Fitting an immobiliser, how hard can it be...?

[norman156]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, but I was wondering if anyone here has fitted an immobiliser to their can themselves? My insurance company won't cover me for theft claims untill I have some sort of device fitted, and immobilisers seem to be much cheaper than alarms. However I'm not keen on the idea of snipping and splicing wires, and am rather concerned that I'll majorly cock up and I won't be able to start the thing at all if I wire something wrong. Is it quite difficult to make a mistake with these or are they quite straight forward?

[andyquantum]

What kind of immobiliser are they talking about? A Crook lok kind of thing? Or electronic immobilisation. Worth finding out before you go down the route of knackering up your loom

If you dont want to do it yourself, you can get Cat1 alarms fitted (inc immobiliser) for around £100

DIY isnt too difficult, switched live and perm live, couple of wires to the starter and you're away on a basic level.

[was8v]

Its dead easy so long as you identify the right wires to snip and solder + heatshrink any joints. Do not use scotchlock of choc block connectors or even twist wires and tape, they will fail.

Normally you interrupt the starter circuit and the fuel pump or ignition circuits (check your wiring diagrams), then you just need a permanent 12v and decent ground.

The difficulty you have is many insurance companies will require a certificate of installation. Some (not all) car alarm installers will check the operation for the system for about £30 and give you a letter headed document verfying installation.

[norman156]

Has to be either an electronic immobiliser or alarm, unfortunately crook locks don't count. Was thinking something along the lines of this:
http://www.dcp-shop.co.uk/buy-car-accessories/prod...
Seen the same unit elsewhere for more like £30 which doesn't seem too bad

[norman156]

was8v said:

The difficulty you have is many insurance companies will require a certificate of installation. Some (not all) car alarm installers will check the operation for the system for about £30 and give you a letter headed document verfying installation.

Rang the insurance company yesterday, they said DIY installation is fine so long as the unit comes with some sort of thatcham certificate or similar I can send them

[was8v]

norman156 said:

Has to be either an electronic immobiliser or alarm, unfortunately crook locks don't count. Was thinking something along the lines of this:
http://www.dcp-shop.co.uk/buy-car-accessories/prod...
Seen the same unit elsewhere for more like £30 which doesn't seem too bad

Get one with transponder keys rather than "touch", it annoys the hell out of me having to touch the thing before starting up. So very eighties hot hatch, lol.

EG http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am... (no connection to me)

[Tino]

Used to do it for a living, and difficulty can vary vastly from car to car.
You need to be competent with a multimeter(to identify the correct wires), and a soldering iron(not scotchlocks or butt connectors). You'll also need heatshrink, or self amalgamating tape, wire cutters/strippers and a few other more common tools.
Installation isn't difficult if you are fairly competent with vehicle electrics.
Toad do a nice transponder type immobiliser btw.

[norman156]

It's a 92 VW Corrado if that gauges how difficult it would be. Only real experience I have with wiring when it comes to cars is a door loom I repaired on my old peugeot, but that was just joining up 3 broken wires so hardly anything difficult. I have have a multi-meter and shrink wrap so that won't be a problem

[Piers917]

"Fitting an immobiliser, how hard can it be...?"

Sounds like a line from Top Gear

[norman156]

Piers917 said:

"Fitting an immobiliser, how hard can it be...?"

Sounds like a line from Top Gear

That was the idea mainly because half the time when I do something like this car related the results are ambitious, but rubbish.

Edited by norman156 on Friday 10th October 11:18

[Tino]

Where do you live?
Corrado's aren't that difficult(I should know, I own one)

[norman156]

I'm currently down in Ealing, West London for Uni

[was8v]

Hi mate - PM me your email address.

I have a pdf which details which the location and colour of the wires to cut for the corrado.

[Tino]

and i'm in Neasden, happy to help you out.
Might even have one in stock