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How to install a Kill switch?

12499 Views 9 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  Blackcat, 
M
I would like to install a kill switch in my TDI, has anyone done this? if so,please chime on,,, where is live wire coming from the fuse box going to fuel pump? what kind a switch do you guys used? and where is a good location to hide the switch in the car?. thanks for your help.
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chittychittybangbang
I haven't heard of this. Since there is no fuel pump in 1996-2003 North american cars, the fuel shutoff solenoid on the injection pump would be the best choice.

You could attach a switch to that and splice it into the IP solenoid wire. I wouldn't however. It should be pretty reliable because it's so simple, but I don't like fooling with kill switches personally. I will look at some wiring diagrams to see if there's a fuse or something else that might be easier.

The obvious choice for placement is under the dash, but I've also seen kill switches in the air vents, under the seat, in the center console/cigarette lighter. It's a bit more wiring, but in the overhead lighting console is a possibility.

Edit: I would think you could also cut into the immobilizer wire going from the ignition switch to the immobilizer. There's a pickup in the ignition switch, trace the line and splice the switch between the ignition switch and immobilizer. Disabling it will activate the immobilzer so the car shuts off after 2 seconds. This is safer than fooling with the injection pump or fuel system since if it's accidentlly activated while you're driving, it won't cause an emergency situation - it'll only prevent starting the car.
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G
There are a few ways to have a kill switch but if someone wants to steal your car, they can always put it on a flatbed and drive it away.

Splicing into the immobilizer or ignition switch is the obvious choice because it won't shut off the car while you're driving. It's also the obvious location to look for a kill switch. Still, if a thief runs into difficulty, he'd rather go onto an easier theft somewhere else. Most of the time cars get broken into, it's to steal the radio or GPS or someone wants to go through the glove box.

You could also intercept the signal to the starter and run a wire through the firewall to a kill switch in the cabin. Not sure how to wire it up though.
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diesel guy 123 said:
There are a few ways to have a kill switch but if someone wants to steal your car, they can always put it on a flatbed and drive it away.


I think that some of car thieves, they don't always have a flatbed with them (probably the professional car thieves ), Most of the time they just brake your window and hot wire the ignition switch and off they go, at least that is what I read or see on T.V.,, I may be wrong on this.

The reason, I would like to do the kill switch install in my TDI, is that just in case I happen to be in a bad area and you are forced to park your car there for a little while, or any other place that you may park for long periods of times, just for a piece of mind.

Excellent suggestion from both of you, about splitting the imobilizer, but I do noteven have the slightest idea where the wires are, I have never done this in any car, so what you are suggesting is the way to go, instead of splitting the live wire at the fuel pump,,, I will wait to see if Chittybangbang could come up with anything on this, thank for your info so far.
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chittychittybangbang said:
I haven't heard of this. Since there is no fuel pump in 1996-2003 North american cars, the fuel shutoff solenoid on the injection pump would be the best choice.



Chitty, I believe that all TDI cars from 1996 to 2003 in the USA have fuel pumps,at least my 2 cars have them,,, or I may be reading your post wrong?
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chittychittybangbang
When you talk about fuel pumps in the context of kill switches, gassers typically have the kill switch on the electric fuel pump, fuel pump relay, etc. All 1996-2003 cars have a diesel injection pump but no electric fuel pump. All 2004+ cars have the "lift pump", a low pressure electric fuel pump in the tank. I think it's only about 6 psi or so. A typical gas fuel pump is about 50-80 psi.


After thinking about it some more, all 2000+ cars have a kill switch already. The immobilizer won't let the car stay running for more than 2 seconds unless you have the coded chip in the key. Since it's in the instrument panel, you can't just jump two wires. Even if you manually start the car by appying 12V to the starter, you won't get fue lsince the IP is all electronic control.

For earlier cars that don't have an immobilizer, wiring a switch to the fuel shutoff solenoid on the injection pump would probably be the easiest way but I don't like the idea of the car possibily shutting off while you're driving. Because of that, the best way is to probably wire a kill switch into the ignition. Not sure how to do that though.
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^^^ That pretty much sums it up, starting in 2000, they put immobilizers in all cars. If you don't have the right key, the car will start but it'll shut off after two seconds. You probably already have a kill switch. This is why when people swap motors, the 1998-9 is the preferred motor.
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M
I have a 99.5 german golf and a 2000 jetta, so the Jetta has the imobilizer but the golf does not, how can I tell if the golf has it or not?
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Look in the owner's manual or on the dashboard. There's an immobilizer symbol that should be on the jetta that is probably also on the golf.
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B
Yeah, it seems like fooling with the shut off solenoid would create 1 more place for the car to shut off. Since there's an immobilizer that runs off a chip in the key, this is just like a kill switch.
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