Odd query but I was embarrased in the local school queue (all Mums apart from me) this afternoon to be the only person that didn't know that a tennis ball cut in half was the key to stealing the old RS 2000.
What on earth were they on about?
David
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Press half the ball against the door so that it covered the lock, give it a sharp bang with the palm of your hand, and the vacuum pressure caused the lock barrel to pop out. Allegedly.
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Thanks Ian, not that I wanted to nick one. Wrong image for an old fen cruiser like me.
Shows what you learn hanging about the mums down at the school though.
On a similar subject I'm thinking of fitting some kind of one-off anti theft device to our older Citroen diesels. So how do the "boys" steal these then? If you get the bonnet up on these cars it is very easy to piggy back both the starter and stop solenoid terminals so now you have it running. But what do they do with the steering lock, smash it off?
David
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Older IDI diesels with mechanical injection pumps are always going to be vulnerable - it's the downside of having a car that's easy to maintain.
How about fitting a hidden on-off fuel cock between the tank and the filter. It could be under the floor with an operating link into the vehicle, or it could be electrically operated. The vehicle could still be started, but wouldn't go far.
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Ian Cook wrote:
>
> Older IDI diesels with mechanical injection pumps are always
> going to be vulnerable - it's the downside of having a car
> that's easy to maintain.
>
> How about fitting a hidden on-off fuel cock between the tank
> and the filter. It could be under the floor with an operating
> link into the vehicle, or it could be electrically operated.
> The vehicle could still be started, but wouldn't go far.
How about:
Isolate the glowplug control circuit (the feed to the relay NOT
the feed to the glowplugs themselves!)
Isolate the feed to the fuel cutoff solenoid
Isolate the electric fuel lift pump (rare in an IDI I would imagine)
/John
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John
Isolating the glowplugs is not infallible - in warm weather the car will start without them.
Isolating the fuel shut off solenoid is fine, except that it's under the bonnet - so it could easily be hot-wired.
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Ian Cook wrote:
>
> John
>
> Isolating the glowplugs is not infallible - in warm weather
> the car will start without them.
Very messily!! Also useless where the engine is still warm.
> Isolating the fuel shut off solenoid is fine, except that
> it's under the bonnet - so it could easily be hot-wired.
Got to find it first! - finding an anti-dieseling solenoid
on a carburettor is one thing, doing the same thing on
a diesel pump is something else. (I haven't got a clue
what the microswitches and related wires on my Pug's
distributor pump do!)
/john
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> Isolating the fuel shut off solenoid is fine, except that
> it's under the bonnet - so it could easily be hot-wired.
A friends diesel transit van was stolen and I gave him a lift down to pick it up (the police found it in about half a hour - empty of thieves and equipment unfortunately). We were amused to discover that the engine was still running and the ignition switch had no effect on it. Opening the bonnet revealed a number of wires strung across choice parts of the engine. Presumably enough to start it and keep it running. They hadn't even attempted to hotwire the ignition. (other than to smash the steering lock).
The problem with Fords is that they are so common that the theives know them inside out.
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Another urban myth ?
During the 60's / 70's some Mercedes cars had a central locking system based on pnuematics. When you locked the drivers door, a compressor in the boot started up, (you could hear it). When pressure built up, pnuematic cylinders in each door operated the locks. It was noisy and slow.
Rumour had it that that half tennis ball pressed against the keyhole and struck smartly would generate enough pressure to activate the cylinders and open the lock. I don't know if it worked with the Merc's, I can't see how it could work with anything else.
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I was puzzled that the tennis ball vacuum could suck out a lock but have no reason to doubt Ian, particularly as he backs up the school Mums...a powerful focus group!
But now we really need to know if this is true.
David
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DJ,
Hopefully not a Ford Focus......................
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Because Gwynn that's what they've mostly got. Just a singular Focus in amongst them!
David
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I tried it once on my uncles old Mark I Escort. It took a couple of goes but it did unlock the door.
And the vacuum central locking system was used by Audi as well, upto at least 1988.
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Mark 1 escort with central locking??!!
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No central locking on the MI Escort!!
I was commenting about my Audi (1988) still using a compressor to operate the central locking as per the Mercs mentioned by Steve Paterson.
Sorry for the confusion!
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A steering lock is relatively easy to break with brute force (helps if your mate is with you) - that is why it is important to always engage the steering lock to stop the thief getting a bit of oooomph before it engages.
I would recommend a simple 3 or 4-way Thatcham Cat II immobiliser such as a Meta or Clifford (Virtual Key) - only about £100. You can immobilise 3 or 4 circuits such as starter, fuel pump, etc. I had a Meta M36T fitted to my Golf on top of a Clifford Concept 40 alarm so if the thief had got past all the circuits on the starter etc (which were double immobilised) the headlight circuit would not work. Sounds a bit cr*p but as the car was most vulnerable at night it would stand out driving past any police sitting in a cafe drinking (free) coffee and eating doughnuts.
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Yea heard that one too I dont know personaly but I have come across it as an idea more than once so probably some truth in it. As for all the secrurity ideas make sure any alarm system has a back up battery as once the twocers ( taken without owners concent) get the bonet up disconecting the battery shuts up the alarm so they can work on geting round your alarm in peace. Better still pad lock your bonnet as a freind of mine has seen a twocer shut his car alarm up in about 5 secs luckily he was watching out his window by chance.
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I've heard the tennis ball story as well, but why bother? On the older locks (and the newer ones too?) you could get in with a plastic ruler with a notch cut in it in about five seconds. I hasten to add that I know this because a mate of mine had an old Granada with a broken lock barrel after a thief tried to screwdriver it. You had to lock it with the button, then the only way in was the ruler trick - apparently it worked on every car, unlike the tennis ball. Incidentally, my old Metro was broken into this way but they couldn't get the gearstick/handbrake lock off - incompetent or what? My father uses a wooden wedge that fits neatly and invisibly under the handbrake in the engaged position - will they hang around to figure out what's wrong? Probably not.
Chris
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David,
I cannot speak from personal experience but I remember that Ford had a car theft consultant who confirmed the half tennis ball method by demonstration on a number of then current Fords. There were other "dodges" too, like hitting the Escort Wagon tailgate with a hammer, thus dislodging the complete lock cylinder internally and giving access to the lock release lever. That is why the "push-in" tail gate release button was fairly quickly changed. Anti-theft methodology development occupied an increasing amount of expensive engineering time in an effort to stay one jump ahead of the thieves. It was and, probably is still, an impossible task in the long run.
Regards,
Robert Howe
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Robert,
Some cars have an doorlock auto release safety feature. If you hit the chassis in a particular spot with a rubbere hammer(nr the fuel tank?) all the doors unlock. I think this is in case of RTA pile up's where occupants may be unconscious. Some of the Lotuses are a prime example.
Dan
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