Car Alarms and Security Systems

I would have hindered rather than helped.

The owner wasn't an A-hole, he just couldn't hear the alarm from his apartment. I always try to help my neighbors when they are in need, and he thanked me for my help. My beef is not with the owners of these cars, it is with the total uselessness of the security systems.

Well, with the same courtesy, you seem to be complaining and vented to the wrong people, have you addressed this problem with your neighbor. That is the thing to do. And since everyone ignores the alarm, suggest him of disabling/shut it off when home.

So call the police and have them tow it away.....

Well, I got him going. Now to continue my rant, what good are automotive security systems.

I have had two cars now with security systems. My '99 Pontiac Bonneville had a "Pass-Key" system that randomly prevented me from starting it. I finally found a way to disable that system. After all, I could leave that car overnight in downtown Lawrence with the keys in the ignition, and be confident that it would be there the next morning.

My current car's security system, a Honda, managed to lock me out of the car with my keys in the ignition when I was filling it at a gas station. I had to walk two miles home in the snow to get my spare key, only to realize that my house keys were in the car too

Some years ago, I had a hire Diesel VW Passat. It was a really cold day and the screen was totally iced up. So I started the engine, set to blow warm on the screen and started to get the ice off the screen from outside with a scraper.

It was a narrow side road, so when another car came along, I closed the drivers door and suddenly all doors were automatically locked!! No spare key.....

It took 2 hours to get the ADAC there to open the door....engine still running......luckily the police were really friendly....

That was crap firmware from VW. It should have taken into account that nobody was sitting in the drivers seat at least!!! But locking all doors when the door was closed under any circumstances I do not need!!!!

There are systems that transmit a signal to the holder of the key fob.

I prefer the "Trunk Monkey" myself.

What I am after is that the car manufacturers provide a way for the owner to disable the security systems when its function becomes a nuisance rather than an asset.

What I am after is that the car manufacturers provide a way for the owner to disable the security systems when its function becomes a nuisance rather than an asset.

I just took the horn fuse out when mine started playing up: I never use the horn anyway, and, on the few occasions when I have needed it I can never find the right place to hit.

Excellent idea, I wonder if OnStar has that.

The drawback to your suggestion is the "cool" factor or look how 'portant I am, is negated

Getting locked out of my car in a snow storm went way beyond the "cool factor", and I didn't feel very " 'portant" either. In fact, I was freezing my buns off and I felt like a damn fool

Yes, but when it becomes a nuisance it is already too late...

And in your case for example, it is a nuisance to you but not to the owner at the time, only when he embarrassingly finds out his car has been a nuisance...and there is nothing you or the owner can do at the time of the etc....

So just have silent alarms that go to the keyset or phone or fob or a red flashing light on the inside of the owners home/apartment, and allow the owner to respond in real time...

And hopefully you or I would never even be aware that his car alarm was set off at all.

You lock your what now?

I for one have never been one to purposely lock anything being if someone really wants what I have they are going to take it so if it's locked up not only did I lose what they wanted they also damaged my property in the process.

Seriously around here it's still common to see people leave their vehicles unlocked and running while in shopping and no one thinks twice about it except the potential thieves who apparently find that behavior so suspiciously odd that they generally leave unlocked and running vehicles alone.

I live in Massachusetts where, if you forget to zip up your fly, they will steal your underpants. I am with you on this, if someone really wants to steal my underpants, skid marks and all, they are welcome to them. Again, my beef is with security systems that I don't want, or need, that come with my cars and that I can't disable.

Underpants? What's that? :O

Back when I lived out in the boondocks of New Hampshire, I used to leave my keys in my car at night so I wouldn't have to search all over the house for them in the morning.

And, I never locked my house either. The glass doors that a thief would break to get in was more valuable than anything they could steel.

Well, won't he be surprised when he finds a disgruntled neighbor put one of these on his car after his alarm keeps him awake.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wheel-Lock-Clamp-Boot-Tire-Claw-Trailer-Auto-Car-Truck-Anti-Theft-Towing-New-/271408425579?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f3133ea6b&vxp=mtr

I have insurance...

I've set mine off accidentally bending over with the key fob in my pocket and the emergency button got pushed.

I did the same thing about 15 years ago while I was working in the office, only it unlocked the doors, just when two delinquents was walking past my truck. They then proceeded to go through my truck and found and lifted my wallet from under the seat.

Well, you were a damn fool for leaving your wallet in the car.

Yep, Sometimes circumstance happen that way.

Years ago I worked at a large complex with a "private and guarded" parking lot. Lot of good that did since cars were stolen about one every two week. After they took mine I put a security system in that was quite unique and brought me a lot of satisfaction and police to the stolen car. Had my father make a small black box wired into the ignition key system and a small key switch under the dash. If the under the dash switch was not closed prior to turning the ignition on, the ignition would shut off within an adjustable length of time and the horn could also be set to blow. I always set mine at one minute or less without the horn. A car stuck in traffic or on a road with the horn blowing will get a lot of attention and then the police.

Several friends wanted one so I made some for them to install. They worked real good and one unit worked even more successfully. Car shut down after going a couple of houses down the street. Wouldn't start until friend changed position of under dash switch.

Certainly much better surprise to the thief than a horn blowing all night because someone leaned on the car.

Good Luck, Old Salt

connect the alarm through a timer to stop after certain period.

Stopping a vehicle, especially in traffic, can be dangerous. (frowned upon by police)
Agreed sounding the horn at night (whaha!) can be very annoying, and is also illegal. (UK)
A successful marketing ploy.

Without immediate intervention it is not possible to prevent damage to the vehicle.
Chancers will take / do whatever and leave rapidly. A skilled "thief" will disable the horn
and likely drive off with the vehicle. Driving it on to another vehicle (truck) or on to a
trailer would circumvent a (dangerous) disconnected ignition or fuel supply.

To provide any real protection it needs to be immediate, i.e. local security or police
presence or, long term to recover the vehicle or parts and prosecute the offenders.
The first is expensive in man hours and really essential to have any long term results.
Cameras are a boon in this respect, but not if no one is actually present. (on the ground.)
The second (professional thief) needs a stolen vehicle tracking device were
a timely response is not of the essence and the depot of the crooks can be raided.

I agree with the OP therefore that these horn sounding alarms should be discontinued.
(my penny worth, but not for the industry, the wages of the workers and profits of
the companies who make them?) cannot please everyone. jt

"To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize." Voltaire.

In the U.S. the police set up cars to do that to catch car thieves. But they stake it out and shut the car down on command.

Yes, that can be a liability.

If set up correctly at about 1/2 minute or a minute the chances of getting stuck in moving traffic or stopping on a road are very small. If the timer was set at 1/2 minute and their average speed from start to shutdown was 30mph (a very fast estimation) they would get as far as 440 yards, a 1/4 mile. Time yourself the next few times you start your car and drive. Probably just long enough to put the car in gear and start to move a few feet.

For an example, my wife can't even start the car and find the gear shift in less than a 1/2 minute! Pro's do it much faster but 1/4 mile isn't that far when you don't want to get caught.

Good Luck, Old Salt

I disagree because: a thief is likely to be fast and not going to hang about.
He/she could easily be in traffic from a car park or side road within 400 yards.
Also, being imobilised is not going to help the situation because the thief would
simply abandon the car, leaving it at the mercy of and trouble to the police, etc.
i.e. No help really to anyone. (I believe.)

Better I think is to have an imobiliser and/or tracker from the break-in, substantiated
by the various car manufacturers. It could message your phone, but with no additional
info. only a message that it has been stolen, is not a lot of help however prompt. (imo)

jt.

I also disagree because--- Yes, a thief is fast but certainly not fast enough to get anywhere reasonable within a 1/2 minute or a minute. At the average speed for 1/2 minute that was cited as 30 mph, a extremely high if not impossible rate, the thief has to get the car running and up to about 60 mph in order to get 440 yards. That's not very far from where it is stolen from.

Getting stuck in traffic which would cause a lot of attention, on a side road, abandoning the car or bringing the police are all things you want to happen. They draw attention to the car before it can be taken to a chop shop and either cut up into parts or put into a shipping container and on its way to the UAR, Orient or South America. Involving the police is the main purpose of all this. The inoperable car stuck in a very noticeable or obstructive location will bring the police who can then easily find out who the owner is and contact them. If they are fast they could possibly catch the thief. If you can't be readily located, a towing bill of a couple of hundred dollars is much cheaper than buying another car. Having the thief abandon the car is the overall goal

The help of all this is for you, the owner or driver of the car. It certainly makes the police's job much easier and less trouble. Low Jack and other tracking systems can easily be over ridden and become worthless. A thief doesn't want to attract attention, this system certainly brings attention to them. Help to everyone except the thief and the chop shop. (I know.)

Good Luck, Old Salt

I had a car which they vandalised - just because they could not drive it away.

The police were unable to help. Let's just hope it doesn't happen to either of us.

jt.

Possibly, but where's the proof? Let us know....

There are (sadly) complete morons/idiots around nowadays who get their kicks by damaging something belonging to someone else.....they get caught on camera in many parts of the world......they are not trying to steal anything in particular.....

Install a device to give high voltage shock fed from car battery if strangers try to start it. The owner should know how to disable it when he gets into the car.

Heart attacks?

I also faced similar problems in middle of the night at Mumbai, India. It is crowded city like N.Y. Parking cars is great job. Owners stay quite far away and enjoy their nice sleep, but others living in neighbouring apartments loose their sleep. I feel such alarms systems should be banned. Any one even if just touches the vehicle buzz goes on loudly.

There are alarms around here that can be set to silent and have a radio pager (my words) to alert the owner.

There are even versions that have a video link showing who is breaking in.....

They are quite cheap here:-

Car Radio Controlled Central Locking and remote alarm

That one is under US$50.

It even has the solenoids to add to the door locking as well if needed for a 4 door car....

The alarm can be set to silent and the remote control is also a receiver and alarm for the owner for up to 100 meters away....

I am sure that similar units are available local to the OP.

I would recommend one with an even longer range than 100 meters as walls in between can seriously reduce the effective range.....you may also want to buy a better quality than one at $50 may be.......

I thought they made it illegal for car alarms to go off for more than one minute decades ago.

I purchased a policy from State Farm, and I make the agent stay in the car when I am

not there. The agents, based on the grousing I get from them, would not make a good neighbor.

Like the old saying "familiarity breeds contempt", or at least leads to a lack of interest. Also, most people will not get involved with a crime happening to a stranger (or sometimes an acquaintance) because of the risk of being assaulted/injured or killed by the thieves/punks, arrested by the cops for assaulting same, or sued by the thieves/punks lawyer for damaging/interfering with the thieves/punks rights. Where are the lethal force fields when you need them.

Many years ago, I worked in the parking lots of a major airport. Jets taking off cause a heck of alot of racket (especially F-15s), and all these people who set their car alarms when they took off would come back to dead batteries. That is one scenario where I would NOT recommend activating your car alarm. We would just ignore them anyway, and give them a jump when they got back.

Bill

Cats?