Poor Man's theft protection? What fuse do I pull?
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 176
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Poor Man's theft protection? What fuse do I pull?
I'll be driving to Baja next week and I was wondering if it's a smart precaution to pull a fuse to further deter vehicle theft. I may want to leave the vehicle for short periods of time. If I remember from a post I can no longer find, the EFI fuse is the one to yank. Is that true, will the truck drive even a short distance? Is there just a master "kill switch" fuse? I don't have anytime to do any mods before I leave, I was just looking for some extra insurance. I remember reading somewhere that savy thieves will carry extra fuses with them.
thanks
thanks
#2
Contributing Member
I'm prety sure pulling the EFI fuse will prevent the truck from starting, the fuel pump won't run. But if you do that and the thief knows about it they don't need to carry extra fuses, the fuse box is full of fuses they could swap in. If they're stealing the truck they don't care too much if they have no radio, lights, wipers or whatever.
Better to pull the EFI relay, they're less likely to have a spare relay with them.
Better to pull the EFI relay, they're less likely to have a spare relay with them.
#6
Contributing Member
Originally Posted by elnido
I'll be driving to Baja next week and I was wondering if it's a smart precaution to pull a fuse to further deter vehicle theft. I may want to leave the vehicle for short periods of time. If I remember from a post I can no longer find, the EFI fuse is the one to yank. Is that true, will the truck drive even a short distance? Is there just a master "kill switch" fuse? I don't have anytime to do any mods before I leave, I was just looking for some extra insurance. I remember reading somewhere that savy thieves will carry extra fuses with them.
thanks
thanks
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/fuel-cut-off-switch-3rd-gen-4runners-14582/
Trending Topics
#9
Registered User
Or even still replace the EFI fuse with a blown one. That way they won't see which one is missing and isn't as obvious as to what is wrong and why it won't start.
#10
Contributing Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bellingham, Washington and Ketchikan, Alaska
Posts: 1,078
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by waskillywabbit
Get a Grant removable/lockable steering wheel. Harder to steal if they can't drive it.
Any good car theif carrys a pair of vice grips!
#12
Registered User
Hard to carry around a steering wheel too!
Best cheap and long term solution is a battery kill switch needing a key (Hella). A determined car thief will always get away with your rig, the other 95% will never figure it out.
Lamm
Best cheap and long term solution is a battery kill switch needing a key (Hella). A determined car thief will always get away with your rig, the other 95% will never figure it out.
Lamm
#13
Contributing Member
Most car thieves will only take a few minutes to try and steal the vehicle (unless you leave it in the ghetto or a place they feel comfortable taking some time). Anything you can add which makes the vehicle look difficult (steering wheel lock, flashing LED, window sticker for an alarm, remove the steering wheel, etc) will help and even better if you go the extra mile to make it difficult to start (fuel pump kill, battery kill, EFI fuse, starter kill, etc) since the thief will not sit there and diagnose why your vehicle doesn't start. At that point they either have a towtruck/flatbed ready (in which case nothing you do will work) or they'll move on to the next vehicle.
Last edited by MTL_4runner; 12-16-2005 at 05:16 AM.
#14
Registered User
i vote for the secret hidden switch.
pulling a fuse entails lifting the hood=someone sees you do it=the truck must be worth stealing. same with pulling plug wires.
ive used a blinking LED as the alarm :bounce2:
where in baja are you headed?
pulling a fuse entails lifting the hood=someone sees you do it=the truck must be worth stealing. same with pulling plug wires.
ive used a blinking LED as the alarm :bounce2:
where in baja are you headed?
#17
Registered User
Another good one I've used in the past on a VW GTI I had was wiring the EFI fuse inline with the Headlights / Fog lights. You had to turn both sets of light switches on to start the car. Now what thief in their right mind would want to draw attention to theirselves by turning on the lights? I had friends that took 30mins to try and start my car, when they went to borrow it, before they came back in and I asked them if they turned on the lights? lol
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
jasonty
Pre 84 Trucks (Build-Up Section)
41
12-23-2018 01:00 PM
rushw
General Electrical & Lighting Related Topics
4
07-18-2015 01:46 PM
crashburnoveride
86-95 Trucks & 4Runners
1
07-10-2015 06:39 AM