disconnecting immobilisers

[Vogon SuperTrooper]

Dear fruitful information reapers,

My car refuses to start following few days of standing, because the immobiliser has sapped just enough juice to prevent the starter motor cog thing engaging the flywheel. So it's machine guns at dawn.

 

3 questions:

 

1. Have others had this problem (after market addition to car only, I presume, or is this problem common to all immob fitted Caterhams?)

2. Are figures available anywhere on numbers of Caterhams stolen over the last 10 years (or so)?

3. Can an amateur disconnect the immobiliser or is this simply one of the stupidest questions you've read for a long time?

 

thanks

Chalres

 

Edited by - Charles K-H on 3 Jan 2001 11:44:36

[Dave H]

Charles,

 

I have heard of this problem a number of times before - which is one of the reasons I don't have an immobiliser fitted.

If it was added as an after market addition, then there should be no problem (?!?!) removing it, you simply(?) need to undo what was done to install it. Most after market fitments prevent the ignition system form turning the starter, so it should be a case of sorting out which wires the immobiliser switch breaks, and joining them up, and disconnecting the rest of the unit.

 

Good luck,

Dave H

[Mike Bees]

The juice needed for the starter to turn the engine over is massively more than that required to get it to engage - like maybe 20 or 30 times more.

 

Why not just get a battery master switch? If we're talking about the Rover immobiliser on a K-series then as long as you immobilise the engine before you switch off at the master then it will still be immobilised even if somebody jumps across the master switch (or uses their own key).

 

Come to think of it if the immobiliser is emptying the battery in just a few days then the battery is pretty knackered anyway...

 

Mike

[Matt Prior]

Charles,

 

I used to have this problem on my W*******d, but was too lazy to get around it, plus my insurance company thought I had one fitted so I stuck with it.

 

But now, things are a little better - I have a battery cut-off switch which, if removed, disables the immobiliser and leaves the battery nicely charged.

 

Plus, if some thieving scumbag chooses to have a go at my Seven, he first has to overcome the battery switch, and then the immobiliser which becomes active as soon as the power's reconnected.

 

So I'm happy, my insurance company are happy (so happy they sent me a Christmas card), and the thieving scumbags aren't.

[TonyC]

Yes I have this problem with a rover engined car, the battery master switch looks like the way to go.

 

Rgds