cheap theft deterrent

[bucket]

what, if any, anti-theft devices do you all use?

i was thinking of placing a toggle switch under my dash connected to my hei lead to disable the distributor power. not sure that is a good idea. i don't want to fry my distributor.

[griesel72]

You need to remember that the old toggle switch under the dash won't fool your average car thief. I put a locking battery disconnect switch that runs to my battery ground in the hole that usually houses the clutch linkage. even if they were to figure it out, they wouldn't have the key.

Not sure on your hei lead, someone on here will have the answer.

David

[Paul72]

I don't have anything currently, but this has crossed my mind also. I think a toggle switch would be an obvious step that the thiefs look for. I was going to mount the keypad from my taurus (for unlocking the doors) on the face of my ashtray, and interrupt the start wire on the ignition - you would have to type in the combo to connect the start wire, or it would not start. I have not thought this through yet, so I don't know how (if at all) it would work.

[lukecp]

I put a makeshift hood lock on my truck so you can only get under the hood from the inside of the truck....won't stop a determined thief but it is better than nothing.

See here: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...threadid=61406

[shuttermutt]

Originally posted by Paul72
I was going to mount the keypad from my taurus (for unlocking the doors) on the face of my ashtray, and interrupt the start wire on the ignition - you would have to type in the combo to connect the start wire, or it would not start. I have not thought this through yet, so I don't know how (if at all) it would work.

Hmmm... I wonder if you'd have to electrically isolate that keypad to prevent it from getting fried. I haven't put a meter on the 12-volt HEI feed to see exactly what's happening, but a lot of those pads are relatively sensitive.

[junkyardjohn]

I HAVE A TOGGLE SWITCH UP UNDER THE DASH IN MY TRUCKS. I JUST PUT IT IN LINE THE WIRE FOR MY NUETRAL SAFTY SWITCH. (PURPLE WIRE) THE TOGGLE SWITCH IS OUT OF SIGHT, & CAN'T BE SEEN, & HAS TO BE FELT FOR. (BRAILE METHOD )I ALSO HAVE A CLUB THAT I PUT ON RELIGIOSLY. I KNOW .... I KNOW ... THESE THEFT DETURENTS WONT STOP A DETERMINED CAR THEIF. & ONLY SLOW THEM DOWN. WELL THATS MY GOAL, AS MOST ALL CAR THEIFS ARE IN A HURRY, & HOPEFULLY THEY'LL LOOK IN MY WINDOW & SEE THE BIG RED CLUB HANGING OFF THE STEERING WHEEL & PASS MY TRUCK UP FOR AN EASIER PREY. NO THEFT DETERENT IS FOOLPROOF... H@LL I'VE GOT A TOWTRUCK. NOBODY PAYS ATTENTION TO TOWTRUCKS TOWING AWAY A CAR OR TRUCK EVEN WITH A ALARM BLAZING AWAY. JOHN

[N2TRUX]

I can make a list, but here is the most effective one. I run a relay with a hidden magnetic switch to break the neutral safety lead. When the relay is activated, the motor won't turn over. If a thief is trying to hot wire your truck, and he gets the right combo of wires, it doesn't do anything.

You DO NOT want to use any method that allows your motor to turn over. That lets them know they have the right wires jumpered, and all they need to do is find your kill switch...

[Hutch]

bucket
This does not fall under the category of cheap but interesting none the less
There was a battery manufacturer that had a coded keypad for the battery, but I think they quit selling them because of some bugs in the system.
I was looking for info on the battery and found this:
http://www.northeastravelco.com/index.html
Looks to be interesting but I am not sure how it would install, or the price.
Two good things were mentioned:
1. In 28 years not one stolen vehicle.
2. A discount from your insurance company.

[griesel72]

I don't know about their claim that not one car/truck with their system has been stolen, there are a few thieves that use flatbed rollbacks/tow trucks to do their dirty work.

[67chevemall]

I wouldn't use the HEI wire because of the high current!
The better wire would be the Purple starter wire!
I use a starter kill toggle. When the truck is sitting for more than a day I pull off the HEI clip from the distrubitor just a bit so it looks like it is still plugged in but it isn't!
Plus I shaved the handles and locks so U need a remote entry!
Plus the two rotties that sleep buy her at night!
I hate truck thevies! Go steal a new sh!%y accord or something with a junk a55 computer in it!

Cheers

Keep em safe!Or camp out side and shoot the sucker as he runs away!

[Grim Reaper]

J.C. Whitney use to sell a Key operated valve.

Put it inline to the fuel pump or carb in the floor i. They are not going to be looking for it. They could look right at it and probably never register. When it starts they are going to drop it in gear and get about 100ft before it dies in the middle of the street and draws a lot of attention. Then they are going to bust a$$ to leave

[PR454SS]

I used to have the best security system for my jeep, kinda heavy though, 100lbs. but you put a Doberman in the back and your stuff is safe

[Beefcake]

I like the idea of the thief actually getting the vehicle running for 100 ft. If the truck just doesn’t start, the thief is still safe, give him enough time and he'll figure out why its not starting... When you allow him to leave his safe zone-(your driveway) and drive for a little bit, he has left the area that he felt safe with. This will give him less time to figure out that the fuel has been cut. There has got to be a solenoid you can locate somewhere that will work with your keyless entry. One last thing is headers…. You can hear him leave and track his A$$ down, just make sure your clean in the disposal of the body.

[SWEET7T]

put a switch on your parking brake release...
Run it in series with your wire from your ignition to the starter relay. So every time you go to start your truck, you have to pull the parking brake release to complete the circuit.

Even if someone is riding with you, it looks like a normal movement (releasing the parking brake) so that they 'hopefully' wouldn't notice it. But then none of my friends want to jack my truck (well maybe as a joke, but they don't even dare do that)

[TsgtE662]

Would this work/ help? THis might be a stupid idea but, Splice in on the purple starter wire with a three way connector, so you can plug a wire from your horn to it. Then when the ignition is energized, the horn sounds. Of course don't forget to disconnect the horn wire when YOU start it.

[swdobbs]

I had a riceboy honda product in a previous life and I installed an alarm with a fuel pump cutoff - the next thief, after missing a corner at high speed from loss on ps/pb, left my car under a another parked car only 2 blocks away. I don't have an answer, but I'm thinking of robbing the chip system out of my '94 SS.

swdobbs...

[jorgensensc]

My father-in-law has that ravelco installed in his truck, and it seems to work well.
I wonder if you could create something like that using computer interface connectors and loopback plugs? Just a thought, but it seems pretty easy to do.
The thing you have to make sure hide is any other 'hot' wires that are under the dash the the thief cold use to jump with.

[stepn67]

I've thought about running a Ford type solenoid hidden in my frame rail, in series with the battery ground. The activation switch for the solenoid would be either a toggle hidden in the cigarette lighter, or activated when the lighter was pushed in.

[Lippyp]

A friend of mine (who happens to be an auto electrician) had his starter circuit wired in to his brake light switch as a anti-theft measure. One day he got pulled by the cops and arrested (it's a long story) After 15 minutes of trying to start his car to drive it to the station they had to get him out of the squad car and very red faced ask him to start it for them!

[724x4a/cchevy]

Cig Lighter? Sounds interesting!

[67sub]

We installed that ravelco on some new cars at the dealership I work for and had enough problems that we stopped after about 5 months. There were a lot of wiring issues and messed up pcm's from them.

[cdowns]

with a micro switch and a toggle switch you can hook up your horn to blow when the car is put in gear cost less than $5 at radio shack

[Jerdog]

I just put a NRA sticker on the window and leave the bodies in the middle of the street. It's been working so far.

[jmanz69]

Putting a switch on your starter wire won't work on these trucks. If you can get 12 volts to the ignition, then you can use a screwdriver to start it from outside. I've done it when my ignition switch went bad. Jump the red to the pink, and then take a long screwdriver and go out and jump the solenoid at the starter. There is no way to stop a theif, they will always get it or trash it trying. About all you can hope for is to make it hard enough, that they go to another car.

[TsgtE662]

A few weeks ago, the base Security Police had a guy ( I don't remember his name or exactly where he is from) but he is a retired police officer, and he does briefings/seminars around the country talking to people about criminals and crimes being conducted around the country and his own experiences. It was a very informative breifing to say the least. For vehicles with the electronic key pads on the doors where you punch in a code to get into the vehicle, he said theives are using a peice of carpet to rub on to create enough static electricity and then touching the key pad to shock the system and it unlocks the car doors. I haven't tried this so I don't for sure if it really works.
Also, for vehicles with a fuse for labeled CRANK on the fuse panel, remove this fuse and the vehicle won't start. Removing this fuse and/or one or two others wouldn't hurt either really and only takes a couple seconds to reinstall. Just an idea.
Another one, place a shutoff valve in the fuel line as it runs along the frame, for a truck this could be easy to do, then you just reach under the truck to this valve and turn it to "open" to start the car/truck. Yes, I am brainstorming here, only cause I have nothing else to do right now.