A cry/whimper for help.

[MartiniDave]

As you probably know if you've been on here for long I drive a Landy Defender as my day to day vehicle. I bought it second (?) hand off e-bay. Sometime in it's life it has been fitted with an immobiliser called "The Immobiliser". This thing comprises a slot mounted in the vehicle and a loose key that resembles a pcb edge connector in a plastic moulding. The trouble is I only have the one of these keys and dread the day I break of loose it.

Does anyone on here have any experience with this type of immobiliser, particularly with regards to removal of it from the vehicle, without preventing future use of the car? Google has yielded nothing useful, so I'm assuming the firm making these things is no more.

Thanks in anticipation.

Dave

 

[mountainm]

Can you just glue the key in place - instead of removing the unit?

 

[lou1661]

Try a local auto electrician or independent car alarm fitter. A friend of mine had the same problem after the dog chewed up his only "key".
By the time he had made the bloke a brew it was disconnected and everything was operating as it should.

Louis

 

[mousey]

Try a local auto electrician or independent car alarm fitter. A friend of mine had the same problem after the dog chewed up his only "key".
By the time he had made the bloke a brew it was disconnected and everything was operating as it should.

Louis

Thats a bit worring - an immobiliser being worked around so quickly you don't have enought time to make a cup of tea! - let's hope that auto electrician doesn't start knicking cars

 

[Ogri the trog]

Can you trace the wires that come out of the back of it - compare those to a standard wiring diagram and cut out any thing that doesn't appear to be necessary!

But then my history with the magic smoke is not altogether successful.

Ogri the trog

 

[MartiniDave]

Ah, Ogri, you also know that electrics are powered by smoke and that if you let the smoke escape it all stops working! A wise man indeed!

As Catweazle called it - electrickery!

Dave

 

[spandit]

You can hotwire a Defender in seconds. Following the wires from the back of the immobiliser will lead you to a starter relay and if you know a bit about car electrics it's easy to bypass. Otherwise, you can run a wire direct from the battery to the starter solenoid (unless immobiliser controls fuel solenoid too but I don't think it does)

 

[Silverclaws]

Track all the wiring and rip the offender out, immobilisers, a good idea when the machine is new and in warranty, but a p.i.t.a later and does more to keep the owner from using it than a potential thief.

 

[mountainm]

You can hotwire a Defender in seconds. Following the wires from the back of the immobiliser will lead you to a starter relay and if you know a bit about car electrics it's easy to bypass. Otherwise, you can run a wire direct from the battery to the starter solenoid (unless immobiliser controls fuel solenoid too but I don't think it does)

*ahem* misspent youth?

 

[spandit]

*ahem* misspent youth?

No. Misspent adulthood battling with the crappy immobilisers on both my Land Rovers

 

[Gaudette]

Take it out. Use a local car electric guy if you don't want to do it yourself. If you don't know one ask the local taxi drivers they are always a good source for that sort of thing.Failing that there is bound to be a thread on the Defender forum.


--------------------------------------------
"If we had some bacon we could have bacon and eggs, if we had some eggs"

 

[daveO]

Shouldn't be too hard to remove. I've taken a few alarms out of cars over the years and they've always just had a 2 circuit immobiliser. You get 4 black wires out of the back of the alarm which connect to 2 cruicial circuits on the car. Follow these black wires to their ends where they meet the coloured car wires and just splice the corresponding coloured wires back together. Or just follow the wires, make a mental note of where the connections are and if you lose the key you know where to bypass it.

 

[9InchNinja]

sounds like the same I have in my Surf. There should be a little black tab that's supposed to go with your keys - it's got a numerical code on it. If you loose the fob, you can bypass the immobiliser by turning the ignition on and off after a certain amount of flashes (normally the engine warning light) - it's a p.i.t.a, but it'll get the thing going.

Or just hotwire it as Spandit suggests - very simple. Tidy it up afterwards though, just in case you get pulled over...

 

[MartiniDave]

I've got some time off coming up, I think I'll do a bit of hands-on investigating then make a decision.

Thanks for the various inputs.

Dave.

 

[bigant]

Defenders are that easy to start without a key i would just remove it and save yourself the hassle. best way of keeping your defender is one of the pedal lock boxes.

one example

as they say you can only slow the ****s down these days but nothing wrong with making it as hard as possible. is also a device that locks the clutch up as well.