best way to disable car in long-term parking

[w261w261]

I'm going to have to leave my SE-i in long-term parking at JFK Airport in NYC. While I really don't like doing this, I have no choice. It will be there for a week. I have no alarm or anything, and I'm somewhat worried. I was thinking of grabbing a relay and packing it. Maybe the starter relay?

[forrest89sei]

I'm going to have to leave my SE-i in long-term parking at JFK Airport in NYC. While I really don't like doing this, I have no choice. It will be there for a week. I have no alarm or anything, and I'm somewhat worried. I was thinking of grabbing a relay and packing it. Maybe the starter relay?

Well if you can buy a car cover with a lock, but I'd pop the battery in the trunk, remove the stereo if you can, pop it where the spare tire goes, remove main relay

[Ichiban]

Pull a bunch of fuses, and take the distributer with you.

[russiankid]

Pull a bunch of fuses, and take the distributer with you.

I think the distributor would be the best idea. Just plug the hole up with a rag, then once you get back it is 5 minutes to reinstall it.

[carotman]

just mess up the firing order on the distributor. The thief will never get that far in diagnosis.

Removing the distributor is a pain and dirty

[forrest89sei]

wouldn't undoing the coil be alot less of a pain?

[MessyHonda]

yeah i would just take off the coil wire. unplug the battery....and make sure you dont leave any valuables in the car.

[w261w261]

At least I don't have to worry about it being towed. I had an Audi die on me at Newark Airport about 15 years ago, and the paperwork/hassle that allowed the tow truck to take the car out was huge.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll mess around with the electrics somehow. To the person that suggested I "take out the main relay," that might be an idea if I had left it dangling, but I didn't. I am going to fit a kill switch to the main relay circuit eventually, which I think is the best place for one.

[ghettogeddy]

i know take the bus to the airport

[Bass Man]

There is a main "Battery" fuse under the hood. You can take it out with 2 philips screws and is about the size of your key... That disables everything in the car besides the "memory" wire on the stereo, unless you are gonna take the whole unit out. That fuse runs everything in the fuse panel under the dash and hood, so if someone "hot-wires" your car with the radio wire, there shouldn't be any ignition.

Although someone smart enough could see there is a fuse gone...

Acually... If you can short that fuse out and just get another one to swap out before and after the flight, then no one would suspect that fuse being out. Those fuses are $4.... Just shorted mine out taking the alt out cuz I'm to stubborn to disconnect my battery.

[A18A]

i would take the main relay, do what carotman said (and remove the rotor in the dizzy too, lol) and take out all valuables. you could wire the fuel pump backwards too lol

[AccordB20A]

yeah i would do that. remote main relay and rotor, re affix dizzy cap put some sparkplug leads around the wrong way. take the starter wire off the solenoid and unplug the ecu under the seat and pull its fuse.

[russiankid]

yeah i would do that. remote main relay and rotor, re affix dizzy cap put some sparkplug leads around the wrong way. take the starter wire off the solenoid and unplug the ecu under the seat and pull its fuse.

That is a good idea. Just unplug the signal wire on the starter and tuck it away somewhere. They will be puzzled...:wave:

[Civic Accord Honda]

remove the engine and trans mission and place them in the trunk (Y)



























nah im shittin u lol
id remove the fuses coil dizzy steering wheel all easy as fack to remove too

[ghettogeddy]

remove the engine and trans mission and place them in the trunk (Y)



























nah im shittin u lol
id remove the fuses coil dizzy steering wheel all easy as fack to remove too

speaking of tranny just take the clutch cable off

[Demon1024]

Hopefully they would throw it in N before trying to start it then.

[A18A]

well if they really wanted it they would take it no matter what you do

[turabaka]

Park next to a Ferrari. ;)

[w261w261]

<< There is a main "Battery" fuse under the hood >>

I'm going to do this. I don't think that anyone is going to stand around trying to trouble-shoot an old Accord in the lot. I just have to slow them down at that point, which unfortunately would be after they busted in. If nothing else, I'll feel better.

[2oodoor]

place some fake vomit on the dash and in the seat, pull the fuel pump relay. When you get back off the plane and going thru JFK and get way out to your car, you are not going to want to be screwing with the car too much.

[Strahan]

Man, alot of suggestions. But the one that rings the most true:


well if they really wanted it they would take it no matter what you do

Hehe.

[evil88accordLX]

jack the car up, take off the wheels, place the wheels under the car, set the car down on the wheels, take the lug nuts and jack with you, lock the tire iron back in the trunk.

[nswst8]

Remember theft is primarily an act of instant opportunity.

So just pulling the battery fuse and leaving no valubles is the simplist idea.

And it is a 20 yo vehicle.

[2oodoor]

Remember theft is primarily an act of instant opportunity.

So just pulling the battery fuse and leaving no valubles is the simplist idea.

And it is a 20 yo vehicle.

^^ true
I actually would be more concerned about the homeless and crackheads toting off any metal object they could get off it to sell to the scrapers. You wouldn't believe what they tote off sometimes.

[bank2me]

Yea I don't think they would tamper with it too long. I'd just pull a fuse. They probably aren't gonna have any on them. :thumbup:

[Oldblueaccord]

Alot of good suggestions. Most can be bypassed pretty easily if you know the car you stealing etc. I'll just give you what I no. Pulling a coil wire ok. but you can just take another plug wire and use it as a coil wire or carry a spare. Main relay is pretty good one but its easy to jump 2 min google search and most honda's/acura are the same so carry a spare etc. Rims and cat are high dollar scrap items be hard to keep them. I like the battery in the trunk its hard to carry a spare battery and take a while replace.

I think the one thing that I always do is take my parking ticket. You see so many people leave them on the dash when they park. Thats a free out for a thief. Remember if you loose your ticket its a big pay and most dont want to pay it so they move on.

As far as long tern at JFK. Might it be cheaper to take a cab or a limo even. I know the rates have got to be over 200$ for the week. Its like 63$ here in old Knoxville. :)

[Blkblurr]

Just pull the fuel pump relay or the main relay. no one is going to have one in their pockets.

[carotman]

the starter wire is easy to bypass. If I was a thief and the car had power but dod not start, the 1st thing to do would be to open the hood ans use a jumper wire to start the car.

The main relay is also too easy to bypass. When you turn the ignition in the II position, you should hear the fuel pump prime itself and the relay click. If you can't hear that, you can just unfold the rear seat and jump the fuel pump with the cigarette lighter lead

The main fuse is also pretty easy. Once you turn the key and the car has no power, you can just open the hood so see if the battery is connected and the fuses are all there.

Removing the rotor would also be quite something :D

[Oldblueaccord]

Just pull the fuel pump relay or the main relay. no one is going to have one in their pockets.

if you boost honda/acura for a living I would, or I meant I read that in a comic book.

I vote for the rotor too I like that idea.


wp

[2oodoor]

I wonder if lug nuts is on the no carry on list, you could throw them at the pilot and hijack the... Im tired of these mutha fukin lug nuts on this mutha fukin plane.:cheers:

[DBMaster]

Call Stewie from The Family Guy. He's got a shrink ray that'll shrink it down nice and small so you can take it with you!

Honestly, I would just go quick and dirty and throw your coil wire in the trunk.

[DBMaster]

Or better yet, throw all four wheels in the trunk and leave the car on cinder blocks. Then, they'll think it's ALREADY been stripped.

[A18A]

Im tired of these mutha fukin lug nuts on this mutha fukin plane.:cheers:

:rofl:

[Dr_Snooz]

I grew up in Fresno, which was the #1 car theft capital of the US for something like 12 years running. I learned a few things about keeping your car safe when thieves are all about. There are two tricks:

One, make your car uninteresting. Keep the inside clean. No valuables or trash or really anything in plain sight. You want them to think it's a boring car with absolutely nothing inside worth breaking in for. The outside of the car should be clean, but not too clean. Don't wax it the night before you park it. If you have nice rims, swap them for stocks. Park next to a car that is more interesting/nice/expensive than yours.

Two, make your car more difficult to steal than the other cars. This thread highlights all sorts of devilish ways to make the car impossible to drive once the thief is inside, but you don't want him to get that far. A Club on your steering wheel is great discouragement. A flashing LED on your dash is also good, as are alarm stickers on your windows. A padlocking sheet steel steering collar is also quite effective. Finally, park next to a car that is less protected than yours.

In sum, if they want it bad enough, it's going away. You can only make sure there's a better opportunity somewhere else on the lot.

Good luck!

[2oodoor]

oops..... sorry didn't mean to crash the site for two hours for the fbi investigation, it was just a f'n joke

[Blkblurr]

if you boost honda/acura for a living I would, or I meant I read that in a comic book.


These cars arent worth a professional theifs time. remember, it needs to be easy to do but difficult for the average theif to get around.

[w261w261]

Bringing this thread back, because it's time to leave my car at JFK long-term parking for a week. Last time, I removed the main fuse and hid it in the trunk. This time, I found another main fuse (40amp, green). I took it apart, disabled it internally, and put it back together. The mod is invisible, so I'll substitute it for the working version when I park the car. Not a perfect solution, but hopefully enough to encourage the average scumbag to move on. I don't think in a lot like JFK, that someone wants to spend a lot of time working on a car, particularly an old one like ours.

I don't like doing this, because although I think the risk is very small, I know that if my car gets stolen, it's basically irreplaceable at anything like a reasonable cost (SE-i 5 spd, almost perfect leather, suspension mods, etc etc).

PS: last time I did leave it, at the last minute I went back for something and forgot to lock it. It was fine. Just lucky.

[lostforawhile]

put a low amperage fuse in place of the main, it will instantly blow. also pull the fuel pump fuse. and if you ever get time, get some of those security socket head screws, and use them to hold down the metal door over the fuel pump. just a little drilling and tapping is all.

[w261w261]

I don't think putting in a low amp fuse would be a good idea. If a thief was looking, I'd rather have him see a fuse that appears to be OK. The other way, he'd immediately know that the fuse was bad, and a simple wire would jump it.

As far as a thief running a jumper from the cig lighter to the fuel pump, I just don't think, these days, that someone would go to the trouble on a car that's apparently worth a few hundred bucks (what do they know?).

In the day, of course, these cars were right up there in the most stolen lists. I really should have put a system into place already using the main relay, but haven't gotten around to it. Watch me chew off my hand if something happens to it before I do.

[Dr_Snooz]

Hope you're going someplace fun.

[w261w261]

Going to visit my bro in Sarasota, but mainly to go here for the "Roar n' Soar" weekend:

http://www.fantasyofflight.com/

[johndej]

I would be more worried about my converter. a few recent stories on the news now say people are just jumping under SUV's w/ a sawzall, grabbing the cat, and rolling.

[w261w261]

Ain't nobody gonna be jumpin under my 3G, lowered and all.

[carotman]

The disabled fuse is a great idea!

[rfiks]

pick up the latest issue of HONDA TUNING theres like a 14 different ways to theif proof your honda

[evil88accordLX]

lock your battery in the trunk. car thieves only carry a couple of hand tools with them. if there is no juice to start the car they will leave. a thief is not going to stick around to try and fix the problem. car no start, time to find new car.

[lostforawhile]

lock your battery in the trunk. car thieves only carry a couple of hand tools with them. if there is no juice to start the car they will leave. a thief is not going to stick around to try and fix the problem. car no start, time to find new car.
first thing they are going to do is pop the trunk to see if something is hidden inside,when people leave their cars at airports they lock the valuables in the trunk.

[evil88accordLX]

maybe stealing valuables. a car thief doesnt have time to try to fix the problem. they just want to get in the car and get outta there.

being a car guy who knows about cars, would you bother to fix a no start if you were trying to steal a car? i would move on myself.

[A18A]

if it was a fully loaded si exclusive i would stay there till i either got it going, or strip it on the spot :D

[evil88accordLX]

and that wouldnt seem fishy to you?

[lostforawhile]

maybe stealing valuables. a car thief doesnt have time to try to fix the problem. they just want to get in the car and get outta there.

being a car guy who knows about cars, would you bother to fix a no start if you were trying to steal a car? i would move on myself.but then they would take your battery