Remote control kill switch

I have been contemplating the best way to install a kill switch ever since I disabled the not very secure anyway Passkey setup.

The biggest issue for me is where to put the switch so that it is easy to use but very hard to find, which are pretty much contradicting locations. Easy of wiring would also be a bonus.

To do that I would need a remote controlled relay like this one.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0894H29J2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1BFYDAQL5I59&psc=1

It would be easy to wire, very hard for someone to find as they wouldn't look in the rear, and if it failed it would be easy to get to to jumper out.  Of course it could be anywhere else in the car also.

Comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

Link doesn't work, but I think I know what you're referring to.

Another option is a latching circuit with a relay. Then you just need a momentary switch to be pressed during cranking. This may be easier to find a discrete location for the switch to be pressed while cranking so a casual observer doesn't know something is up when you open the trunk before starting.

Lots of options for this kind of thing, but careful how much detail you disclose in a public forum

Fix Until Broke wrote:

Link doesn't work, but I think I know what you're referring to.

Another option is a latching circuit with a relay.  Then you just need a momentary switch to be pressed during cranking.  This may be easier to find a discrete location for the switch to be pressed while cranking so a casual observer doesn't know something is up when you open the trunk before starting.

Lots of options for this kind of thing, but careful how much detail you disclose in a public forum

I think it is fixed now, thanks.

With something like that, I'd be concerned about standby power consumption as well as overall reliability depending on how you have it wired.

If it's in series with the fuel pump and has to be continuously on for the fuel pump to run - I'd not want that risk if it fails while driving down the road.

I might have tunnel vision on the latching circuit idea, but if done that way, then this device turns on to start the car, then turns off again. If it fails while the car is running, nothing happens. It won't re-start if it fails (unless you put in a bypass), but at least it can't cause the car to shut off while driving.

Fix Until Broke wrote:

With something like that, I'd be concerned about standby power consumption as well as overall reliability depending on how you have it wired.

If it's in series with the fuel pump and has to be continuously on for the fuel pump to run - I'd not want that risk if it fails while driving down the road.

I might have tunnel vision on the latching circuit idea, but if done that way, then this device turns on to start the car, then turns off again.  If it fails while the car is running, nothing happens.  It won't re-start if it fails (unless you put in a bypass), but at least it can't cause the car to shut off while driving.

It would have to be on whenever starting or running and if it failed you would be stopped.

Yep, absolutely, and the idle consumption isn't listed in the posting. If it is like a lot of the newer electronic controls, I would expect it could be in 20-40ma range, which would probably be tolerable to me and it might even be less. It all depends on how they handle standby. It hopefully would be as low or lower than an alarm system.

Reliability is always a concern with low price import electronic stuff, also. If I did it, I would have the module in a place that could be gotten into fairly easily to be jumped out if it failed. I think a lot of the time I probably would have it jumpered as the car isn't stored outside at home. Only on higher risk park and shop or on a roadtrip would it sit out unattended for very long.

As long as the module isn't by the driver seat nobody would have a clue why it didn't start or where the switch is so would take forever to find and identify.

That unit in particular requires power to the input to work, then conducts that power to the outlet. So, for example, if wired to the fuel pump, you'd have to key on which would power the unit, press the fob to then power the fuel pump, then crank.

Again, for me, I wouldn't add something (particularly of this quality) that can fail and shut the car off unexpectedly while driving. The same component/quality implemented differently can provide the same function (not allowing the engine to start) without adding the risk of shutting down while in operation.

Fix Until Broke wrote:

That unit in particular requires power to the input to work, then conducts that power to the outlet.  So, for example, if wired to the fuel pump, you'd have to key on which would power the unit, press the fob to then power the fuel pump, then crank.

Again, for me, I wouldn't add something (particularly of this quality) that can fail and shut the car off unexpectedly while driving.  The same component/quality implemented differently can provide the same function (not allowing the engine to start) without adding the risk of shutting down while in operation.

Yes it would work that way, and that may also be an advantage when you look at parasitic when off. It would probably activate when power was on though but not running so might not work because of that.

They also make ones that have a normal switch on the wit NO/C/NC terminals on them so not needing the key on to do anything except to run the control side, and then you could wire it normally open and it would not start until the relay closed. If you wire them Normally closed when it wasn't activated it would stop the car but would always be on except when running.

About the only way would be with a alternate acting bistable relay that switches and stays there if the electronic fail until it gets a revers pulse. That would keep it running once it was running, but if it failed at startup try after having it off, it would stay there also.

I think this one would work when triggered from a remote control passthough relay but you might have to turn the controlled relay set on pulse and and might have to turn it off and then on to get it to switch. The hard part is finding a remote controlled 12v version of a lot this stuff and also have it pulse switchable to use with a bistable relay. One of the questions addresses if the it would stay on if the power failed. As long as the control and output power come from different sources you would likely be good.

https://www.amazon.com/HiLetgo-Single-Bistable-Self-Locking-Module/dp/B01HHM5M4M/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3BBYZWT82V4EJ&keywords=alternate+acting+relay+switch&qid=1676830448&s=industrial&sprefix=alternate+acting+relay+switch%2Cindustrial%2C154&sr=1-3

I recently bought the below on ebay. I’m sure I could have made one myself but… hours in the day… I like it because there is no concern about batteries, complexity or relying on Chinese quality control.
I installed it in my 97 OBS GMC because they don’t even have passkey. Was going to tuck it inside a spare 12v outlet but ended up finding space under the seat. Easy to flick on and off while sitting behind wheel. Once engaged, vehicle turns but won’t catch.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/171168690227?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=11ROWwtLRJq&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=6ZNwoQTRT7m&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Just caught this thread. Way back on my 69 buick sport wagon, I put a toggle switch discretely in the top of the grill where I could hit it as I walked around to the door. It was in the circuit for the electric fuel pump I put in when the original pump failed. Not visible unless you really looked for it, but easy to turn on or off with a casual hand drag while coming or going.

45 bucks for a mini toggle switch and a hunk of wire? The specialized instructions are what you must be paying for? For street cars a manual transmission is the best way to scare away young hoodlum car thieves, a lot of older ones too. Big and manly men turn into little scared girls when they see a clutch pedal.

I have a quick disconnect steering wheel that I can take with me. You could put a good quality switch on the neutral/park safety switch circuit. Hiding it is a decision you must make, and never tell anyone except a future owner.

As Fred said, hiding a switch is choice, but it is also hard to find a spot where it is hard to find and also where you can flip it without it being obvious.

I used a remote control relay with a small key fob that I put on the key chain and then hid the relay in a spot the would be very hard to get to any reasonable amount of time. Even with the solid state relay I used with it the cost was still less than the switch and cable shown, IIRC, and install was only a couple of hours including an indicator LED on the dash that was left over from a dead security system that was in it when I bought the car.