Kill Switch

[Sensfan]

Has anyone installed a kill switch on their Class B? Seems like it may be a good idea since:
1. Annual vehicle theft rates have been increasing expodentially; and,
2. Guaranteed full replacement value insurance is not available (at least in our situation.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Sensfan

Has anyone installed a kill switch on their Class B? Seems like it may be a good idea since:
1. Annual vehicle theft rates have been increasing expodentially; and,
2. Guaranteed full replacement value insurance is not available (at least in our situation.

It is true that there has been a spike in vehicle thefts (and many other crimes) in the last couple of years, but this needs to be viewed in the perspective of longer-term trends. The fact is that modern vehicle theft-deterrent systems are extremely effective, and the rate of vehicle thefts is tiny by historical standards.

vehicle thefts.jpg

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...us-since-1990/

Very few thieves have the technical skills to get past these systems, and my guess is that those that do are unlikely to be stopped by a simple kill switch.

I also have never understood why one would want to insure a vehicle for more than it is worth, but I guess that is a matter of opinion.

[mkguitar]

a visible steering lock is a quick deterrent

by same token my catalytic converters are painted bring yellow with lic # engraved.

make it obvious that it will require more time & trouble than they want to take your stuff

a pal had an ignition kill wired up to the cigarette lighter - push in the lighter and the ignition coil is shorted... one day his pal borrowed his car "don't smoke" he was warned... you can guess the rest.

If I were to bother on my van I'd probably find it easiest to put a switch on the fuel pump. the fuse is #12 on my 2005. just pull that.

[booster]

I put a switch a long time ago and think it is a good idea. You do need to consider how and where you tap in to the wiring, though, so it is not easy to find or jump out.


Around here, thefts are up right now, but mostly Kias and Hyundai and high end sports sedans. Catalytic converter thefts are far more likely on vehicles that are high enough to not need to be jacked up to get to them. It is amazing just how many people are now leaving their outdoor lights on all night around our neighborhood of acreage lots with houses quite far apart and often with pickups and SUVs in the driveways.

[avanti]

The catalytic converter theft thing is a different issue, as are smash-and-run break-ins and vandalism. The cat converter issue seems to be something of a fad these days among low-end thieves. What is particularly pathetic is the not-uncommon situation in which an amateur thief crawls under a diesel Sprinter and tears out a muffler or some other random, worthless component thinking they are stealing precious rare-earth elements. Such vehicle thefts that do occur these days almost always involve engine-off towing.


But, those are not issues that a kill switch will help with. As I said, modern OEM protections are effective deterrents against driving a vehicle away via any kind of "hot wire" technique. For everything else, physical security, good lighting, and most importantly a quality alarm system make a lot more sense than a kill switch, which IMO is mostly a "feel-good" project.

Of course, very old vehicles are a different story.

[Sensfan]

Thanks Mike and Booster. Would placing a kill switch on the fuel pump wire be any easier than on the ignition wire? My mechanic would be putting it on.

[Sensfan]

Originally Posted by avanti

... Of course, very old vehicles are a different story.

Avanti,
My guess is that most of the members on this Forum of ours own old vehicles;
FWIW, my research indicated that the latest protective systems have not mitigated the increase in new vehicle theft.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Sensfan

Thanks Mike and Booster. Would placing a kill switch on the fuel pump wire be any easier than on the ignition wire? My mechanic would be putting it on.

The fuel pump and ignition would probably be close to the same, but the advantage of the pump is that you can catch the wire under the van instead of under the dash were a would be thief might be able to see the splice and jump it or find the switch. If you do the pump wire and bring it in at the rear you can put the switch anywhere in the rear which has lots of places to hide it and there are lots of other wires to make it unnoticeable.

[mkguitar]

Originally Posted by Sensfan

Thanks Mike and Booster. Would placing a kill switch on the fuel pump wire...

Just open the hood and remove the fuel pump fuse.

cost= 0

[Sensfan]

Thanks again guys

[booster]

Originally Posted by mkguitar

Just open the hood and remove the fuel pump fuse.

cost= 0

That works, but aside from being PITA to do all the time, you would also have anybody eyeballing the van when you do the fuse pull knowing what you did. The would make it really easy for them to reverse quickly.

[GallenH]

On my old vette I wired a kill switch to the ignition coil as Mk mentioned. It's so old that it has a mechanical fuel pump. Used it as a daily driver for years. Also had a steering wheel locking clamp.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Sensfan

FWIW, my research indicated that the latest protective systems have not mitigated the increase in new vehicle theft.

Citations?

[themexicandoctor]

I live & work in Los Angeles & Santa Barbara, mostly in the upscale neighborhoods of the Hollywood Hills, etc & have 2/Two Kill Switches, a Front & Back Dash Cam with GPS Tracking & an Internal Camera.

The first switch is not difficult to reach & I occasionally use this but the Second is on my Dash it would be very problematic for a Thief.

I/We have an advantage* in that in only one occasion has there been an attempt on stealing my Catalytic Converter & that was in broad daylight when I stopped at a Grocery Store in broad daylight with visible security & went in to buy a drink on the hottest day of 2021. Fortunately I realized that I had forgotten my cash & walked out 2 minutes later.

*most thieves think we are IN, our vehicles.

[TX-Trek]

Several years ago I had to troubleshoot a crank-no-start condition on mom-in-law 2005 Impala. She had received it out of her sister's estate.

I had noticed an extra transmitter fob that came with the car that wasn't a GM key fob. After some checking I found that the car was equipped with one of these:
https://www.mobilistics.com/nostart-...p-immobilizer/

I left it in place, but put a standard relay in the glove box just in case it failed. To date, it's still working. In this case, it had been used for fuel pump, but could be used for a starter relay.

[jakegw2]

I suspect that outright theft of a Class B is pretty unlikely. The biggest value comes from having the vehicle fully intact and in excellent condition, however they would be difficult to impossible to fence intact as they are low-volume high-visibility* products. The underlying parts are from a relatively inexpensive vehicle and not worth much on their own. The catalytic converter and the stuff inside the vehicle are the biggest risk areas.

*Unlike a stolen painting you can't just hang a stolen class B in the lounge of your yacht for private enjoyment. It has to be registered and driven on public roads.

[ks@yvr]

Theft of a vehicle is usually due to 2 things; the vehicle in question is either desirable or easy to steal. If your vehicle is desirable then there is not much you can do to stop a determined thief (your Lamborghini or fancy pickup), they have ways to override the theft technology.

The easy to steal is something you can do something about. These are crimes of opportunity and the thief is not going to spend a lot of time trouble shooting why it won’t start or run otherwise they will be getting a matching pair of bracelets or worse pretty quickly. So a fuel pump switch or other simple device that foils the perpetrator from just driving off will help. They want to be gone in 60 seconds - I think there are some movies on that At least your vehicle will still be there at the trail head or parking lot upon your return.

We had a van (family) stolen in a mall about 20 years ago and it was taken in less than 5 minutes because my wife was in a hurry and was back to the parking spot after picking up a prescription. She had the keys but no van. It did fortunately turn up 2 weeks later, ignition lock broken, window broken, full of fast food garbage and out of gas (was almost full when taken). We subsequently did have a secondary immobilizer installed and that was the end of any theft for that vehicle.

A year ago I had a well locked motorcycle trailer stolen from my vacation home that had both hitch lock and a hardened steel chain through the wheel and around the axle. Still annoyed about the theft given that in 25 years nothing had ever been taken from our property but someone had to have come fully prepared to take the trailer and obviously scoped it out in advance. It was insured but prices are way up and I got 1/3 of the value of what they are now.

I now have a separate gps tracker on my motorcycle since they can be easy targets and are very expensive these days. It is often with me on some trips and I don’t want it easily disappearing like the trailer - I think the van with its electronics is ok but I could easily put a hidden switch on the fuel pump if needed. Ultimately the paperwork pain of theft reports, waiting and wondering whether you will get your property back and the resultant inconvenience is stressful.

I read on one of the forums, may have been this one that an open empty hand gun case on the front seat was a great security device and the individual never had had a theft or break in since they employed that passive security system. Simple and seemed to be effective.

[GallenH]

Hard for me to remember since I restored my old car 25yrs ago but I was able to conceal the wiring that shorts out the coil into the wiring harness in the coil area. You can't see any added wires; just looks like the original harness. That would work with the fuel pump as well, I think. My old car is a 62 and it has a mechanical fuel pump so I couldn't go that route.

I'd put any engaging switch somewhere where it's not obvious, especially someone working under the dash to get the van going. Alternatively, I would think that you could do this at the fuse panel area instead of under the hood.

Of course.........you would have to remember to switch it off (I'm assuming that you'd wire it so that it would be the equivalent of taking out the fuse for the pump) whenever you parked in a suspicious location.

[booster]

In regards to a kill switch, we do have currently in our van, I wanted to duplicate it in my 96 Buick Roadmaster wagon which has the old Passkey setup which is very prone to failure when that old.

I decided to look for a remote relay so the switch could be put anywhere in the car and came up with this as a for instance.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...DAQL5I59&psc=1

This may be just what I need as there are lots of places in the rear of wagon to put it that would not ever be found.


It could also be good in vans to simplify wiring and still be in a handy place. I would choose a hard to find, but pretty easy to get to in case it fails, location so it could be jumped out if needed.