Hi guys, it’s been a while. My car is back out of storage. Don’t think it’s going to snow now.

Would it be possible for somebody to message me with some thoughts on putting a switch on the correct wire and how far down the loom to help prevent my Abarth being reprogrammed. I’ve moved and it’s now on the street and I’ve seen how quick they take them including removing the ignition barrels. It’s nuts.

Also a message on how I open the car if the door look isn’t there? When a battery is dead.

2nd day of driving the Abarth this year I get stopped by the police. Understatement. I have front/rear dash cams. I was followed by a black bmw for a few miles, then before I know it I’m ‘t-packed’ removed from my car, accusing me of doing 80mph in a 30mph, I made it clear it’s all being recorded. Now my speed is irrelevant and my car is suspected stolen, even thou I confirmed my identity and insurance. I was detained and hold in a doorway for 15mins whilst they looked desperately for a valid reason to cause me a severe panic attack. I have my phone ripped out my hands, my keys pick pocketed, man handled for what? Owning an Abarth. I’m to old for this sh*t. My cameras where obstructed by opening the bonnet and boot! Merseyside police tut tut

typecastboy has tracker on his. Still option of immaculate secondhand steering wheel cover. With protective sleeve thing. Also 2 crucial fuses could remove that are mentioned in handbook. Ghost immobiliser £400 or so. Case of accepting after all that if it's still gone they can have it.

You are allowed to ring the Police and give them description of car following to confirm it is actually them.

Interestingly you mention ways to stop your car being stolen but then berate the police for thinking you were a car thief. Just for information Police don't need a reason to stop you under the road traffic act so they don't need to make excuses.

It can be unsettling of not upsetting to be stopped by the police , if you have done nothing wrong remain polite , calm, comply with their requests, answer their questions. You are likely to be treated much better and get on your way much more quickly.

The police have to deal with some truly horrible dangerous people and are therefore cautious.

Not all police officers are excellent but if you were T-pac stopped then you had at a very minimum of 3 police officers there, pursuit trained drivers. Out of 3 police officers there is a great chance at least 1 would be excellent. It is also likely that your stop if by T-pac required authorisation by a senior office in the control room . Three police cars in one location is a large deployment of resources for the police.

Anyone "known" to the police should should expect to be examined more thoroughly, rightly so.

Dash cams are a great idea , pointing them out may have been counter productive in your case.

The police don’t T-PAC someone for speeding, they might do if you fail to stop when they’ve hailed you down and the. It’s only if you take off like an idiot, the police do know the difference between someone who has “failed to stop” and someone who just hasn’t seen them. Generally if you fail to stop they assume you’re up to something you really shouldn’t be like stealing a car.....

As they say there are two sides to every story.

As for security if you’re going to make alterations to the wires going to the OBD port then you don’t really need any sort of how to guide, just do what ever you plan as don’t publish your plan, otherwise you’re telling the world how to overcome your home made security arrangements.

Have you got a Disklok? One of the best anti theft deterrents in my opinion.

I do have a manual steering lock, a tracker fitted,.

I did request a message regarding what and where and how to remove the drivers door lock please

Not broadcast it :-/

Stephen A500 said:

I did request a message regarding what and where and how to remove the drivers door lock please

Click to expand...

You want to make the vehicle
'Door lock free' ?

Then you are relying on the remote device 100% of the time.. and this was supposedly the easiest thing to overcome
(The signal can be scanned and stored..
So played again to open doors in your absence)

A neighbour had an Audi RS they were also being stolen with OBD defeat software

He had a 'pedal guard' fabricated

So the car would be undrivable (wants to be a VISIBLE DETERRANT)


In essence if they are looking to STEAL it for parts.. you discourage them - your car is too much bother.. they look for one the can drive away within a minute


back in the 90's..
Screwdrivers through the doorskin was the standard method of defeating a door lock..

I am not convinced the lock structure has evolved much

Stephen A500 said:

I do have a manual steering lock, a tracker fitted,.



I did request a message regarding what and where and how to remove the drivers door lock please



Not broadcast it :-/

Click to expand...

Here’s my video on changing a door handle, you can see how to remove the lock here.

https://youtu.be/Ps0MpeRkYkg

Sorry, wrong video it’s this one.

https://youtu.be/l_mXiCtVSsw

I've not tried it, but if you lock someone inside the car and they pull the handle will the door open?
Our Mazda has dead locks but only if you press the fob twice.

Two problems with removing the lock, firstly if you take the lock out then there is a hole in the door in which you can put a finger and more often than not reach in to manually unlock the car. Taking the lock out would likely make it even easier to break in.

Secondly if the battery goes dead or the key loses its coding/dead key battery then you’ll need to break Into your own car, which is generally going to result in damage to the car.

Most of the time a criminal who is even a bit savvy is going to use something like a “slim Jim” slid down the side of the window glass and pull up or pushed down on the door lock mechanism to unlock the car without going directly near the lock barrel.

Skimming the key radio signal is really not easy to do as this video shows https://youtu.be/5CsD8I396wo someone who can sit and skim their own key signals all day still struggled to get anywhere.

As pointed out , far better off with visual deterrents like a steering wheel or pedal lock. The more things you add the more it will put people off.

Another option is a transmission lock which are very hard to get past but very easy to get fitted and use in day to day life

It is a misconception that burglars pick locks. They don’t, they smash windows and force doors. Same applies to cars. On these cars they usually bend the top of the door to create a gap they can get a tool in. Removing the lock barrel is a pointless exercise.

John202020 said:

I've not tried it, but if you lock someone inside the car and they pull the handle will the door open?
Our Mazda has dead locks but only if you press the fob twice.

Click to expand...

Yes, anyone in my FIAT can lock and unlock the doors at will without the key/fob.

Our Mazda (CX-3) doesn't have deadlocking but to get out of a locked car without the key you have to pull up the lock button manually before pulling the door lever. I think only the driver's lock button allows this but haven't tried the others.


I was surprised to note it doesn't auto-lock the doors like the FIAT does at 20kph.

If in the UK, just buy a continental door handle for the right door. They don't have locks, similar to the left doors in the UK. On the continent, vice versa. No hole left. :slayer: