kill switch? vs. car thieves

H

hrt4me

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have any of you installed a kill switch in your 4Runner?

when I bought my Gen1 '85 4Runner, the seller had installed a hidden kill switch; when that was activated, you could turn the ignition key to crank the engine, but it would just keep cranking and never turn over to actually start...

would something like this be feasible on my 'new' (to me) '96 4Runner?

along those lines, how desirable are (Gen3) 4Runners to car thieves?
 
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I suggest killing power from the battery. If you killswitch the fuel pump or ignition coil, you could come back to a dead battery from thieves cranking it over trying to start it. Happened to a buddy of mine twice.
 
Easy, I already has one installed. Simply put a switch that runs to the starter from the ignition. Works best with A/T. Hide the switch. Thieves will try to crank the engine.... everything works but the starter!

Turn it off every time you leave the truck.
 
Your going to have to be pretty tricky to hide a kill switch from a pro.

The best way to steal a car is with a trailer.

And a kill switch is worthless when you you forget to switch it. The best type of switch for this is a push button, you have to hold it to start you'll never forget to switch it.

I don't really see a point in kill switches if someone wants it there going to take it, and if they can't take it there going to mess it up trying.
 
Bucket81 said:
<b>The best type of switch for this is a push button</b>
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I did with my first two Toyota pickups and one VW. I never got around to doing it with my '86 and wish I would have after I walked out for my lunch break to see the empty parking spot.

What I had done on the 80 was wire up a few toggle switches on the dashboard that were actually just wired in series if you followed the rat's nest back and forth from the firewall (Ya, I only did it on this one since I had to hot wire it the third time out... piss break out in the Sierra National Forest on a fall afternoon a few miles out from home and the ignition switch broke) the steering lock had me stuck though, so I justed wrapped a big stick through the wheel and busted it. I figured since it only took a screwdriver to start it after buying the new ignition switch I had to do something. So those switches (I think it was 4x or 5x 2- & 3-way switches) had to be in a specific pattern for the button to do any good.

It wouldn't have stopped anyone who really wanted it, but the goal was to buy enough time that they wouldn't want to risk being there long enough to figure it out.
 
Bucket81 said:
Your going to have to be pretty tricky to hide a kill switch from a pro.

The best way to steal a car is with a trailer.

And a kill switch is worthless when you you forget to switch it. The best type of switch for this is a push button, you have to hold it to start you'll never forget to switch it.

I don't really see a point in kill switches if someone wants it there going to take it, and if they can't take it there going to mess it up trying.
Click to expand...

Let them mess it, you still have your truck.

If you are leaving it overnight, there is a small chance they will find it. You have so many places to hide a switch. Otherwise, a thief will not spend time trying to locate the kill switch. If he is interested in a 4runner, he will go for another at the other end of the parking lot.
 
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The big thing with kill switches is most 'career' car thieves understand that most people are lazy. Even if they're willing to take the time to install a kill switch, and will have the switch somewhere convenient to reach. If the crook has gone far enough to gain access to the cab, they'll look for the switch, and if you fit the profile of having it in arm's reach of the driver's seat they'll probably find it under a minute. I went a different route for the 4r than a little kill switch, but could suffer the dead battery situation like a previous poster mentioned!
 
What I had used in a 94 dodge (sorry I used the D word) was turn the power on, hold high beams and then crank over. It was an interesting set up that I thought was a decent idea. The guy I sold it to called me 2 hours later asking for his money back because it "wouldnt start" Haha told him the trick when I sold it to him. Guess he didn't listen.
 
I'll give away my secret setup... sort of. I splice into the feed wire for the ignition switch. In between, I wire up one side of the cigarette lighter. Pushed in allows the car to start and the power for accessories when the key is on. Pull it out and it disables the ignition switch. Of course I hog out the coil that lights a cigarette so there is no heat produced. I have a secondary "option" for out of town/overnight parking that I wont share, just get creative.

Nothing beats a $300 alarm/keyless entry set up. But like others have said, if the dirtbags really want it, they will drag it or pull it up on a trailer just like the tow truck drivers do (who by the way are most like the same thieves that steal most vehicles- and I know that there are good honest, hard working tow truck drivers, but I have yet to meet one)
 
Along the lines of kill switches, has anyone here designed a switch that will kill the person trying to steal the car?? I was thinking of designing a system that will pump about a million volts through the theif . . . or maybe release a little puff of nerve gas . . .
 
I think we are missing the point here. A kill switch is a VERY CHEAP small amount of insurance to make sure your 4Runner stays yours. We could speculate for days but in reality, you don't know what you don't know.

I have seen these switches work a quite a few times. The best I have seen, is to put the switch in-line with the fuel pump. That way they get a block down the road and truck dies; normally they abandon it.

Career car thief, really? Let's face it, if someone is a "career" car thief they probably aren't going to risk there "career" over a mid sized SUV.

I'll take a dead battery over a missing 4Runner, any day.

Your 4Runner is still a mid-sized SUV. It is not all the desirable, (except for your catalytic convert) unless it is heavily modified. And even if it is heavily modified it is very difficult to hide a vehicle (after it has been stolen) that is so unique, making it even less desirable to this "career" car thief. Which leaves you with a much smaller crowd, tweaters, drunks, punks, and kids being kids. Most aren't smart enough to know of and/or find a kill switch and loose interest fast.
 
1985taylor1925 said:
Along the lines of kill switches, has anyone here designed a switch that will kill the person trying to steal the car?? I was thinking of designing a system that will pump about a million volts through the theif . . . or maybe release a little puff of nerve gas . . .
Click to expand...

What if you forget to turn on the switch?
 
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A customer locked her keys in her suburban in the middle of the shop parking lot because she started it up, the windows were up and the way that this system works is when the vehicle starts the doors lock. :/

I mention this because the stupid thing had a kill button... you'd have to turn the ignition on, press the button then crank. Made it a real pain when the problem with her car was that it would randomly die then wouldn't start. every time I let off the key I'd have to press the stupid button under the dash.

that's my point of view on it.

I vote for a retina scanner.
 
1st rule .... don't talk about Kill Switch

That said, I am in favor of the idea because it will stop most joy-riders and kids from stealing your truck.

You can never stop a professional thief BUT no professional would ever steal a 10+ year old Toyota that is surely worth less than $10k on the legit market.

IMO, if you do not have the factory alarm, just get a blinking red LED, some tint, install a kill switch and call it a day. The alarm doesn't do much except deter thieves. It is easily overridden by simply turning the key twice in the ignition; from that I conclude it can be overridden during the hotwiring process. Most (I believe all) 3rd gens do not have computer chips in the key so it should be easy to hot-wire, alarm or no alarm.


Good methods:
[x] blinking LED light or factory alarm system
[x] kill switch, hidden in not obvious way (be intuitive)
[x] SUV Club on the steering wheel
[x] tinted windows so no-one can see inside (I believe this goes a long way)
[x] don't park it in a shady area
[x] get full coverage anyways + have a $500 deductible

:trophy:


how desirable are (Gen3) 4Runners to car thieves?
Click to expand...
-------------> NOT VERY.
 
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1985taylor1925 said:
Along the lines of kill switches, has anyone here designed a switch that will kill the person trying to steal the car?? I was thinking of designing a system that will pump about a million volts through the theif . . . or maybe release a little puff of nerve gas . . .
Click to expand...


or a sword that comes out of the steering wheel. ya
 
First off killing the individual is A) going to make your truck smelly B) get you sued.

After market alarms are pretty easy to get around, yank the wire on the siren, find the kill relay witch is usually zip tied to the ignition wires.

The problem is that most people install the kill switch and wiring on the driver side, and use the ignition wires makes it easy to find.

I'm not saying that a kill switch isn't going to save your truck, I'm just saying I can still steal it. :trophy:

Edit: Anybody want 4runner wiring colors and locations I have a couple PDF's form alarm installs.
 
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First off, my 4Runner was stolen. It was taken out of my garage, which I forgot to close, at about midnight. I left the keys in the car because "it's in my garage, it's safe there obviously". Ya not so safe.

However, thanks to Lojack, I received my 4Runner back in 13 hours.

A kill switch would have prevented this theft. I now have a kill switch installed. It has never drained my battery.
 
^^^ lojack is your best bet!
they have a very fast and high % on their return rates. i have done this on my runner, and it also help drop my insurance rates so i have also now gone back and put full coverage on it as its only $60 more a year to have the full coverage compared to just liability.
 
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