Kill Switch Saved Me

[rikity]

I was thinking of enabling the ignition kill on my tazer, just havent gotten around to it yet. But this reminds me of a guy I knew in the 80's that worked at Radio Shack, he had his Bronco wired up with 4 2-position switches, so you had to get the combination right for the coil to fire

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[1Evil55]

The world can do without liars and thieves.

 

[Jamrock]

I've been doing some work on my F-350, putting it back together from having it stolen a few years back and trashed. Came home today, and truck was gone from my driveway. Found it a block down the road, steering column bezel and ignition switch destroyed. The well hidden key operated kill switch I installed a while back saved me. My Jeep is in the garage, but will be installing a kill on it very soon.

Just an FYI, if you've been thinking about - do it now.

The exact same thing happened to a friend of mine. He got up one morning and didn't see his RAV4. He got a lift to work and saw it down the road. He had to replace the dashboard but he didn't lose his vehicle.

How’d they get a block away with a kill switch installed? They shouldn’t have been able to get out of the driveway.

If you get carjacked, you will appreciate the fact that they are able to drive a bit before the car shuts off. You don't want them to come back and ask politely for your help.

 

[VKSheridan]

Two vehicles stolen isn’t bad luck mate, that’s a bad neighborhood…. Yikes!

Although I’ve never had any issues, I thought about adding a kill switch to my Hellcat but figured all that would do is save the insurance company money when the car only gets trashed instead of stolen. A tilt back can steal a car almost as fast and clean as an FOB sniffer it seems.

 

[Thane]

The world can do without liars and thieves.

... but then what would attorneys do for a living?... before they become politicians and judges.

 

[Jamrock]

Two vehicles stolen isn’t bad luck mate, that’s a bad neighborhood…. Yikes!

If I wanted to steal a high value vehicle, I wouldn't be looking for one in a bad neighborhood. I wouldn't expect to find many there. I would go to the rich neighborhoods.

Why do you rob banks?

“Because that's where the money is.” - Willie Sutton

 

[1Evil55]

... but then what would attorneys do for a living?... before they become politicians and judges.

This is a trap. Don't get me started. Those scumbags all live in the same zip.

 

[Boatbuilder88]

Best anti-theft device.

 

[ek1]

The kill switch I installed is a simple key cylinder, wired so it interrupts the ignition wire to the starter solenoid. The street slopes downhill somewhat, so they were able push it out the driveway and down the hill.

Can you please post some details? Which key cylinder you used and where did you tap into the ignition wire? Thinking of doing this myself. I've been waiting for Taser to release the software that allows for PIN lock to work even if Taser is unplugged, but I don't think they are ever going to make it.

 

[QwikKotaTx]

Can you please post some details? Which key cylinder you used and where did you tap into the ignition wire? Thinking of doing this myself. I've been waiting for Taser to release the software that allows for PIN lock to work even if Taser is unplugged, but I don't think they are ever going to make it.

I would assume a simple normally closed cylinder that interrupts the fuel pump circuit.

 

[C.Sco]

this reminds me of a guy I knew in the 80's that worked at Radio Shack, he had his Bronco wired up with 4 2-position switches, so you had to get the combination right for the coil to fire

I like the idea, but that's only 16 different combinations to try.

Or really only 14, since the thief can pretty much rule out 0-0-0-0 or 1-1-1-1 being the likely combination.

5 3-position switches would be a better way to go, 243 different combinations would probably be enough to make them not bother trying.

 

[rikity]

I like the idea, but that's only 16 different combinations to try.

Or really only 14, since the thief can pretty much rule out 0-0-0-0 or 1-1-1-1 being the likely combination.

5 3-position switches would be a better way to go, 243 different combinations would probably be enough to make them not bother trying.

I'd agree with that. One more layer though is many people arent familiar with the tazer and that it does an ignition kill and which buttons would even deactivate the security. To me if they want the Jeep that bad, they can take it. I've got mine insured for $75k and owe 1/2 that, so I'll just put money in the bank and drive a beater for a few years until the economy gets better.

 

[Deleted member 59498]

Damn I would consider a new home away from that place! Stealing my cars that much.

 

[58Willys]

Can you please post some details? Which key cylinder you used and where did you tap into the ignition wire? Thinking of doing this myself. I've been waiting for Taser to release the software that allows for PIN lock to work even if Taser is unplugged, but I don't think they are ever going to make it.

I installed this on a Ford pickup. I installed 2 pull key switch on the wire between the ignition switch and starter solenoid. Thieves ripped the ignition switch apart, but couldn’t start it. I found the truck, turned the kill switch key and started it with a screw driver.

I will installing one on my Jeep soon, and will report how I do that one.

 

[ek1]

I'd agree with that. One more layer though is many people arent familiar with the tazer and that it does an ignition kill and which buttons would even deactivate the security. To me if they want the Jeep that bad, they can take it. I've got mine insured for $75k and owe 1/2 that, so I'll just put money in the bank and drive a beater for a few years until the economy gets better.

It's funny that every time the subject of theft comes up, quite a few people say "I don't care, they can take it if they want it, I'll just get money from insurance and buy a new one". WRONG!!! What you will get from insurance will be FAR LESS MONEY you are going to need to replace your stolen car. Just to remind everyone again, the insurance will only pay you the Actual Cash Value (ACV) of your car, which is more or less the cost to replace a car with a “substantially similar vehicle.” They consider things like depreciation, mileage, condition, year, etc. In my experience, the ACV payment will be somewhere between the retail value and trade-in value, but much closer to the trade-in value.

Some insurance companies offer "New car replacement insurance", which provides enough money after a stolen or totaled car claim to buy a new model of the same vehicle. Most people do not have these policies because they are more expensive.

So yes, if you have an old rust bucket that is beaten to death and is on it's last legs, then having your car stolen will "benefit" you. Unfortunately, demand for such rust buckets is zero to none, so most cars being stolen are relatively new and/or are in good condition.

Quite a few states do not have laws that require insurance companies to include sales tax in the ACV. So if you bought a new car and had it stolen a year later, you just lost thousands on dollars on sales tax alone.

For me, having my Jeep stolen will automatically means losing many thousands of dollars. The MSRP of my Jeep was $87,280. I think my ACV will be right around $75K today. A brand new '23 392 with similar options to mine is selling for around $82K on cars.com today. A '24 392 optioned as close as possible to mine has an MSRP of $92,380 today. Even if I order one from one of the forum dealers with a big discount, I will still pay around $86K out of pocket and will have to wait for 7+ months. Overall, it's a lose/lose/lose for me, so it makes sense to at least try to make my Jeep harder to steal.

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