So you don't want your truck stolen...

Thieves nowadays don't have a clue on how to hotwire a vehicle. Some "professional thieves" know how to bypass car alarm kill switches and some will actually steal your car alarm. A great way around this is to install a custom kill switch - two kill switches are even better.

I had a customer that had a motorhome and his motorhome kept getting stolen. The owner of the motorhome knew who was having his motorhome stolen - his drug addicted ex girlfriend and he knew whoever was doing it had a set of his keys to his motorhome. I stopped his motorhome from getting stolen by installing two kill switches hooked up to existing parts of his motorhome. In his motorhome the ash tray had to be closed and the seatbelt plugged in for his motorhome to be able to be started.

I probably installed over a 100 custom kill switches. You don't want to use an aftermarket switch that can be seen, use existing switches or factory switches. Some examples are: using the existing switch for the seatbelt, installing a hidden switch on the ash tray's track, installing a switch on the seat track, using any factory switch that your truck doesn't have that option for (seat heater, fog light, power rear window, etc etc etc). A cigarette lighter can be used as a switch as well (makes the cigarette lighter inoperative). The options are near endless. The more it looks factory the less likely it will be discovered.

You want to think about what a thief would do if he's trying to steal your truck. The likelihood of a thief closing the ash tray is extremely unlikely but it's very likely the thief will open the ash tray so you definitely don't want your truck's kill switch having the ash tray open to start the truck. It's very unlikely the thief will notice your truck has a fog light switch but the truck doesn't have fog lights (etc etc etc). It is very unlikely that a thief will move the seat so that the truck will start. Glove box doors are a no go because they will open the glove box and you don't want to leave your glove box open whenever you leave your truck. Thieves don't plug in seatbelts to start a vehicle they're trying to steal.

Several different aspects of the truck can be "killed". The fuel pump, the ignition circuit, the starter circuit, the clutch switch, the neutral safety switch, are some examples.

On one vehicle I not only installed a kill switch but I also made it where the horn would continuously honk while trying to start the vehicle if the switch wasn't activated first (it was connected to the seatbelt switch). That is a great idea to get the thief out of your truck and run like hell.

If a professional thief wants your truck he can take it no matter what you do, it's called a flat bed tow truck. I saw a 911 Porsche Carrera Turbo stolen in San Francisco using a flat bed tow truck. It was gone in less than 15 seconds. The 911's factory horn was honking, air horns were honking, parking lights were flashing, headlights were wig-wagging, all 4 wheels were locked (line lock?) and it was bouncing like crazy while being dragged, and it was still stolen. I've always wondered if it was a repo company that took that 911 Porsche.

I can assist with designing a kill switch for you but I gotta mention there are quite a few people on TW that know far more about 2nd and 3rd gen Tacomas electrical systems than I do. I retired from the car stereo/car alarm/insurance replacement industry in 2009.

 

had a builder friend who installed a pressure switch to the ignition in the passenger side seat bottom. you could only start it ('70 Chevelle SS) while sitting in the passenger seat! or put 60+lbs there. lol.

i built a '70 LeMans at the same time in the same shop and had a rocker switch hidden up inside the dash connected to the electric fuel pump. you could hot wire the car in 20secs and have enough fuel to go about 50 feet. no way to find that switch, just had to know where it was by feel.

 

How much $$$?

And ash tray in a car?

 

I would like a burglar alarm that fires the steering wheel air bag.

 

Cost depended on what the customer wanted and the salesman's mood.

All vehicles used to come with ash trays not too long ago.

That sounds extremely expensive. An insurance company definitely wouldn't cover it.

 

I've also seen magnetic switches hidden behind plastic trim pieces. Something along these lines: https://www.magnelinkinc.com/products/magnetic-switches-choose-housing/

-J

 

Yes those used to be popular. I am not a fan of them at all though. Magnetic switches aren't the most reliable switches and magnets can be damaged by dropping/hitting them. But it is opinion.

 

For reference in 2nd gens the V6 uses an engine immobilizer with a chipped key while the I4 does not. Immobilizers are quite effective but of course not perfect. A kill switch not a bad idea for either but probably even more important on an I4.

Love the idea of using existing OEM switches and such as a condition for starting.

 

for those of us without lockers, a locker switch seems like a good choice...?

 

How about hiding a button under the headliner? o.o or under a patch LOL

 

My old 1993 civic (heavily stolen car) needed the lights in the parking light position in order to start. I think to this day I will still occasionally reach for the lights on my Tacoma on instinct.

 

It will eventually show as being touched often. Will a thief pick up on that? Doubtful.

 

A competing shop did this too, the exact same thing. IF the thief lives close by they'll see the lights turn on every time the vehicle is started. Not good IMO.

 

Often it's also possible to use an existing factory switch that can still be used for its original function plus as a kill switch. As an example turning on fan speed #2 to allow it to start. The options are damn near endless.

 

One other thing, if you piss off the thief they might get "even" with you. In the early 90's I bought my first new top of the line stereo, an Alpine. I installed 5 different back straps on it so it wouldn't get stolen. The thief tried to steal it and he couldn't so he proceeded to slice every single piece of upholstery in the truck and smashed the windshield from the inside. I actually caught the mo fo and chased him into an alley where he pulled a knife on me. It ain't worth it to me so I walked away and called the cops. Not that the cops would do anything about it, but it allowed me to get a police report number to file an insurance claim on the damage - which made my insurance premiums go up. Yeah yeah yeah it's illegal for insurance companies to do that...

 

Makes me think of this haha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNdygguAMQA

 

So euro-hilarious

 

How about a biometric switch? If it ain’t you it fires 3 .45 caliber rounds into your ass

 

Should have brought a gun to the knife fight

 

I never would've thought of most of this, love it