DIY: Kill Switch
 

This is for those paranoid people who want the extra security from someone stealing their car.
I know that we already have an immobilize system in place, but that won't help if someone takes your keys (like if someone breaks into your house and takes them).

Now the idea of a kill switch was not my idea, credit goes out to Vyndictive for that.
He wanted some kind of kill switch setup and I helped him figure out the best way to do it.
He had a previous vehicle stolen (actually watched it drive away) and that has left him worried that history might repeat itself.

The kill switch can be installed anywhere and you can use many different styles of switches.
I wanted a stealthy switch that is difficult to see and other people who get in the car with you won't notice you flip the switch (like if the switch was under the dash).

I decided to install it under the seat on the front trim:
Attachment 133371

Again, you can mount your kill switch anywhere.

I decided to wire the switch to the clutch's interlock switch.
This way, even if you press the clutch pedal in to start the car, it still won't work (until the switch is enabled).

Attachment 133377 Attachment 133378 Attachment 133379 Attachment 133380 Attachment 133381

Attachment 133382 Attachment 133383 Attachment 133384 Attachment 133385 Attachment 133386

Attachment 133387 Attachment 133388 Attachment 133389 Attachment 133390 Attachment 133391

Attachment 133392 Attachment 133393 Attachment 133394 Attachment 133395 Attachment 133396

Attachment 133397 Attachment 133398 Attachment 133399 Attachment 133400 Attachment 133401

Attachment 133402 Attachment 133403 Attachment 133404 Attachment 133405 Attachment 133406

After you verified everything works, reassembly in reverse order.

Very nice! There is no way that my execution of this idea would have been this complete.

It is important for people to know also that your clutch pedal is missing in the photos... because I have it.


And before this thread gets into a theft discussion, this is just another theft deterrent... if you're dealing with a pro, they'll probably catch this pretty quick... but this will really slow down your average smash and grab baddie. I know nothing makes a car unstealable, but that doesn't mean we need to make it easy.


Great DIY Jon with lots of pictures. Perfect!

Yeah... and my car feels naked without it. :)

Truthfully its still hard to find, even when you know its there.
The first few times, it took a few seconds of feeling around to find it.

All in all... this was a fun little project to occupy my afternoon.
Writing this DIY took longer than the installation itself!

plus there are a number of places to put it.. so even if you feel that's too obvious, you could put it some where else. I cant imagine too many people have this though... so if the car didnt start I dont think they'd start looking for switches.

In the US specs RX8 you have to press the clutch to start the engine?

Yeah... or just remove the switch and jump the terminals so its a permanently closed circuit.

Can you think of an alternative switch,fuse,........ inside the car were you can wire the kill switch since the EU specs rx8 dont have that clutch switch?

We threw out other ideas originally like the fuel pump, but I wanted to keep it simple.

If you want to stay within the car, first thing that comes to mind is the ignition switch for the 'start' position.

Would you like this converted to a PDF like i did Vyn's Catch Can DIY?

Nice job on this Jon. this may be next weekend's project for me.

If you want!
I actually already started converting this into a PDF DIY.
I have the file size down to 2MB, but its 30 pages.
I wanted to make it more "print friendly".
But if you're bored and want to do this for me, great!
If not, I can do it later.