A built-in car alarm that shuts off all car functions. It would shut the gas line, electrical system, etc. all from the ignition switch. Breaking the ignition switch would then have no benefits to car thieves. There would be no electricity to turn the car on!-- jalsak, Oct 09 2000 Baked, I'm pretty sure. I know there are some that turn off the fuel system so it runs out of gas after a minute or so.-- StarChaser, Oct 09 2000 I alway thought the ultimate car alarm would give you about five seconds to flip the cunningly hidden switch before coursing about 50.000v through your body.-- Scott_D, Oct 10 2000 i dunno where you live but stuff like this exists, a girl that is currently staying with me lives in south africa. she has the alarm, gear lock, wheel lock, and some gas dealie like StarChaser spoke of.
a friend of mine did something really simple he wired in a momentary push button switch in his ignition system, you have to know where it is, push the button and turn the key at the same time then the car goes. his car had gotten stolen a few times before now it doesnt because would be theives cant figure out why it wont start.-- wrenchndmachine, Oct 10 2000 And hotwiring it normally won't make it start, either. Clever.
South Africa also has the flamethrower anti-carjacking thing, too...<CNN used to have a movie of it in action, but I can't find it now. Annoying.> I want one of those...-- StarChaser, Oct 12 2000 Have you seen //For your eyes only//? That security system did a pretty good job of stopping the thief, though it was a bit messy.-- supercat, Dec 20 2000 All you have to do is get a relay connected to the ECU power lead, the power is removed from the relay, and the engine won't ever start. I have also seen some systems that flash (erase) the ECU memory, so there is no way, even if you pop the hood and connect every wire under there, that the car will start.
The only disadvantage is that you would have to cary a little compactflash card (or similar) around in your wallet incase the alarm flashed the ECU.-- dtstyle, Sep 29 2002 All you have to do is get a relay connected to the ECU power lead, the power is removed from the relay, and the engine won't ever start. I have also seen some systems that flash (erase) the ECU memory, so there is no way, even if you pop the hood and connect every wire under there, that the car will start.
The only disadvantage is that you would have to cary a little compactflash card (or similar) around in your wallet incase the alarm flashed the ECU.-- dtstyle, Sep 29 2002 You know, no car alarm is perfect. The best thing so far is the SecuriLock system in new Fords, which puts a computer chip in the key. This chip communicates with the engine before starting. Without the right key, the car refuses to start. It seems to be totally foolproof.
Theft rates for these cars have gone down 50%, compared to cars without the system. That's very impressive. But what happens to the other 50%? Apparently, they're put on flatbed trucks or towed away, then dismantled for parts. A huge number of cars are stolen this way. Any ideas for what to do about it?-- aaronf, Jun 03 2003 I think the best way of all is to cover your car with very fresh and soft crap.-- Snowblind, Aug 11 2003 random, halfbakery