BMW Factory Kill Switches (They exist)

Yes but you have to erase the ON and OFF markings to confuse the thieves...



In reality, a mechanical cutoff is one of the easiest kill switches to install. You just need a ball valve that meets your flow ratings


something like this:
07-403.jpg



http://www.oregonpartsdirect.com/pr...=4463&osCsid=8502ea5da97c29715273c18188bb958b
 
All of these anti-theft measures are good but not without limitations.

Forgetting about the inconvenience factor, especially during inclement weather, triggering any anti-theft measures that requires opening the hood may be an obvious tip off to anyone interested enough to observe. At that rate, one may as well, remove a rotor or disconnect a wire to the starter or coil. (Unfortunately, you inevitably have to remember what you did and where you may have put things. And the glove box is not always the safest place for a would-be thief with plenty of time.) I vaguely recall a story about a different model car with a fuel shut off that permitted the car to be driven on the fuel in the carb bowl. I was told the car stalled in the middle of a busy street where it was abandoned and towed to an uncovered impound lot - left with the windows down - in the rain. When any kind of mid/long term storage is involved I generally disconnect a battery terminal with a "quick" disconnect terminal (pictured).

Having an in-cabin switch has drawbacks too. You can be in a hurry and forget to turn the switch. Wiring to a fuse block or the ignition switch is also not that difficult to trace. And, if the switch is not part of a relayed design, it may be prone to corrosion or wear and result in use of impolite language at inopportune moments.

Wherever the switch is deployed. it may deter theft of the vehicle, but not a frustrated thief's vandalism. The super duper smart thief first attempts entry by prying the rear window trim, and after destroying that, bends and breaks the driver's wing window where he can access the interior door handle. He then forces the ignition switch to turn with what is probably a monster screwdriver/prybar. With limited success, he pulls at, cuts or breaks soldered wires behind the switch. (Starting the car is still virtually impossible with a severely discharged battery.) Ultimately, the thief throws in the towel, but not before prying the console apart, including the air conditioning vents and facia, where he evidently cuts himself, in an unsuccessful attempt to access the radio. Despite plenty of blood on the punctured seats, and bloody prints on the steering wheel and window glass, the thief, who is never apprehended, is also the lucky thief, unless he contracts tetanus.
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In my opinion, there is no reason not to have a kill switch. In cabin is the only way to go. It's one of the cheapest and easiest modifications that you can do. BTW, I keep a job more wire in the car in case the switch fails.
 
The other factory installed 'kill switch'

My way to make sure it was still there where i left it was to unscrew the selector handle of the auto box and put it in the pocket of my jacket.

Its in park and will not move an inch.

I used to drive my automatic as daily driver and i parked it everywhere. And having crappy doorlocks, i left the car unlocked most of the times. If they want to get in, they usually do get in. With an open door at least no-one would need to put a crowbar between the glass or door/B-pillar.
Nothing in the car anyway but a pair of crappy sunglasses.


I never had to walk home after a night in the bar, affar from the times i choose to do so with regard to public safety.

The funny side to this was that friends of mine started a game where they woud ''tag" the car with a "i was here' hint left on the drivers seat or dashboard. film ticket slips, businesscards, emtpy crisps bags, party invitations from their kids to our kids and so on. It became half a postal office at some point.


Erik.
 
never underestimate the stupidity of lazy crooks. many won't even check to see if the door is unlocked. somebody broke into one of my 2002's - the doors were unlocked - they took a vent window out ... then took a crowbar to an unlocked glove box ... as well as ripped out the console to get the radio. and as we all know - 2002 gloveboxes don't have a lock
 
The funny side to this was that friends of mine started a game where they woud ''tag" the car with a "i was here' hint left on the drivers seat or dashboard. film ticket slips, businesscards, emtpy crisps bags, party invitations from their kids to our kids and so on. It became half a postal office at some point.

Erik.

We had a friend that owned a Fiat 500, when we saw it we would pick it up between 4 guys and move it a block or so. He would come out of class and walk around adjacent blocks always with a smile until he found it.
 
We had a friend that owned a Fiat 500, when we saw it we would pick it up between 4 guys and move it a block or so. He would come out of class and walk around adjacent blocks always with a smile until he found it.
not quite as bad as we did to this guy's VW bug ... we picked up the front end and put it on the other side of the, small but deep, creek.
 
never underestimate the stupidity of lazy crooks. many won't even check to see if the door is unlocked. somebody broke into one of my 2002's - the doors were unlocked - they took a vent window out ... then took a crowbar to an unlocked glove box ... as well as ripped out the console to get the radio. and as we all know - 2002 gloveboxes don't have a lock

I agree 100%. It's funny how kill switches always seem to spark a debate. Inevitably someone will mention the "Gone in 60 seconds" professional car thief, and how nothing will stop a flat bed. We are dealing with classics here, so that is a scenario that one can do little to guard yourself against. You are likely dealing with a home break in if a professional is targeting you. However, most car thieves are opportunistic meth heads looking for a way home or another fix. It also depends on where you live. I was told by the Seattle PD that 90% of the stolen cars are recovered (after dealing with a theft of my sister's truck - which was recovered the next day). When I lived in Phoenix it was highly likely that you would never see your car again. It was either torched in the desert or out of the country in 12 hours. This is what first prompted me to install a kill switch.

I looked around for cutoffs for manual fuel pumps. My thought is that you can use an electrical solenoid to shutoff the fuel. Below is a normally closed solenoid that you could run switched power to keep the fuel flowing when the car is on. In addition to the solenoid, I'd get a 30a switch and relay. The downside to this is that it is a potential point of failure. You can't just use an electrical jumper to fix a failed kill switch, but you could make a fuel jumper if you don't mind getting messy if parts fail. A normally closed solenoid would drain the battery when the kill switch was on, so that doesn't make sense.

I tried to find a good one. This one seems to have potential. It comes in brass and stainless:
http://www.supplyhouse.com/Asco-RedHat-8210G093-12VDC-3-8-Normally-Closed-Solenoid-Valve-12VDC
8210seriesvalves-1.jpg
 
I have one of these I plan to install.

http://www.revolutionelectronics.com/Fuel_Pump.html

This only runs the fuel pump if it receives a signal from the ignition. I intend to install a hidden switch in the wire that the pump uses to sense whether the engine is running. Interrupting this signal will kill the fuel pump.

If it fails I can connect the switched power side of the circuit to run the pump.
 
That's a great idea, I have wondered how I was going to jump my revolution sensor in the even of it's failure in the middle of nowhere. A convenient way to do it would be a 3 way switch, normal, kill, and bypass direct to fuel pump.

I have one of these I plan to install.

http://www.revolutionelectronics.com/Fuel_Pump.html

This only runs the fuel pump if it receives a signal from the ignition. I intend to install a hidden switch in the wire that the pump uses to sense whether the engine is running. Interrupting this signal will kill the fuel pump.

If it fails I can connect the switched power side of the circuit to run the pump.
 
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Just to throw another option out there. I have a crane ignition, which could be easily disabled via switched power. This is would behave similar to a fuel pump cutoff. The downside is that you or a thief could flood the car trying to get it started. No big deal if it was a thief, but annoying if you forgot to flip the switch.
 
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