***Stolen Swift Autocruise Alto S555MJD

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

a good reason to disable or lock the OBD port below the steering wheel

What is the OBD port please and how to do this?
That is assuming my 20 year old van has such technicalities.
Thanks

 

[pelican]

How do the thieves sell these vehicles without a log book

 

[Two on Tour]

How do the thieves sell these vehicles without a log book

I would think that the majority are broken up for spares.
Most motorhomes are mounted on commercial vehicle chassis and tend to be low mileage where as white van man's Transit, Ducato and Boxer are likely to have been driven hard and long with high mileage, so spare parts from a low mileage motorhome makes sense to the thieving scrots

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

I had a knock on door yesterday Irish ☘ man standing there says noticed you have not used your motorhome for a few weeks do you want to sell it.I said no don’t want to sell it and there is a reason it has not moved of the Drive since we got home from Spain..he said ok can I leave you my phone number and if you decide to sell it in the future give him a ring.When he got back in his car I got his reg number and checked the alarm was on.Still had to get up in the night to check it was still on the drive

We had the same approach from similar Irish person recently.
Got it all on video on the ring doorbell, approach was I had contacted him about selling our van, which I had not done and nor had anyone else.
Didn’t open the door but spoke to him, politley but firmly, it was not for sale, through a small opened window.
As he walked away to his Black 4x4 type vehicle, emblazoned with signs advertising he buys cars,vans,caravans and motorhomes, I followed him off my drive to check our MoHo.
It was then that I noticed he only had 1 Leg, the other being a metal replacement.
This was in North Nottinghamshire at 6.15 pm on Saturday 30th May.
Absolute chancer.
As a matter of interest, are you far from any motorway access to the M1, or within easy reach of such?
Iain

 

[PeteH]

What is the OBD port please and how to do this?
That is assuming my 20 year old van has such technicalities.
Thanks

Whilst OBD was in infancy from about 1970 onward (VW I think). For most useful purposes the introduction of what became "OBD11" (OBD2) around 1994, saw the introduction of "ports" into which a diagnostic device could be connected and simple code read/interpreted. More modern vehicle use a "standard" port, but even then manufacturers have different ways of interpreting the information!.
eg; My Mercedes. is different to the Fiat Ducato!.

This: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On-board_diagnostics Gives a potted history.

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[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Which brings Mike back to his little hidden switch somewhere in the ignition circuit. Of course it won't stop them, but boy will it slow them down. This has to be the best, almost no cost, accessory on the motorhome market.

Dear Supermike and Management
Where do you get this type of switch from and how do you fit it please.
All advice greatly received.
PS I have an alarm and immobiliser fitted so can this device be fitted as well, and/or do I need this switch as well.
Thanks

 

[SuperMike]

Dear Supermike and Management
Where do you get this type of switch from and how do you fit it please.
All advice greatly received.
PS I have an alarm and immobiliser fitted so can this device be fitted as well, and/or do I need this switch as well.
Thanks

Installing a well-hidden kill switch is a way to deter potential thieves. These switches disrupt the flow of electricity on an ignition circuit or disable the fuel pump. Any of these will quickly frustrate the bad people, but two or three will render a vehicle very difficult to steal.

The easiest method is to connect a simple on/off toggle switch to the positive circuit of the fuel pump. These small switches can be hidden and secured pretty much anywhere under the seat, under the dashboard, under the bonnet you're limited only by how much work you want to do running a new wire. Or, find the wire responsible for activating the starter solenoid and install a switch as far from the ignition as possible in that circuit (you don't want the potential thief to easily find it).

Or, or, if you just want to do it the free and easy way, then possibly pull the fuel pump relay from the main fuse box as you're leaving the motorhome and put it in your pocket.

Or sumfink like that.

 

[ElddisNotElvis]

Installing a well-hidden kill switch is a way to deter potential thieves. These switches disrupt the flow of electricity on an ignition circuit or disable the fuel pump. Any of these will quickly frustrate the bad people, but two or three will render a vehicle very difficult to steal.

The easiest method is to connect a simple on/off toggle switch to the positive circuit of the fuel pump. These small switches can be hidden and secured pretty much anywhere under the seat, under the dashboard, under the bonnet you're limited only by how much work you want to do running a new wire. Or, find the wire responsible for activating the starter solenoid and install a switch as far from the ignition as possible in that circuit (you don't want the potential thief to easily find it).

Or, or, if you just want to do it the free and easy way, then possibly pull the fuel pump relay from the main fuse box as you're leaving the motorhome and put it in your pocket.

Or sumfink like that.

I was interested in one of these kill switches that I have read a lot about, yet when I phoned an auto electrician he said that it would mess up the Canbus electrical system and throw up errors on the dashboard. Mine is a Elddis Autoquest on a 2011 plate.

Do I deduce from this comment that this is something that can only be done on older vans?

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

Installing a well-hidden kill switch is a way to deter potential thieves. These switches disrupt the flow of electricity on an ignition circuit or disable the fuel pump. Any of these will quickly frustrate the bad people, but two or three will render a vehicle very difficult to steal.

The easiest method is to connect a simple on/off toggle switch to the positive circuit of the fuel pump. These small switches can be hidden and secured pretty much anywhere under the seat, under the dashboard, under the bonnet you're limited only by how much work you want to do running a new wire. Or, find the wire responsible for activating the starter solenoid and install a switch as far from the ignition as possible in that circuit (you don't want the potential thief to easily find it).

Or, or, if you just want to do it the free and easy way, then possibly pull the fuel pump relay from the main fuse box as you're leaving the motorhome and put it in your pocket.

Or sumfink like that.

Thank You Sir.
I now have a new project.
Thanks for taking the time to explain and giving me some ideas.
Iain

 

[hymerman]

I use a Disklok which is Thatcham approved to cat 5 I think.
Covers the whole of the steering wheel.
Not impossible to get off even with an angle grinder , but would be very time consuming, noisy and messy.
Cost around £100 as I recall, and very easy to fit and remove (with the key of course), store mine on a hook behind the drivers seat upright but on the floor as they are a bit bulky and heavy.

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[poppycamper]

don't over think how they stole your van, it's not keyless entry, so not a relay theft. Unlikely somebody went to the risk and expense of cloning a key whilst the van was serviced. The thieves have a good working knowledge of how the locks etc work and can legally buy a locksmith's device to read the lock code and then unlock/lock the door. This turns off most alarm systems as they are connected to the central locking. Then plug in a device to the obd port, which sees the call for the immobiliser when the chipless key is in the ignition. Clever software decodes this and replies to the system that the transponder chip is present, so starting the engine. All in it takes well under a minute to open and start the engine

Gosh when u put it like that a 70's Cortina was more secure assuming you

I use a Disklok which is Thatcham approved to cat 5 I think.
Covers the whole of the steering wheel.
Not impossible to get off even with an angle grinder , but would be very time consuming, noisy and messy.
Cost around £100 as I recall, and very easy to fit and remove (with the key of course), store mine on a hook behind the drivers seat upright but on the floor as they are a bit bulky and heavy.

I use a Disklok too but mines is one of the original bright yellow ones
Point of interest does anyone know the reason they changed from the very obvious yellow to not so obvious grey????

 

[TheBig1]

I was interested in one of these kill switches that I have read a lot about, yet when I phoned an auto electrician he said that it would mess up the Canbus electrical system and throw up errors on the dashboard. Mine is a Elddis Autoquest on a 2011 plate.

Do I deduce from this comment that this is something that can only be done on older vans?

any auto electrician that knows his/her stuff will know that interrupting the the low pressure fuel pump feed will have no negative effect on the canbus. Interrupting an ignition feed or the power to the ecu CAN be an issue with the immobiliser and the ECU

 

[Spriddler]

As posted elsewhere I've had two separate visits from surly looking people (one male, one female) in the past two weeks asking if my m/h in my drive is for sale. I later went out to check that it was fully locked and found that the Fiamma 'D' handle had been strained/forced and now doesn't return flush against the door.
A week prior to those two callers a young lad knocked to ask if he could have the old starter battery in my porch that I had put there ready to take to the dump when it reopened. The battery wasn't visible from the pavement so he was obviously sounding out any opportunity to steal. Furthermore, his mate was waiting at the pavement with a long fishing rod which didn't have a reel or any tackle on it. A police acquaintance told me that he would use the rod to poke through an open window to lift away vehicle keys...…...from the top of a fridge, on a table, or hanging on a hook by a door ........or wherever.
A couple months ago a pie key looking chap knocked to ask if he could look in my garden and shed for his lost cat.

 

[TheBig1]

Gosh when u put it like that a 70's Cortina was more secure assuming you

even more concerning is the fact that so few owners know of the security issues. You can also unlock a ducato/boxer (turning off most alarms) using a thin sharpened screwdriver in about 2 seconds if you know where to push it through the paper thin metal below the door lock. Most thefts from vans use this method

 

[PeteH]

Taken from Wikiepedia. Quote:- Th Bold is mine. It would appear that Manufacturers are complicit in allowing thieves to steal?.

There have been reports of thieves using specialist OBD reprogramming devices to enable them to steal cars without the use of a key.[31] The primary causes of this vulnerability lie in the tendency for vehicle manufacturers to extend the bus for purposes other than those for which it was designed, and the lack of authentication and authorization in the OBD specifications, which instead rely largely on security through obscurity.[32]

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[Bobandfay]

We had the same approach from similar Irish person recently.
Got it all on video on the ring doorbell, approach was I had contacted him about selling our van, which I had not done and nor had anyone else.
Didn’t open the door but spoke to him, politley but firmly, it was not for sale, through a small opened window.
As he walked away to his Black 4x4 type vehicle, emblazoned with signs advertising he buys cars,vans,caravans and motorhomes, I followed him off my drive to check our MoHo.
It was then that I noticed he only had 1 Leg, the other being a metal replacement.
This was in North Nottinghamshire at 6.15 pm on Saturday 30th May.
Absolute chancer.
As a matter of interest, are you far from any motorway access to the M1, or within easy reach of such?
Iain

We about 3 miles from J23 M1

 

[doherty]

Didn't realise it was all this easy....whatever systems the manufacturers put out there, someone will be beating it somehow.



You can get the whole kit for under £2000....and it's reusable.

 

[Two on Tour]

Didn't realise it was all this easy....whatever systems the manufacturers put out there, someone will be beating it somehow.



You can get the whole kit for under £2000....and it's reusable.

£300 on eBay, unless you go for the Chinese version from £20.

 

[gus-lopez]

As posted elsewhere I've had two separate visits from surly looking people (one male, one female) in the past two weeks asking if my m/h in my drive is for sale. I later went out to check that it was fully locked and found that the Fiamma 'D' handle had been strained/forced and now doesn't return flush against the door.
A week prior to those two callers a young lad knocked to ask if he could have the old starter battery in my porch that I had put there ready to take to the dump when it reopened. The battery wasn't visible from the pavement so he was obviously sounding out any opportunity to steal. Furthermore, his mate was waiting at the pavement with a long fishing rod which didn't have a reel or any tackle on it. A police acquaintance told me that he would use the rod to poke through an open window to lift away vehicle keys...…...from the top of a fridge, on a table, or hanging on a hook by a door ........or wherever.
A couple months ago a pie key looking chap knocked to ask if he could look in my garden and shed for his lost cat.

That's what you get for living in a 'posh' area. after all that I'd have the shotgun waiting ready.

 

[Spriddler]

That's what you get for living in a 'posh' area. after all that I'd have the shotgun waiting ready.

Well Gus, it may be a posh area but my 25yr old much-travelled m/h isn't posh going by others' 'Prides 'n Joys'. It is in exceptional condition though and I'm only its second owner. For me it's just a magic carpet and so long as it works o.k. that'll do for me.
As it happens I've been checking, servicing and recommissioning it all day in my drive and at lunchtime a pie key type chap in a beaten up crew cab truck signed 'House Clearances' stopped and asked if it was for sale.

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[BossHog]

I had a knock on door yesterday Irish ☘ man standing there says noticed you have not used your motorhome for a few weeks do you want to sell it.I said no don’t want to sell it and there is a reason it has not moved of the Drive since we got home from Spain..he said ok can I leave you my phone number and if you decide to sell it in the future give him a ring.When he got back in his car I got his reg number and checked the alarm was on.Still had to get up in the night to check it was still on the drive

Is that a reference to all (us) Irish people or just that particular person ?

.