discomikey Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 as you all probably know from recent posts there has been a lot of dodgy incidents in the last week or so and my mates land rover being stolen aswell as mine being broken into has got me seriously thinking about a decent alarm system. ive heard a lot of very good reports of clifford alarm systems and im leaning towards them. which alarm should i be looking at. ideally id have their top alarm with tilt sensors and the full works, but its over £500 and thats a bit steep. http://www.motorguarduk.co.uk/products.asp?id=42&gclid=CPPOg8L8kK4CFecmtAodFDYofw heres the ones im looking at. although i think i will buy direct from clifford as its probably going to be a bit cheaper than having a middle man. what do you suggest and would you suggest an alternative. the good thing about Clifford alams is a lot of the smaller criminals will see the name and steer clear of a clifford system. but obviously not all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
task Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I haven't personally used a clifford system, my dads RRC has a clifford immobiliser fitted though. I've always gone with the TOAD systems and never had an issue with them, but that has been on Range Rovers. If this is to fit in Brian then what you require for an alarm system are going to be very different from their normal market. £500 can buy you a lot of other ways to secure a Landy that, IMHO, would be far more effective. Ideally you want door/bonnet trigger, tilt, ultrasonic and battery monitor but not all the central locking / Cat1 Immobiliser / total closure stuff these high end systems tend to offer. Just my opinion of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I'm not sure I would want to advertise make of alarm that is fitted. When I spoke to a fitter he said Toad and Clifford used different types of sensors to cover the the interior space, each had their advantages and disadvantages. Point being if they know what is fitted it's easier for them to know how to avoid triggering it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 How many people actually stop and look these days if car alarm goes off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Not many but in the case of the last attack against Brian it would have woke DiscoMikey up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 For me any cheap alarm will do. I don't bother with any of the lighting circuits. Just the alarm and the motion sensor. No stickers, no warning lights..... I keep thinking of fitting my next alarm inside...Think of the headache the "thing" entering illegally could get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoSS Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I think that an 'alarm' only serves one purpose - that you yourself hear it. As someone above said, nobody pays any attention to other peoples alarms. To that end, i have used several with pagers, depending on the range, you could get an alarm warning - in bed, at work, etc even if out of earshot. But IMO the main point of an alarm is to have an immobilizer. If you fit it well enough and into more than one circuit, then the only way your landy will disappear is on a low-loader or lift bar truck. To that end i think that a custom install, if done well (i.e immob wires well hidden in looms) so that the thief cant easily see and bypass it can be quite effective. I have always bought ebay alarms (50-100 quid) and never had a problem, but i've also never had an attempted theft either. Also be creative. One thing i have done before is make an immobilizer from a single relay & switch (can be fitted in addition to alarm/immob) hide the switch somewhere, and after turning on the ignition you need to press the switch once to latch the relay on. My area is not too bad, but i would also fit a mechanical system if i lived somewhere dodgy with a high theft rate. (Interested to see Si's gearbox product) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reggie Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 This is something that I often think about as I only have the standard Land Rover Alarm, be interesting to see what is recomended as it is something I'm considering. Something I always think about is when advertising all your security you might make somebody take more notice of your vehicle & think "that must be worth a bit if he has all that security on an old Land Rover". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I have one of these. I did have it fitted but South African roads broke the holding bracket http://www.amazon.co.uk/SPARKRITE-SR75H-Shock-Sensor-Alarm/dp/B003EM63A2 Now I have a spare but only one fob. I paid 44 quid for the alarm a few years ago. An extra fob was £18.... What I'm wondering, all you electronic mineded people, could the siren from the old alarm be made to go off when the alarm sounds. I'd put the siren inside....I don't think anybody could stand that noise... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I would say that spending £500 on an alarm is, well, alarming. It mint make you sleep easier, but is not likely to make much difference to whether it's stolen. Go for a cheap alarm that they are less likely to know how to defeat - better still if you wire it & fit it yourself. Spend a bit of what you save on a tracker - just a £50 one. Mine can be set to phone me when the ignition live goes live and when it goes outside a perimeter - then I can track it via text messages. It sends back links to google maps. I'm really impressed with the tracker. It's model number is TLT-2H and is described as a motorcycle tracker. It also has an output you can switch on & off via text message - ideal for the rotating knives etc! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete3000 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I wouldn't bother with anything that makes loads of noise, it won't win any friends. I would go down the immobiliser route. Custom fitted ones are the hardest to get around because every design is different. That being said there are only so many way to immobilise, but hundreds of combinations on a theme. I naively lashed out on a clifford concept 50 back in the day, as I had spent a fair bit on stereo gear in my youf. The car spent more time back at the intallers being diagnosed for faulty microwave sensors and dodgy door switch/interior light activations than i had it on the road for in the first year. Still at least whilst it was in their lockup, my stereo gear couldn't get nicked I finally saw the back of the alarm when I had to have it towed out of the b'ham queensway tunnels as the immobiliser had cut in. Just had it wired out and used the alarm for opening the doors after that. Got shot of all the stereo gear for next to nothing as I couldn't be bothered with loud music in my old mans cars I had after that Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Trouble is, immobilising an engine like the Tdi is incredibly difficult to achieve effectively. All the crims have to do is run a crocodile clip from the starter terminal to the fuel solenoid, and then bridge out the solenoid to start it. Would take a few minutes and make no noise other than the engine starting. A battery cut-out switch would prevent this, but only for as long as it took them to work out one was in place. At which point it's a case of opening the door (we all know how secure they are) and either turning the cut-off switch key, or opening the battery box to run their temporary lives from there! If someone can come up with an effective way of immobilising a Tdi engine I'd be very interested. I guess some kind of fuel cut-off solenoid in the line would be one way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete3000 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 or a way to stop access to the stop solenoid and starter motor, thinking of a HD covering plate with a waterproofed immobiliser built in and attached to pump housing with security bolts etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Timing ..... is there a way to alter the timing .... quickly but easily reversible, oh and without trashing the engine? Probabably a dead end but ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve King Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Well in my experience Sparkrite alarms are not the most reliable!!! Multiple level security is the only way and do not publish details on an open forum! Certainly people do not generally take much notice of a car alarm, but a loud alarm sounder inside a vehicle is good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToyRoverlander Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 You could also have an electrically, or manually, operated valve in the fuel line... It might run for a little while, and then die.... How frustrating would that be for a thieve as the thing conks out after a few yards... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landy-Novice Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Timing ..... is there a way to alter the timing .... quickly but easily reversible, oh and without trashing the engine? Probabably a dead end but ..... what about heavily retarding the engine? so it has no power? an alarm doesn't have to £500, just as long as it sounds when a scrote is about is fine surly? would you have to install a bonnet lock, so they cant pop the hood and cut the wires?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Well in my experience Sparkrite alarms are not the most reliable!!! Multiple level security is the only way and do not publish details on an open forum! Certainly people do not generally take much notice of a car alarm, but a loud alarm sounder inside a vehicle is good idea. What do you mean by reliable ? Mine worked for over ten years, Does that make it unrelaible ? I have one of those sticks that go over the steering wheel. Then I have ???? and ???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve King Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Well, my Dad's one lasted a year or so and I think mine lasted about 18 months! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Well would you believe. The old ten year old Sparkrite alarm that stopped working in Namibia last year...Well I found it under the headlight held in place by the wires. The bracket and the case was broken. I threw it in to the workshop and left it. However there's two fobs for that one. So I've put the wires back in and it works. So, Velcro in a rear corner. Find the other wiring for it and give it a try. I'll set it up on max.....That'll deafen the buggas...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Not only do I have the alarm and the wiring..I now have the instructions...Yep. Bought 31-01-03..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Depending why you're fitting the alarm (probably not relevant in disocmikey's case), check with your insurer whether they will take into consideration a self-fitted alarm. I had a professionally fitted toad system on my first Range Rover, purely because my insurer when I bought it wouldn't cover it without a Thatcham approved alarm/immobiliser and the paperwork to prove it was done by an approved fitter (it was cheaper than changing my insurer before completing that years no-claims). Others will only offer a discount if an aftermarket alarm is fitted by an approved dealer. If your insurer isn't insisting it's done 'professionally' you'll do a much better job of it yourself - alarm fitters are mostly a bunch of cowboys. My £400 system was fitted in an obvious and easily accessible place with the aid of scotch blocks... After the dash came out to replace the heater matrix it went back properly wired where no evil scrote was going to get at it without a lot of time on their hands! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UdderlyOffroad Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I'm afraid my inner pikey doesn't see the point of expensive alarms, especially when as has been mentioned 1) alarm fitters vary wildly in quality 2) an immobilised Tdi is particularly easy to bypass, given the correct know-how. However given that in the UK we're not allowed some of the more, uhhhm, South African1 security measures, we need to take precautions. The point I'm meandering towards is that my plan is to fit one of these. The installation manual (here, PDF) gives a few clues as to where you could hide the various bits and wire it in to the ignition/fuel stop circuit. There should be plenty of places to hide the actual alarm itself in Brian (or indeed any LR), and you could make the wiring hard to identify by making it look 'standard'. Ok it won't resist professional attack for long, but that, combined with a PIR light/camera combo and some other physical security (pedalbox, steering lock) should be an affordable arsenal. It won't resist Mr P Ikey and a flatbed truck, but nothing much will. As a bonus, the kit I'm talking about includes remote engine start (which will be wired to the eventual webasto/eberspacher) as well as a central door locking kit. I've checked with Hawk and the unit will power and additional door lock motor for the rear door too... 1 = You know, the ones where the thief is immobilised, not the car.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Well alarm fitted inside and it works today...We can hear the alarm inside the house....It isn't half loud and noisey when your inside the car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8 Freak Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 I like the idea of something extremely loud inside the car... What is out there that is small enough to secure, hide the unit / wiring and loud enough to make your ears bleed? If they can't hit it and disable it, how long before they have to get out and move away? Any suggestions welcome:) Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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