I had an idea on improving the security for our cars.

Would it be possible a kill switch that would shut down ALL electrical systems in our car? Like it would be hooked up to the ignition, starter, etc..

And the switch could be hidden also. For example, if a theif broke into your car, they could try and try to start it but nothing would happen. They wouldn't think of a kill switch. So they'd get fustrated and leave.

However this doesn't apply to people who have expensive stereo equipment in their car, as the theif would focus on that instead of the car itself.

 

A friend of mine did exactly that on his F250 4x4 turbo diesel. He installed two hidden switches, one kills the ignition and the other disables the brake/tranny interlock so that you can't take it out of park. Since it is a diesel he leaves it running often, so he just flips the interlock switch. They are small and completely hidden. The only way to find them is by touch.

Don't think that a thief doesn't know about kill switches, but it could stop them if they can't find it. I saw on a TV show a year or so ago, two reformed car thieves were given a car to "steal" in the studio. They had the audible on the alarm disabled, the Club removed, and the ignition switch lock removed in a matter of seconds. The only thing that kept them from getting the car was that they couldn't find the kill switch.

 

It's pretty easy- I put a kill switch in my Ford Ranger when I was working at a car audio shop. I put a hole in the ashtray, mounted the switch inside, and wired it to the starter wire, through a relay. Subtle, easy to use, and pretty effective.

Of course, there is no such thing as a thief-proof car, but there is such a thing as a car that's not worth the effort it's taking. They want to be in and out ASAP, and a well hidden kill switch can sure make that hard.

 

Of course, there is no such thing as a thief-proof car, but there is such a thing as a car that's not worth the effort it's taking. They want to be in and out ASAP, and a well hidden kill switch can sure make that hard. [/B][/QUOTE]

Exactly, my car was stolen using a tow truck, from my office parking space, in Tijuana, Mexico, so it is very true that there is no souch thing as a thief-proof car. The insurance company found my car in anoter city, and it was wrecked because of a high speed chase.

But it is allways good to have a kill switch, mine had one.

Jose.

 

I had a kill switch when living in NYC. Works great. Guy tried to steal it ( for parts I guess) and couldn't get it started because of the switch...

 

How easy exactly is it? What does one need? Are there any instructions you guys have?
I am contemplating putting one in..

Thanks a lot

 

If you need extra security only once in a while (parking in a bad neighborhood) you could achieve this without spending a dime.

Open the hood.
Remove the black plastic cover from the link- and fuse-box adjacent to the battery.
Remove the big 120 amp fusible link situated right in the center of the box.
Put it in your pocket.
Snap the plastic cover back in place.
Close the hood.
Lock the car.
Walk away.

 

Wouldn't it look weird if people saw you open your hood and take your fuse out? If people saw it, then they'd think something is valuable in the car and they'd try to jack what evers in it.

With the kill switch, you could discreetly hide the switch and people wouldn't know a thing.

It could be effective if you hide it in some discreet place.

 

When I bought my Maxima the salesman tried to sell me a kill switch as a dealer-installed option for "only" $500. I laughed at him. He never brought up the subject again. I think he was ashamed to attempt such a rip-off but his boss made him do it.

 

how about putting one of those security keys like the 98-01 quests have, if you don't have that little key the car won't start.


GTR

 

I like the idea of having a having your cig lighter wired to the starter. If you can figure out how to wire it, when you leave your car pull the cig lighter. The car won't start without it. I doubt a thief would think to look at that for the reason why the car wouldn't start.

 

Nice idea, and it shouldn't be too hard to do. I would bury a microswitch in the base of the cig lighter and wire it in series with the Park/Neutral safety switch (automatic) or the clutch safety switch (5-speed). Even if the BadGuy had your key, the engine wouldn't crank.

 

What about the Vehcile Immobilizer in the '99 Maximas. Doesn't that mean that the car can't be hotwired or started without the key which is programmed for that particular car??

LIke our keys have a microchip in them right?

 

The best place for a kill switch is right in front of your face. On my 85 celica I disconnected the instrument panel dimmer **** from the cluster and hooked up the lights to where they stayed bright all the time. But the dimmer **** was used as my kill switch. I spliced a wire that went to the distributor which is only a ground (but a very important one) and ran it to the dimmer ****. Turn the **** all the way in one direction and the ground won,t make contact (electrically) to the distributor and the car will not start. Turn it the other way and it runs fine. Did this 8 years ago with no electrical problems.

 

Yes. That feature became standard equipment in '99.

 

Best place to connect a cut-off switch is from your fuel system of the car, in your fuse panel look for the fuse for fuel pump, remove the fuse the engine will stop! so then the idea is if cutting the wire that supplying current to the fuse & putting & hide the switch. I think it's good idea......

 

regarding removing the 120 fuse from under the hood, is there a fuse in the interior box that can be removed? i'm not much on the electronics..are these fuses just for interior equipment?

 

as far as the cigarette lighter kill switch, it's not too hard to do
you will need a relay to do it, but it's not that bad
cut the power wire going to the cig lighter (should be one of two wires and should be red)
connect one wire to the end of the cut wire going to the cig lig. and then connect the other end of the new wire to pin 85 on the relay
connect +12V to pin 86 on the relay (you will need to find a constant 12 volt source adn not just the cig lig. since that's just on with the ignition
now, you will need to cut the starter wire and run 2 lengths of wire (one from each end of the cut wire) to the place where the relay is; one goes to pin 30 and the other to 87 (not 87A)

how it works:
when the cig lighter is pushed in (not just in the socket, but actually depressed), it connects the original ground wire to the other wire you connected to the relay; when the relay gets this ground signal it will connect pin 30 and 87 (since it already has 12V at the other side of the coil) and thus the starter wire is connected and you can then start the car
the trouble with this is that, EVERY time you start the car, you will need to push it in which is a little bit of a hassle, but not that bad and very good security measure
the reason you can't just cut the starter wire and wire it to each side of the lighter is the resistance in the coils of the lighter are too much to make it work so taht's why the relay is necessary
you could also do the same with a clutch interlock or brake interlock wire (since the clutch or brake need to be pushed to start the car on most cars)

on my 3rd gen, I did something that I think is better (at least for me); I was looking at the stock switches and found that our foglight button on the dash has an extra set of connections for it so I wired the cut starter wire directly into that so that I have to have the fog switch 'on' to be able to start my car. I usually leave the switch on all the time anyway so it's not a big deal
it still works as a fog switch too since it's only connected to the starter wire (which has no function other than for the 4 seconds when you're starting the car)

I have pics at http://www.geocities.com/bracecraig/maxima/kill
you may have to hit refresh once you are at the link

email me if you have any questions since I do'nt normally check this forum

 

Interesting ideas..I like the idea about using the instrument dimmer control as the kill switch.

Mr. Daniel Martin, does that mean that the '99 Max's can't be hotwired because of the immobilizer ?

 

That's correct. If the BadGuy wants to steal your car he better come with a tow truck.

 

people call it a cut off switch, i had one on my caddy... you can go to a shop and ask him to run one... the only supplies needed is a switch, wiring, and electrical tape

 

I will have to respectably disagree with Mr. Martin on this subject. I lived in Baltimore City for 18 years which has one of the highest car theft rates in the country. Not being a car theif myself I couldn't offer step by step directions, but a chop-shop that got busted had several cars that required a chip in the key, such as 2000 Mercedes S600's (that "REQUIRE" a laser cut key). I don't know if they had 99 Maxima's specifically but one would assume the technology on a benz would be harder to get past than a Maxima. They said the steering colums in all of the cars were ripped out and each car was hotwired. There was no advanced electronical equiptment used in the process, just good criminal know-how.

 

Really?? Hmm..I hope we don't have any smart theifs in Toronto! I can see a theif going thru all that trouble for a S600 but not for a Maxima.

Atleast we are one step closer to pissing of the theif so he will stop. I have another more deadly idea..implementing some more powerful heated seats..where it determines your butt print (much like a fingerprint) and if it doesn't match, then the seat will heat it self to around 100C where the person wouldn't be able to sit in the car cause his *** would be burned!!

<the above paragraph was written in humour and is not to be taken seriously..unless you think its actually possible>

 

Do you have further details? Do you know that the thief circumvented the security device? Some cars were stolen because the owner foolishly parked the car and left the key in the ignition lock. Some cars were stolen when the owner foolishly left the motor running while he ran into a convenience store for a minor purchase. Some cars were stolen at gun-point. Advanced technology can't prevent all calamities.

I'm not saying that Nissan's chipped key security can't be beaten. I am saying I never heard of it happening. I would like to learn how to do this for my own car. I live in a place where car theft is not a problem, so the chipped key is of small value. I'd rather have the economy and convenience of buying spare keys for $1 at Ace Harware rather than $60 at the dealer.

 

But it sucks, cuz the 97 maxima doensn't have the chip keys. It only appeared in 1998 or 1998.

So I get a lesser discount on my insurance

 

the only thing about pissin off a thief is that they could slash your seats or somethin lol... but thats better than getting your car

 

There was a discussion on honda-acura.net a while back about special foglights for the Prelude that you could only get from Japan, and the methods people used to keep them from getting stolen in high-crime areas. A few people mentioned rigging up razor blades on or next to the bolts that held the lights on. That struck me as stupid, if you slash the person's fingers open, they're probably going to get pissed and bash in your hood and a few body panels or something, and you're going to have much larger problems than some foglights disappearing.