whats up everyone,
im pondering the idea of installing a kill switch, and by kill switch i mean, a switch which interrupts either the ignition, starter motor, or something that will absolutely immobilize my car. i would hide this switch underneath the steering column or somewhere non-visible.
Im looking for the a) easiest and b) most harmless (harmless to my car that is) way of installing this into my '02 MC.
if you guys are curious as to why i would need such a switch in my car; i need to keep certain people who have access to my keys from driving off in my car.

now please, if anyone has done this, or anyone has any good ideas as to how and where and why NOT to do this maybe, please let me know

thanks guys,

peter :smile:

 

There is already a chip in the key. If they really want your car they will just tow it away.

 

The easiest would be to put a small switch in series with one of the leads coming from the key chip reader coil inside the column. Another idea would be to interrupt the lead in the ignition switch that activated the starter (this of course does not activate the starter directly, but signals to the electrical system that the key is in the start position).

For occasional use the fuse for the ignition or fuel pump can be removed, but doing so repeatedly will wear out the contact in the fuse box; they are not designed for continuous in-and-out of fuses.

The best thing would be to not let anyone else have access to your keys!

 

I'd use an easy to find battery kill switch. Many of them have a removeable key or **** that you can toss in your pocket and know that your keys are not going to start the car.

A very simple and inexpensive one is the $11 "Green ****"



The fancy $15 version includes a fused link to keep a very small amount of power to the clock and radio, but will blow if someone tries to start the car.

Or, if you feel like spending four times as much, there are fancy racing style kill switches available out there too. . . . . .

AutoSportCatalog sells the *****:AutoSportCatalog.com

 

I'm with Greatbear on this one.

Pop the covers off the steering column, and you will find two black
wires coming from a coil surrounding the ignition switch.

Interrupting either of these two wires will prevent the starter from turning
because the computer can't read the code in the key properly.

Now, you should unplug the coil and try starting the car a few times to
verify that you don't set a computer error-code and get the EML light
before duing a permanent install.

 

I once used a service that could immobilize my car via satellite..... very popular in certain parts of the world....I bet there is a service like that in your area......all you do is call a number and give them a password. Do the same to reactivate it....

 

I can guess what happens if you get that satellite service and you don't pay your bill

 

i did this in my civic... just put a switch on the fuel pump and extend it to where ever you want to hide it.... start the car and 2 seconds later it dies..

 

>>i did this in my civic... just put a switch on the fuel pump and extend it to where ever you want to hide it.... start the car and 2 seconds later it dies..

Very popular in Colombia.....they do delay the cut off so the car jacker gets away from you a little. Essentially they mount the switch on the floor board and you step on it as you get out of your car while staring at the barrel of a gun or a knife......
re the satellite service, a) ya pays in ADVANCE and b) Ya don't pay, ya don't get the service :smile: never cancelled, just stopped sending them $......
While on the subject, one of my very first brand new cool cars was a black on black 1980 320S. I was attempting to get into madam tresurer's pants while she lived in Wrigleyville in Chicago and I would just OBSESS with someone stealing my baby. I would actually park, open the hood and take the distributor cap off!! Then I learned that thieves DON'T like cool cars....they like best sellers......

 

I wouldn't mess with the key immobilizer circuit. It may or may not cause some computer issues. If you have a standard transmission and live in the US (not sure about other countries) there is a switch located on the clutch pedal that senses when you have it depressed. The car will not start if the switch isn't made. I would splice a toggle switch in series with the clutch switch. That should not take more than a couple of minutes and it doesn't involve any delicate circuitry. Good luck.

 

if they have access to your keys... just take one of the panels off on the key, the part that comes off contains the chip that is needed to start the car. Just dont lose it

 

You could just open the hood and pull off the wire going from the coil to the distributor cap. The lightly push it back on so it looks like it is in place but it is not making contact.

REH

 

This is all well and good, until those same people who have access to your keys yet you don't want to drive your car see you use the kill switch and where it is.

Once they figure it out... it's wasted money.

I think you're better off finding a way to keep your keys away from them. Heck, there's two keys and an emergency key, how hard is it to safeguard them?

 

theives will just tow it at no charge to you.

 

>>This is all well and good, until those same people who have access to your keys yet you don't want to drive your car see you use the kill switch and where it is.

I am assuming that this is meant to deter either relatives or friends, not thieves? I say that becasue of the "access to my keys" statement. If so, I'd reccommend a keypad somewhere with a coded switch. And I particularly like the clutch engagement switch idea. I think the MINIs have that feature, don't they? I am a creature of habit, and have never tried to start the car without the clutch engaged.

Otherwise, yeah, a smart person will find a kill switch unless you are REALLY sneaky about it. Or you could rewire the ignition switch to run backwards.

_________________
Lean, Mean, British Green, MINI Cooper 'S' Machine!

(G.I.R.)

 

>>theives will just tow it at no charge to you.
>>
>>

The system I have works on the GPS and if the car is moved, driven, towed, or plushed it will call your phone and tell you it has been move, where it is, how fast it is going, and which direction.


earl

 

Now I'm going with kgmini's clutch interlock-switch idea.

That's much better than the keycode reader idea.

Does that make me a flip-flopper? (Oh, that's OT:Politics isn't it)

 

Again based on the original post... why bother? Once that interlock switch is seen and they figure out how to use it... Off they go with the car...

There's a reason you have a set of keys to enter your car and start it up, instead of just an ignition button and no door locks... SO THAT YOU CAN'T GET INTO OR USE THE CAR WITHOUT THEM!!! Yes, theives can get around this, but we're not talking about theives, we're talking about people who apparently have unrestricted access to the poster's keys... Don't let them have access to your keys!!! Hell, buy a fire safe with an electronic lock and stick your keys in there when you don't need them...

 

that's something you'd want to put on your 17 year old daughter.


>>The system I have works on the GPS and if the car is moved, driven, towed, or plushed it will call your phone and tell you it has been move, where it is, how fast it is going, and which direction.

 

hey everyone,
thanks for all the replies,
all the people saying that i should not let people have access to my keys; this is not an option, because if i could do this, i wouldnt need the switch.
anyway, i went ahead and used the clutch idea.
found the the wires going to the clutch switch and popped a little toggle switch in between. i hid the swith underneath the steering column behind the knee bolster. there is no way in hell anyone can see this, i need to elevate my steering wheel all the way to the top for me to even be able to switch it.
ill take some pics of my install and wiring if you guys want.
works great, thanks again for all your help

peter :smile:

 

Hey, I'm glad you got it working.

If you need more stealth, how about this idea?

Put a normally-open "reed" switch somewhere behind a plastic part of the dash or steering column and put a small piece of sticky velcro on the outside of the dash. It can be a 1/4 Inch diameter circle of velcro.

Then attach the opposite gender velcro to a tiny magnet. To start the car, stick the magnet to the velcro and you're off.

 

>>Very popular in Colombia.....they do delay the cut off so the car jacker gets away from you a little. Essentially they mount the switch on the floor board and you step on it as you get out of your car while staring at the barrel of a gun or a knife......
>>re the satellite service, a) ya pays in ADVANCE and b) Ya don't pay, ya don't get

Besides making our cars in Colombia "blindado" or armor plated with kelvar underneath (mines) and around the body (bullets), we used to place remote starters on them, good for a block or two. That way, if somebocy attached an explosive designed to blow up the car upon ignition, only the car (and any unfortunate bystanders) would go up, not us.

p.s. RPGs trump even the best armor plating, just ask Anastacio Somoza.

 

>>If you need more stealth, how about this idea?
>>
>>Put a normally-open "reed" switch somewhere behind a plastic part of the dash or steering column and put a small piece of sticky velcro on the outside of the dash. It can be a 1/4 Inch diameter circle of velcro.
>>
>>Then attach the opposite gender velcro to a tiny magnet. To start the car, stick the magnet to the velcro and you're off.
>>
>>

Dang, Skippy... That's Sneaky Cool! Thanks too for the linx,

 

is the clutch interlock switch used for anything accept for starting the car?

 

COOL! Glad it worked.