After some research it seems that a simple fuel pump or starter kill switch is one of the most effective theft protection devices for our trucks ...cheap too.<br><br>Which is the better?<br><br>Has anyone installed either one?<br><br>Do you have an overview of the install?<br>

 

The Diesel Turbo Life Saver comes with a built in starter kill switch... nice and small so you can mount or hide it pretty much anywhere... I would think that would be the easiest one to install...<br><br>Tony

 

On my truck I had an immobalizer installed. This means that even it the ignition switch is ripped out the truck cannot be started.

 

THIS might be what you are looking for.

 

I was reading on another site that to steal a CTD, all you do is pop the hood and hit the starter contacts with jumper cables, although I was assuming that with the key off, the fuel pump was off, so I may have been misreading something.<br><br>I think the trick to keep it from being started has to be to disable the fuel solenoid. I think it can be done with a cable, but I'm not clear on the details.<br><br>A bit of trivia that I found while researching disablers was that the automatic trucks still have the Ralph Nader clutch switch (can't spin the starter without the clutch in). If you found the wire and added a hidden switch, it would be one more thing for a potential thief to find and get around - perhaps making them find another vehicle.<br><br>Tackett

 

It's very easy to put in your own kill switch... Add a toggle switch to the 'run' side of the fuel solenoid. The truck will start and run only while the key is in 'start' but die as soon as it is released to 'run.' You can get fancy by using a switch for something that is already in the truck to control that instead.

 

I wonder if it would be possible to rig something up with the passenger side airbag shutoff? So you could turn that off and it would also be like a kill switch. Only problem would be if you had to actually use it for transporting a kid in a car seat or something... ???<br><br>Tony

 

The other part of security is also making sure as little damage as possible can be done to the vehicle. <br><br>Allowing the engine to start and run with the key turned could possibly cause severe damage if someone were to attempt to drive it. I would think the better option would be to rig the vehicle so it won't turn over. Then any potential thief will just leave the vehicle alone.

 

A perfect Theft Protection device would also prevent the &quot;breaking and entering&quot; damage.

A thief breaks a window, or destroys the locking mechanism, to get in.
Destroys the steering column getting to the ignition and/or steering wheel lock.
Then attempts to start and finds out it won't.
Gets pi$$ed and knifes up the seats and headliner, then breaks the remaining windows.
Runs his keys down both sides, hood and tailgate.

Yes, you still have your truck, but at what cost.

What we need is something that will stop them before they even get in.

No ideas though, except maybe big dog residing in cab 24/7.


phox

 

...shields up...Mr Worf, arm photon torpedos...<br> ;D ;D ;D

 

<br>I have a 150 lb. Presa Canario (lookes like a huge Pit Bull) that goes everywhere with me and will not let ANYONE get within 20 feet of the truck unless he knows them really good! He is so good that I can even leave the keys in and the windows down! And he's so big that when he moves around back there the truck jumps around, that is what I call perfect theft protection!!! He protects my house and kids the same way. Dogs are clearly the best means of warding off potential threats.

 

Well we're getting some attention here but ...<br><br>Phox - I think your logic is pretty good, but you have no ideas on effective theft protection? Come on!!! That's like telling a great joke all except for forgetting the punch line.<br><br>Katoom - I've got a pretty fierce English bulldog (see attached) but he's not going to sit in my truck 24-7. Come On, Come On!!!<br><br>I've contacted both the dealer and MOPAR and they both told me even though my truck has an factory alarm it does not have the engine interrupt feature. Get this ... After I provided Mopar with my VIN # to my truck they actually said that the factory interrupt feature was not even available for my year/model truck. <br><br>For some reason that just wasn't good enough for me so ...<br><br>I put it to the test last night by cutting the engine off, arming the alarm while sitting in the truck, waiting 2 minutes and then trying to start the truck.<br><br>Guess what? To my surprise it started but only for 2 to 3 seconds and then shuts down. So it must have some sort of a fuel pump interrupt.<br><br>Now my question shifts to why both the dealer and MOPAR would not know this? Aren't they supposed to be the experts that we all can count on for these type of questions??<br><br>This really bothers me [undecided]...that my first technical question posed to the dealer and MOPAR and they both did not have a clue. <br><br>You can bet they are both going to hear from me about their inadequate knowledge base.

 

Way back when, I had a el-cheapo Radio Shack alarm in my Toyota.<br>It had hookup for a siren and you hooked into the radio antenna for paging, and came with a pager.<br><br>You could either use switches (hood and trunk) or it had little microphones that mounted by the door latch mechanism.<br><br>It then &quot;listened&quot; to the latches, and if the sensitivity was set just right, it could hear the door handle being rattled, if someone was just checking to see if it was unlocked.<br><br>I never hooked up a siren, just used the pager.<br><br>I caught hooligans (showing my age ) trying to get in a couple times, and scared them off before they could do any actual damage.<br><br>Are there any alarms out there that utilize this system any more?<br>The current systems with shock sensors and starter cutoffs don't really protect until someone breaks a window and is already in the truck.<br><br>Does the little flashing LED actually make a thief look elsewhere?<br>The sticker in the window &quot;This vehicle is protected by. . .&quot;?<br><br><br>phox

 

Yes phox there are similar but more sophisticated (read pricey) systems out there. Personally I think that the Lowjack system is about the best as there are so many ways for you to be notified of break in or tracking of the vehicle after it is stolen. I really like the ability of the system to track a stolen vehicle and automatically call the cops.

 

Yep my vote is for lojack...<br>The contractor I hire to excavate for me lost a backhoe one night. He had installed a tracking device (lojack) and the backhoe was found two days later in a garage owned by one of his long time operators. All the decals had been sanded off and it was ready for paint. His deductable is 10g so if he can find the machinery than the lojack monthly fee is cheap. But back to the original thread lojack will not stop the vehicle from being stolen, it will aid in recovery. In this case CAT backhoes all use a similar key. Easy to steal. <br>I install a kill switch device in my vehicles. And garage them whenever I can. FWIW