Killswitch, Engage!

[tubbedII]

Awesome thread! I've always wanted something in my blazer since it doesn't have a top most of the time. Right now I just have a club on the brake pedal.

I really like the idea of the solenoid because of the sound it will make if the switch isn't activated. Probably need to be more descrete about the switch placement due to what people have said. I don't push the brake in my blazer to start it, but that's because I just got done pumping the gas a couple times...but in my daily it's just automatic to do it.

I've considered a lot of things for wiring a kill switch, but I never wanted it to be obvious to who's getting into the blazer with me. The least obvious way I've thought of was turning the light switch all the way to left (like turning on the courtesy lights) in order to activate the switch...I like the idea of cigarette lighter too, but that'd be pretty obivious to anyone getting in with me.

Can someone give more details on this soleniod because I have no idea on how to wire such a set up! That coupled with a cool hidden switch would be very nice.

[NobleSix]

tubbedII: great minds think alike eh? ive thought about things a passenger might notice when starting the vehicle, and have also come to the conclusion that the less obvious it is to someone the better. one could also go so far as to get a keyless entry type system and wire the relays or solonoids into the mix so its not an actual physical switch your hitting, but a button on a key fob like most cars have these days. heres a very handy pdf with some neat wiring ideas that squirel provided earlier, incase you missed it.

http://sonolithics.com/files/bosch.pdf

good stuff in there. page 12 or 13 is where it gets interesting

[a_barth]

If using the solenoid to disconnect the battery there shouldn't be any click when you hit the key if not activated, it will not make any sound at all. Wiring it would be simple, just hook the large side terminals in line with your battery cables and hook the negative terminal to a good ground source. The positive terminal would be wired to your choice of activation power supply. or vice versa if you want to activate it with a switch that finds ground like a horn button you would hook the positve directly to a constant or ignition-hot power source and the negative through your selected switch. Just make sure to use heavy enough wire and put a fuse somewhere in the circuit.

Also make sure that all of your accessories are tied in before the solenoid or they won't work, and I would probably mount the solenoid in a hidden spot or in a small lockable box other wise once under the hood it would be very easy to bypass.

[NobleSix]

a_barth: good call on the accessories! im still looking around to find a decent wiring diagram that i can use to sketch out what and where id like to install my kills, and so i dont accidentally wire something in line with them that ought not to be wired in. i was also thinking that, in lieu of using the brake pedal method, cause sometimes we use our brakes fairly often,(all mine ever did was slow me down anyways =P ) id use the high/low beam switch on the floor boards. the only thing is, if the relay or solenoid i use for this wer to malfunction or burn out, wouldnt i loose my headlights all together?

[a_barth]

NobleSix the high/low switch would work but you would have to use one of the continuos duty solenoids mentioned earlier because the high/low switch is not momentary. Every time you press the button the switch powers either the high or low circuit and turns off the other. If you were to wire the solenoid off the high beam circuit then the solenoid would be activated any time the high beams were on, this would burn up a Ford starter solenoid. Also if done correctly you shouldn't lose your headlights.

As far as wiring the accessories, the battery-hot terminal on the solenoid would actually provide a nice clean place to tie in all of your needed power supplys that would normally go directly to the battery.

Another thought I had that might work was to put a push-type momentary switch on the lower firewall underneath the carpet where only you know where it is. This way if you don't have your foot in the right place the truck won't start. Simple, clean, and discreet. Your passengers wouldn't even know.

[NobleSix]

Originally Posted by a_barth

NobleSix the high/low switch would work but you would have to use one of the continuos duty solenoids mentioned earlier because the high/low switch is not momentary. Every time you press the button the switch powers either the high or low circuit and turns off the other. If you were to wire the solenoid off the high beam circuit then the solenoid would be activated any time the high beams were on, this would burn up a Ford starter solenoid. Also if done correctly you shouldn't lose your headlights.

As far as wiring the accessories, the battery-hot terminal on the solenoid would actually provide a nice clean place to tie in all of your needed power supplys that would normally go directly to the battery.

Another thought I had that might work was to put a push-type momentary switch on the lower firewall underneath the carpet where only you know where it is. This way if you don't have your foot in the right place the truck won't start. Simple, clean, and discreet. Your passengers wouldn't even know.

very interesting. only problem is i dont know if im going to go with carpet on the interior.... i kinda had this crazy idea that i would just rhino line the inside of the cab so i could hose it out every now and then. not too long ago, the ole lady spilled a chocolate banana milkshake on the floor boards. i told her it was ok cause when we got home she could just take the hose to it. although, it does get pretty cold here in the winter time, and some sound deadening and thermal insulation would be really nice. but anywho, im geting a little too far ahead of myself.

i could always put that momentary switch a little higher on the toeboard, ive got big feet anyways, not like anyone could possibly notice the subtle movement of my foot.

im still very interested in the chain idea for the hood. anyone know where i could find pictures of previous installs?

[71gmcburb]

[QUOTE=a_barth;4996390]NobleSix the high/low switch would work but you would have to use one of the continuos duty solenoids mentioned earlier because the high/low switch is not momentary. Every time you press the button the switch powers either the high or low circuit and turns off the other. If you were to wire the solenoid off the high beam circuit then the solenoid would be activated any time the high beams were on, this would burn up a Ford starter solenoid. Also if done correctly you shouldn't lose your headlights.

[QUOTE]



Thats funny as I've had my "66 wired this way for about 8 yrs now. Still the same solenoid powering everything up threw the hi/low beam switch. I drive it almost everyday

Remember you are only sending about 12 to 13 vols and around 5-600 amps for a very short time and the rest of the time you are sending only 80 amps back to the batt untill the voltage regulator says the batt is full charged then the amprage drops to nil. Ford designed these units to handle that kind of constant load and not fail.

as for wiring it in - with the batt disconected just cut your positive batt cable and intstall terminal lugs (or get 2 new cables that reach the location and to the starter)bolt onto the large studs, insert your solenoid, run a positive lead form the positive post in the solenoid to wharever you put your switch and then to the batt wih a inline fuse, run a second wire from the ground post to a good ground.

i wired my rigs up so the only thing the high/low switch runs is the kill. My headlights are run threw a pair of HD relays and a 3 position toggle. I leave the switch on low side but can switch to highs if needed and if a idiot trys to steal one and hits the toggle nothing happens as the headlight switch also has to be on to see the diff for the toggle

[Longhorn Man]

I knew i would need the continuous duty type, thats actually what I have on hand. I had thought about the brake pedal but thats a good point that people hit the brakes when starting. I'll have to come up with a better descreet way... I think i like the button up high on the toe board or under the carpet.
The way I described the hooking up, it will in fact click when the key is turned. The whole truck will still have power since a stock 67 - 72 has the power taken directly at the battery for vehicle power and the cable only feeds the starter. The purple wire will get power and kick the gear out against the flywheel, but there will be no power on the cable to feed the starter motor. *CLICK*
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[a_barth]

I gotcha on the click now longhorn man I somehow forgot about the solenoid on the starter clicking.
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[NobleSix]

lsnova71: from what i understand, the prepaid minutes ONLY run out if you are actually tracking the phones location via the app. i can look out my window to see if the truck has left the last place i put it, and it wont cost me any minutes, then i go log onto the tracking website while im on hold with the 5-0 (cause 9 times outta ten theyda put you on hold for a vehicle theft cause it isnt life threatening...not your life per se) that is, ofcourse, if the image of a pasty white redneck with a mighty big gun(s) running after the would be thief in undies isnt scary enough to chase em off. but yeah, from what i can gather, it uses the minutes on the phone only if you log onto the website and check the location. it makes sense to me. ill hafta end up getting one and figure out exactly how it works. the original poster said that for 10 bucks a year he had a glorified lojack clone, so im mighty inclined to do so myself.

only thing is, i dont have a cellphone myself, so the ole lady might be after me to get a second one to monitor where I am at all times lol

71gmcburb
'68 c-20: you guys both have really good ideas, alot of good stuff to think through here.

[a_barth]

Down here we rednecks are tanned to a golden brown

[domeier]

Originally Posted by NobleSix

...from what i can gather, it uses the minutes on the phone only if you log onto the website and check the location...

I don't know... but that seems awful iffy to me. I can just see myself logging on to that website a year from now while Joe Thief is in my truck headed for Tijuana, to find:

"Dear subscriber: www.stoldedtrucks.com is no longer valid on this server. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you are the owner of this site, please contact the administrator."

[chevy_man5]

A buddy of mine has a newer Corvette. When he walks away from the car with his keys in his pocket, it automatically locks, then when he walks back close to it, it unlocks. He has to be within a few feet for it to work.

Could a system like that be modified, so that when you are close to your truck, the solenoid, or relay, is active, then when you walk away, its not? That way, you just have a key-fob on your keys that passengers or thieves wouldn't notice.

You would have to probably set up a manual bypass, or at least keep some extra batteries for the key fob lying around just in case.

[profe56]

I think we are very concern about our trucks could be stolen, specially for all of that time we dedicate to make them look good, my truck I could say is hard to be steal it because is mostly garaged behind three cars, but when rats wants stolen some times they tow them.
I was victim of 10 stolen cars, only one recovered.

[obsesive23]

I have been playing around with the idea of using a couple of line lock set ups, anybody else thought of something like that? Other than routing the brake lines to a discrette location should be mostly invisible. If the brakes are locked it won't move even if they get it started.

[rpmerf]

On my truck I have an air raid siren hooked up to the doors and hood. I have a secondary set of door triggers(just like the set for the interior light) and a microswitch(WOT switch) under the hood. The alarm is activated my a keyed switch on the fender. This alarm was installed a long time ago, and I need to go through and install new switches and wires since the old ones are a bit worn and don't always work. When it does work, its freaking loud! The air raid siren is a real attention grabber. I am going to hook this up to an ignition kill relay. The wire going to the coil would be good.

Really, the fact that I have to move the shifter up is enough to keep people from stealing my truck. I'm sure they couldn't even figure out how to open the hood. My truck does have that beat to hell and back look so that kind of deters thieves also.

[tubbedII]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

The way I described the hooking up, it will in fact click when the key is turned. The whole truck will still have power since a stock 67 - 72 has the power taken directly at the battery for vehicle power and the cable only feeds the starter. The purple wire will get power and kick the gear out against the flywheel, but there will be no power on the cable to feed the starter motor. *CLICK*
Posted via Mobile Device

Great!!! I think this has to be the best low buck, low tech anti theft option out there. I'm pretty dense on the soleniod still and even though someone tried to explain it. I clicked the link provided, but don't know which one to use.

So, can someone please dumb this down for me:

1. Which solednoid is needed: Grounded, Insulate or Solid State?
2. How do you wire this new 3 prong solenoid in like Longhorn Man suggested?

I know someone explained #2 already, but I'm still not grasping it...maybe a simple diagram or something for people like me that need a visual? Thanks!!!

[a_barth]

I drew up a simple schematic but I'm not sure how to post it, sorry newb

[rpmerf]

http://photobucket.com/

http://imageshack.us/

[a_barth]

Figured out photobucket, will post simple wiring diagram when I get home tonight. Thanks rpmerf.

[a_barth]

Here it is, nobody laugh this was the best I could do

Let me know if there are any questions.

[tubbedII]

Thanks a ton a_barth! I noticed the linked solenoids posted earlier only have 3 posts, but your diagram shows it with 4...is there supposed to be 4?

Also, I don't see how this would make the starter *CLICK* if the momentary switch isn't activated.

[a_barth]

The solenoid I showed is the Ford style that has to be grounded, the ones in the link are grounded through the feet that mount them. Also the click that long horn man referred to would be created by the factory solenoid on the starter, the purple wire is still energized just like from the factory so this solenoid will still actuate but with the "security" solenoid not activated there will be no power to turn the motor. This will create the illusion of a dead battery.
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[rpmerf]

I would think it would be easier to put a relay on the starter wire coming from the ign switch? You can use a simple 30 amp relay that you would get at any parts store for about $5. Does the purple wire being active and getting no power from the main power wire cause the click?

[a_barth]

That is correct, the purple wire being active and no power at the main power wire causes the click. My thought was that if wired this way and the solenoid was mounted in a locked or sealed box it would be more difficult to hot wire from underhood.

You could just as easily put a solenoid on the ignition wire coming from the switch it just depends on how you want to go. This method would not click and if a theif was able to get under the hood the truck could still be cranked with two lengths of wire.