Autowatch Ghost CANbus Immobiliser.

[Terminator X]

PM3 said:

ian332isport said:

alex.baker89 said:

If the Ghost system isn't Thatcham approved, then that's maybe worth a miss.

Not being Thatcham approved doesn't mean much. I believe Thatcham don't have a category for CAN bus based devices, so have no way of categorising it. It's not that it failed the test.

I've had one of the first gen Ghost's fitted to my BMW since it was new (2018), and it's not caused any problems.

Ian.

same here ....last 2 years. Great decision as the peace of mind is worth every penny. Slight pain with mechanics ( oh sorry, did I mean technician )at service department who can't retain to a simple instruction , always end up calling when they CANNOT start your car.

Valet mode? Temporarily allows the car to start with no code, resets when code is entered.

TX.

[ian332isport]

Terminator X said:

Valet mode? Temporarily allows the car to start with no code, resets when code is entered.

TX.

That's fine unless they take it for a test drive which can disable valet mode. You can put it into transport mode which completely disables it until you re-enable it again. Handy if you know they'll need to do an extended test drive, or you just don't want them to know it's fitted.

[Dash-Cam Man]

In the many years we have been installing the Autowatch Ghost Immobilisers, not one will usually be tripped during a regular service interval. Even with Range Rover vehicles where they insist on taking the vehicle for a 20 minute road test on major services, it's unlikely the 31mph clause with the wheels moving (staying above 0mph) for a period of 15 minutes will occur - they will come to a give way/junction/set of lights and when the Ghost see's 0mph, it resets again and waits for another 31mph to be reached with the wheels in constant motion again for another 15 minutes. Only instance we heard of it being tripped was on a customers BMW M5 which was taken during a service to go collect parts some 20 miles down the road which required a run on the motorway. When said technician pulled up at Dingrbo, collected parts, couldn't start it again and required to inform the customer. Safe to say the customer wasn't happy.

[Chris32345]

Tuvra said:

Turn the wheels into a kerb/wall as you park.

Mine has the Ghost and a tracker fitted. I have no doubt I would find the car way before either were discovered.

It cost me about £350 for both and gives me total piece of mind. This sort of system should come as an option on new cars IMO especially with cars now having integrated touchscreens and I-drive like controllers to enter a code/combination.

GPS and GSM/RF can both be jammed relatively easily

[ian332isport]

Dash-Cam Man said:

In the many years we have been installing the Autowatch Ghost Immobilisers, not one will usually be tripped during a regular service interval. Even with Range Rover vehicles where they insist on taking the vehicle for a 20 minute road test on major services, it's unlikely the 31mph clause with the wheels moving (staying above 0mph) for a period of 15 minutes will occur - they will come to a give way/junction/set of lights and when the Ghost see's 0mph, it resets again and waits for another 31mph to be reached with the wheels in constant motion again for another 15 minutes. Only instance we heard of it being tripped was on a customers BMW M5 which was taken during a service to go collect parts some 20 miles down the road which required a run on the motorway. When said technician pulled up at Dingrbo, collected parts, couldn't start it again and required to inform the customer. Safe to say the customer wasn't happy.

That's not how it works on mine. I've tested it. It starts the 15 minute timer when it hits 31mph, and 15 minutes later I get all sorts of beeps, bongs and messages flashing up. It doesn't matter if I stop briefly or not. If I stop and turn the ignition off during the 15 minute timer, it will remain in service/valet mode, and you can get another 15 minutes.

[Knoxville2410]

Test drove a 440i with this last week.

Had to input a combination of buttons using the flappy paddle gear selectors.

[Dash-Cam Man]

ian332isport said:

Dash-Cam Man said:

In the many years we have been installing the Autowatch Ghost Immobilisers, not one will usually be tripped during a regular service interval. Even with Range Rover vehicles where they insist on taking the vehicle for a 20 minute road test on major services, it's unlikely the 31mph clause with the wheels moving (staying above 0mph) for a period of 15 minutes will occur - they will come to a give way/junction/set of lights and when the Ghost see's 0mph, it resets again and waits for another 31mph to be reached with the wheels in constant motion again for another 15 minutes. Only instance we heard of it being tripped was on a customers BMW M5 which was taken during a service to go collect parts some 20 miles down the road which required a run on the motorway. When said technician pulled up at Dingrbo, collected parts, couldn't start it again and required to inform the customer. Safe to say the customer wasn't happy.

That's not how it works on mine. I've tested it. It starts the 15 minute timer when it hits 31mph, and 15 minutes later I get all sorts of beeps, bongs and messages flashing up. It doesn't matter if I stop briefly or not. If I stop and turn the ignition off during the 15 minute timer, it will remain in service/valet mode, and you can get another 15 minutes.

Can categorically tell you that it does work that way, copied the below post from Autowatch on this in case you wish not to believe me.

You don't get 'all sorts of beeps, bongs & messages' - you simply get a double flash of the indicators to let you know that the Ghost will be tripping out of service mode if you do reach the parameters set. The next time you then switch off the vehicle, it won't start again until you pop in a PIN, signifying it's been tripped out of service mode.

If you stop & turn off the ignition during the 15 minutes, as you say it will remain in service mode but that's expected, you haven't reached the parameters for it to trip out of service mode.

Your installer was Michael Blight if I remember correctly? If so, he’s a great installer so it’s nothing install related. I know you have said you have ‘tested it’ but maybe worth another test paying particular attention to the below?

Edited by Dash-Cam Man on Monday 27th July 08:40

[ian332isport]

Hi,

Don't get me wrong, I'm not disbelieving what you're saying, just stating that my car doesn't behave that way.

I do get a variety of beeps and bongs from the iDrive on my car when it drops out of service mode. I don't recall the exact message, but something about the protection system being disabled. I see the message in the instrument cluster display, and on the iDrive screen. I also get the double flash of the indicators. I assume the bongs are standard iDrive functionality when it sees that particular message.

Yes, it was Michael who installed my Ghost. I have absolutely no issues with the install/installer. He did a fantastic job, and I would/have recommend him to others.

I will perform another test and report back, but I'm not expecting a different outcome. I'm happy to be proven wrong, as the advertised functionality would be far more acceptable.

Out of interest, I just had a quick look on the Autowatch website, and this is their current description of automatically exiting service mode. It doesn't mention stopping, although you could argue that a stop means you haven't driven continuously. It's a bit vague though.

1.Drive up to 31 mph (50 kph)
2.Continue to drive (at any speed) for 15 minutes
3.Once the time as elapsed there will be 2 flashes to indicate that service / valet mode has exited

This is pretty much how my car behaves (except for the additional message/bong).

Edited by ian332isport on Monday 27th July 22:27

[Chris32345]

TimmyMallett said:

My Saxo had this years ago!

Although it was a keypad that you put a 4 digit PIN code in....Also had a secondary benefit that it wouldn't be nicked as a getaway car as you had to do it every time you started it.

That, and it was a Saxo.

Or someone could nick the car once it was running and disconnect the unit while runny then never need to think about it again

[chloea]

If you are looking for a recommended company to install the autowatch ghost in the Midlands try https://cartheftsolutions.co.uk/

[anonymous-user]

chloea said:

If you are looking for a recommended company to install the autowatch ghost in the Midlands try https://cartheftsolutions.co.uk/

I'd caution that with the fact that the site doesn't appear to make clear who the company is and that the website privacy policy and terms of service don't appear to work. If you had some work done and needed redress, or wanted to check up on the company before engaging, it's not easy to do.

Notwithstanding it's always worth being alert when an old thread is brought up by a new user urging people to use a certain supplier.

[Spare tyre]

My old Saxo had the code thing, was excellent.

Obviously you could still get whacked over the head for the code, but it’s a good simple solution

[George_L]

Have you ever heard of the CAN-phantom? It's very similar to the ghost. I've never had either one installed personally but one of my friends has had the CAN-phantom installed and has talked about how much easier it is to use than the Ghost. Maybe worth a look? www.can-phantom.com

[KungFuPanda]

Spare tyre said:

My old Saxo had the code thing, was excellent.

Obviously you could still get whacked over the head for the code, but it’s a good simple solution

If they whacked you over the head, you’d forget the code!!!

Anyway, I’m on here to say that I’ve got Ghost being fitted to my Range Rover next week.

[KungFuPanda]

Had mine fitted for a couple of months now. I was never told that if you forgot to enter the code and tried to start the car, it would throw an engine management light. This happened a few times and to be honest it pisses me off. It’ll throw a gearbox fault and the gearbox will operate with reduced performance until I clear the fault with my OBD reader.

[ian332isport]

ian332isport said:

I will perform another test and report back, but I'm not expecting a different outcome. I'm happy to be proven wrong, as the advertised functionality would be far more acceptable.

Sorry for the extremely late response. I've been eating humble pie...

Finally remembered to test valet mode again and had no issues at all. It worked as described by Dash-Cam Man. Not sure why my previous results were different. I guess I didn't come to a complete stop at some point.

Still extremely happy with my Ghost. It's been absolutely faultless in operation.

[Dash-Cam Man]

ian332isport said:

Sorry for the extremely late response. I've been eating humble pie...

Finally remembered to test valet mode again and had no issues at all. It worked as described by Dash-Cam Man. Not sure why my previous results were different. I guess I didn't come to a complete stop at some point.

Still extremely happy with my Ghost. It's been absolutely faultless in operation.

Hi Ian, ah fantastic - no humble pie required, we aren't here to gloat on being correct as knowing the product inside & out is our job, more to be informative with correct information so you can get the best out of your equipment/investment. Glad it works as it should and it's been working as intended since your initial install. It provides that thing you can't put a price on which is peace of mind.

KungFuPanda said:

Had mine fitted for a couple of months now. I was never told that if you forgot to enter the code and tried to start the car, it would throw an engine management light. This happened a few times and to be honest it pisses me off. It’ll throw a gearbox fault and the gearbox will operate with reduced performance until I clear the fault with my OBD reader.

Edit - just read above and seen it's a Range Rover you have. What model (Sport/Velar/Vogue) & what year is it? The Ghost Immobiliser can throw a fault on false start up on certain vehicles (attempted start without PIN) but this will clear upon a successful input. This should have been explained to you after installation and you shown the faults to expect should this happen. It's like sticking a bus on a train line - there will be issues. When the PIN is input, the bus is removed and full communication is restored.

Can't promise to help as you probably aren't in Glasgow and it might require a physical check but you are more than welcome to drop me a line (click on my bio) and I can try give you some advice.

Thanks, Jay

Edited by Dash-Cam Man on Tuesday 21st September 09:01