Alarms - and fixing thieving mess

[ibriggsy]

Hi guys,

Over the weekend I had some theiving scum break into my car manage to hotwire it however fortunately they failed to get the steering lock off. I feel quite lucky to still have it to be honest, i think they must have been disturbed as they left bits and bobs in the car such as earrings and phone headphones etc.

Two questions really the wiring and relays are all buggered up but i think i should be able to work out where that all goes.

1.) The Steering lock/Ignition barrel - the barrel seems to be buggered but i think the lock is ok - do i need to take the lock off the car to replace the barrel? (I will make sure i permanently disable the engine before doing this)

2.) What are peoples suggestions for alarms/immobilisers or other methods to stop it happening again?

Cheers,
Ian

PS Is anyone selling either a full lockset or just a passenger door one(with key)? (think i may have the others possibly)

[abelai]

For the passengers lock you can buy just any e30 door lock and rebuild the tumbler to match your key by stripping the old tumbler and using the numbers stamped on the parts easy job.

[Brianmoooore]

Immobiliser: Secret switch connected between the fuel pump supply line behind the glovebox to earth. If they hot wire it, fuse 11 will blow, the engine will start and then stop a few seconds later.
Most "professional" immobilisers on E£0s can be bypassed in seconds!

[nottingham_fox]

i got a central locking alarm, and immobiliser (cobra) fitted for 170 quid

[Brianmoooore]

i got a central locking alarm, and immobiliser (cobra) fitted for 170 quid

And I'd get past it inside a minute!

[SHAZ325iSPORT]

lol

[dimebag_from_hell]

Lock up your cars, brianmoores about!

[wrobstar21]

Brian, can you recommend anyone to do this as it sounds a bit daunting 2 me!! Or is there anything on the zone to detail this kind of thing?

[ibriggsy]

thanks for the advice brian, I did have something like that in mind and was going to try and use that in conjunction with an alarm as I should hear it then if its outside my house and wouldnt mind putting them off if they arent very determined and im not around - I dont want them to get as far as starting it - cos more than likely that means they have screwed up my ignition barrel again.

Thats quite worrying that it is that easy to get around though, esp if you have forked out that amount of money :s

Ian

[Brianmoooore]

Allowing a potential thief to start your car before it cuts out can be a good idea! If they drive it into the middle of the road before it cuts, they're far less likely to hang around trying to work out what's happened than they would be if it was still neatly parked.
Any alarm that doesn't have its own self contained battery is also waste of space, as I usually nick E30s by popping the bonnet first, and having a pair of heavy duty wire cutters handy to cut through the battery earth lead, if necessary.
Once the battery is disconected, I can work at leisure before reconnecting it with a short jump lead.