a system in place like this. Clearly no one will want to show photo's of where the switches are hidden and how to start their cars on a public forum but pointers like what colour wire to work on for the fuel pump greatly appreciated! Also any issues I might be creating for myself!
Cheers again
Phiz
I've got a LONG list (seemingly infinite at this stage) of jobs I'd like to do on the Panda but really security has got to be high on this list. I want to go on adventures in the car and I don't want the freedom of the road to be watered down by worry about where I can or can't park the car, or to a lesser extent what I can leave in it.
So two things to cover, some kind of secure storage (given if I upgrade the locks windows will be smashed or doors bent) and some form of immobiliser. For the minute I'll start with the immobiliser. Electrics are very much my weakness, I just about understand a multi-meter and though I sort of know what they mean complicated wiring diagrams scare me, I'm starting this thread for a few reasons, help for me being one, social being two and thirdly hopefully by bouncing ideas around it might help others too!
The Panda is great as it is so simple to work on but I can't help but think that this would also make it easy to nick for the same reasons. I'm not kidding myself that some career criminal is going to show up hot wire it and ship if abroad for vast sums of money
, more likely some ned/chav/scrote (call them what you will) will see something easy to nick and go for a joy ride (or even a cheap alternative to a taxi home).I've searched the forum regards immobilisers and generally the threads that have come up have been people removing the pesky immobilisers when upgrading to 16v fire engines. I really do not want to add a possible electrical gremlin but figured if I wired in a simple toggle switch somewhere it would be unlikely to cause problems but for a thief who does not know about it, it would be time consuming to discover.
I've heard of people removing relays/cables from under the bonnet to this end but a) you'd have to get under the bonnet to do this, which is obvious when parking and a pain and b) if the thief has any idea what they are doing it may well be obvious what the issue is.
I could wire the switch on the ignition, starter motor or fuel pump. My initial thought would be the fuel pump for several reasons:
-Ignition circuit handles higher volts, more likely to cause issues and switch would need to be strong (or wire in a relay which adds complication and potential issues). Also if starter and fuel was working the engine could become flooded and if hydrolocked (or whatever it is called), damage eg bent conrod could be caused.
-By stopping the starter motor the theif would know something was up (as with ignition really) and could easily bump start the car anyway.
-Power to fuel pump could easily (I assume) have a switch put on it, it runs the length of the car so plenty of places the wires could be cut so hard to locate and options available. When attempting to start the car it would not be obvious it was immobilised, also the potential theif would sit there cranking the starter drawing attention to themselves and I hope give up.
So that's thoughts so far, welcome ideas and opinions ranging from what I'm looking at is pointless to the other end of the scale people who already have a system in place like this. Clearly no one will want to show photo's of where the switches are hidden and how to start their cars on a public forum but pointers like what colour wire to work on for the fuel pump greatly appreciated! Also any issues I might be creating for myself!
Cheers again
Phiz
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