Immobiliser

[sawood12]

My immobiliser has been playing up over the past few days. When I pop my electronic key into the slot it doesn't always seem to make contact and therefore doesn't deactivate the immobiliser. So far i've always managed to get it to work by moving the key into a position where all contacts are in contact but I guess it is only a matter of time before it totally packs up on me.

Anyone got any experience with these things? I was thinking about just disconnecting/bypassing the imobiliser. I found the immobiliser box next to my ECU so assume that this box is just intercepting key ignition wires to the ECU so if I remove the immobiliser wires and re-connect the ECU wires I should bypass it? Am I being completely optimistic about this?

I'm going to dig up my spare key and immobiliser key but i've basically lost confidence in the system.

 

[Fen]

Assuming it's the one fitted by Porsche dealers in the late 80's it's a Hamilton and Palmer one. They are still around and will sell you a new slot and keys for not a massive amount of money. I don't have their contact details (though a search might turn them up). They're in Kent from memory.

 

[sawood12]

Thanks Fen. It is not original OEM. It is a Meta cat 2 aftermarket one. I think my particular model is now discontinued so not sure about the availability of parts. I'd read somewhere that it has slipped off the cat 2 list but my insurers still list it as being cat 2 approved - for now. I might be forced to replace it in the near future once my insurers catch up with Thatchams updated list so just thought about disconnecting it for now whilst I decide what to do.

 

[zcacogp]

Scott,

If you have declared the presence of the immobiliser to your insurers, their premium will be based on it's being there. So if you remove it, theoretically you should tell them, and pay the extra cash that they will demand. (And it could be quite a lot.)

OK, so that's the 'correct' bit over and done with ...

Yes, removing immobilisers is easy. Find the box (already done), identify the wires, work out what circuit in the car is broken by which immobiliser circuit (there will probably be at least three), and wire the immobiliser out of the car circuits.

Bear in mind that the immobiliser will probably only have black wires going to it (to confuse theives), so you will need to work out which wires 'pair up'. An avometer is your friend here. The immobiliser will also have at least a live feed and a couple of earths as well, as well as an ignition live feed, and the connections to the recepticle for the key.

If you are removing the old immobiliser, I'd fit a new one at the same time. They are available cheaply (try ebay) and fitting a new one is much easier if done at the same time as removing an old one, as you have all the wires to hand to connect it to.

<Correct Bit Coming Up>You can then take your car to a local alarm installer and ask them to issue you with a certificate to say that the immobiliser is working, and then present this certificate to your insurer to keep them happy. Alarm installers will typically charge £20-30 for this service. They may be sniffy about certificating other people's work, in which case you could tell them you bought the car but didn't get the certificate with it, and need it to show the insurance company.


Oli.