De-thefting a '98 XJ

[Ecarlcl]

I go this weekend to pick up my stone white '98 classic, and since my '90 fell victim to theft right after I got it, I feel I should get my defenses up quickly. It has the factory keyless entry, and power locks. Ive been reading about this alarm on crutchfield that is supposed to work with the factory remote. I was wondering what everyone else is using with their factory keyless rigs.


Also, those of you with the factory CD players or factory infinity systems how do you like those? I have a clarion CD/MP3 deck that I'm pretty happy with, but I dont really want to cut into this XJ too much for stereo stuff. I see some really nice factory CD decks floating around on Ebay.

Ecarlcl

[mikeny59]

http://www.directed.com/audio/directedaudio.asp

Forget Crutchfield for alarms, they're ok for most anything else, though.

DEI is quaility, they have different lines that integrate nicely. But if you want any range at all with your atd, forget the silly infrared remote overhead and go w/rf.

[Ecarlcl]

I dont think that this remote is infared like it would be in mid 90's jeeps but I'll have to check....

[mikeny59]

I bought my '98 off the lot and I believe if it had that option they'd be some sort of sensor on the overhead console up front.

[Ecarlcl]

I'll have to look at it. Nice link. Thanks

Ecarlcl

[RichP]

Don't keep anything in it, trail stuff keep in a rubbermaid action packer and take it out when not needed. Carry your BS stuff in an atache case and take that out when you leave. LEAVE THE XJ EMPTY. Oh,I won't suggest that you hang some fish hooks under the seats...#7's with 20lbs test....or epoxy some single edge razor blades to a few golf balls and throw them under there too.. Do scotch guard everything...
Yea, you're right, I have NO moral qualms about damaging a thief as much as possible at all that violates my private property.

[JeffsJeep04]

I go this weekend to pick up my stone white '98 classic, and since my '90 fell victim to theft right after I got it, I feel I should get my defenses up quickly. It has the factory keyless entry, and power locks. Ive been reading about this alarm on crutchfield that is supposed to work with the factory remote. I was wondering what everyone else is using with their factory keyless rigs.


Also, those of you with the factory CD players or factory infinity systems how do you like those? I have a clarion CD/MP3 deck that I'm pretty happy with, but I dont really want to cut into this XJ too much for stereo stuff. I see some really nice factory CD decks floating around on Ebay.

Ecarlcl
Good call on the 98 classic, I love mine. I have the factory CD/tape player, and it sounds pretty good. It's picky about what you feed it though, if you put low bit-rate songs on a burned CD, it will sound pretty crappy. With my iPod and a tape adaptor it sounds amazing. Same for a good quality CD. Really no different then any up level stock system.

[yellowxj]

I have NO moral qualms about damaging a thief as much as possible at all that violates my private property.

After having my good cd player stolen I thought about puting about a 1' long cable on the back of the stereo securely attached to the fire wall...let them get the stereo out and when they snatch on it to yank out the wires it should snatch back...I hope...leaving blood...and what kind of thief sorts through your cd's and just takes the grateful dead cd...f'd up...

[mikeny59]

Rich, I also brainstormed your "anti-theft" measures, including un-unlockable doors and a nice dose of pepper spray/mace/tg/vaporized ammonia, etc... for 45 seconds or so.

Then I read about a #%@&bag that broke into a high school gym via falling through a skylight, and then suing the school (can't remember if he collected).

In today's wacky world, I wouldn't take the chance of a lawsuit. A miniature camera mounted inboard - the pen is mightier than the sword philosophy - is a much safer solution.

btw, '98 Classics Rule...

[acrid]

I have a 94 cherokee and i installed a red blinking light right under the stereo console, not to say i don't have an alarm, I just want them to see that before they break in, otherwise, what good is an alarm, unless they know it's there? I also have a Grant removable steering wheel, which makes it real hard to jack the vehicle, it detaches from the steering column and has a bright red cap that locks onto the column.

Here's something that I have used in a few vehicles, I find an old junker stereo, preferably a tape player, detach the face on it, glue it to a piece of trimmed to fit plexiglass, paint the back black, so it looks nice and clean, go to the store, get some self adhesive velcro and tape it onto the back of the plexiglass, and the edges of your console. It will conceal your "nice" stereo, and what thief in their right mind would steal a tape player???? seriously, I've never had anyone even try to get in to my cars, with that trick. Also, keep your JEEP clean, no backpacks, bags, whatever, in plain view, no stickers advertising your alarm, might as well put neon lights pointing at your ride that say "hey, I've got something valuable in here. Tint your windows as much as you can. build a cover for the rear with some thin plywood or plastic, cover it with matching carpet, (check your local car stereo shop), put anything you have to leave in there. Go to your local cop shop, and get a police sticker, slap it on, and good luck.

acrid.

[Ecarlcl]

my position on detachable steering wheels is theres probably some of them out there walking around with detachable steering wheels. All they have to do is jump in and put theirs on. I also heard you can break a club with a big enough combination wrench.

[azdesertrhino]

I had a 94 XJ, alarm, flashing LED. It was stolen in broad daylight from a busy parking lot and taken out and totaled. Probably took 30 seconds. I'm trying to get more info on a kill switch set up that kills the relay coil power to the auto shut off relay. Haven't found all the answers yet.

[skierbri10]

I wonder why these fags pick on the XJ. I mean we know the XJ rocks but these thieves aren't out wheeling. And really, I doubt many of us buy stuff from illreputable places. I just don't get it.

hasta

[grunt]

My wife drove a 1997 Pathfinder. She was attending graduate school in down town Cincinnait (Xavior). A bunch of cars were broken into where she parks. My wife left her purse and wallet in open view on the seats. Her car was not broken into but all around her were. The car had an alarm with a little red flashing light. That is what kept the thief away--the little red flashing light. There were easier targets. Most thiefs are lazy and will follow the path of least resistance. All you need to do is to make your car just a little bit harder to get into than the one parked next to it.

[RichP]

Far be it for me to make a derogatory comment about some one going after their masters and leaving their wallet and purse on the front seat of their vehicle but WTF was she thinking...

[grunt]

Far be it for me to make a derogatory comment about some one going after their masters and leaving their wallet and purse on the front seat of their vehicle but WTF was she thinking...

When you live your life with no mistakes please feel free to comment. Until you reach a state of perfection I suggest you shut your pie hole.

[PstrKd4BrthCntrll]

For The Club, you can cut the steering wheel and slip if off that way. Or pour liquid nitrogen in the key hole, hit it with a hammer a few times to break up the lock and slide it off. And how do i know about these methods? I saw it on the NEWS!!!!

[Timber]

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=3383472
The GC was picked partly because this is Toledo and all the news stations here drive and promote Jeeps, but also because GCs and XJs are still two of the most-often stolen vehicles in Ohio (though, oddly, they're both 1994s that are stolen most often).

[8Mud]

I walked out to my Jeep at O dark thirty and smelled battery acid, looked underneath and there was a circle of acid on the ground. Some sucker had punched a big hole in the bottom of my battery, right through the tray. I guess to disable the alarm.
Another morning at around 3 AM I heard a diesel idleing at 3 AM and found a guy trying to hook up to my XJ with a tow truck. After noticing me standing there with a shotgun he decided to leave fast. His license plate, was registered to a trash trailer, belonging to a guy, that was missing the licsense plate on his trailer.
I have my normal alarm, but put two pressure switches under the front seat cushions, a tip switch and 180 db siren, hooked up to one of those portable starting batteries (that recharges from the vehicle electrical) under the back seat. Simple hiden switch to activate it. Funny my XJ is one of the fugliest ones around, think they´d want to steal a pretty one. AM FM radio and a broken cassett player.

[acrid]

my position on detachable steering wheels is theres probably some of them out there walking around with detachable steering wheels. All they have to do is jump in and put theirs on. I also heard you can break a club with a big enough combination wrench.

lol, hehe, I suppose your right, then, with that thinking, there's someone out there with your keys, and your alarm. I remember in the 80's when garage door openers were first hitting the market, there was all this news coverage about thieves running around with your remote, driving up and down streets just waiting for a garage door to go up. It probably did happen, but what .05% of the time?

I suppose that if someone was walking around with the exact same key as mine, and had the steering wheel with them, then they'd be driving off my vehicle, but i think i got a better chance of getting hit by lightning or winning the lottery, hell, growing wings would be more like it. BTW, i tried to get a copy made in case i loose it, and i couldn't get 3 different shops to find a proper blank for it, I even had one place call their distributor and they said they couldn't get blanks for that style of key, so someone would actually have to buy the wheel, and then it would have to be the right key to fit, or else you couldn't get the cover off to put the wheel back on. Good luck with that.

In reality, if someone wants it bad enough, guess what? they're gonna get it... I know that sucks, but, isn't gonna stop me from trying to stop them.

[Littlewhitexj]

in high school there were two girls who drove taurus's (sp?) that had the same keys. kinda weird.

[YELLAHEEP]

Far be it for me to make a derogatory comment about some one going after their masters and leaving their wallet and purse on the front seat of their vehicle but WTF was she thinking...


:laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2:


Hey grunt, allow me to make the introductions...... Humor, this is grunt, grunt, this is humor. Have you met before?

Lighten up brutha! :laugh3:

[bjoehandley]

Littlewhitexj in high school there were two girls who drove taurus's (sp?) that had the same keys. kinda weird.

I remember hearing a story from a co-worker who when he worked for one of the other area Toy's "R" Us's that an employee AND manager or department head had Taurus' that were Identical right down to the keys. Didn't know different till one went out on a smoke break and took a break in the wrong car.

[MattAlpha]

I put a nice aiwa CD/MP3 receive and a Pro Series speaker system in the front doors and the rear sound bar. The system rocks and the receiver has a detachable faceplate that has a blinking red LED once the plate is removed. I've never had a problem, though everything looks stock with the exception of the missing receiver faceplate.

My wife's Grand Cherokee has all the toys and she hasn't had any problems yet. I do think the factory kill switch is a nice addee with the keyless entry. Maybe the thieves know about it? Who knows we've been lucky so far.

[acrid]

my gradfather had a 70's f150 for work, bought another 70's f150 when business picked up. He had it for 2 years, before he grabbed the wrong keys and, guess what, same keys... so, I know they're out there. I also had a friend buy a bmw and the dealer gave him the wrong key, not to say it didn't work, it did, but they called him the next week to get the key back as it was a master for a group of years for bmw.... my dad owned a MG TD and he could start it with a nickel....and no, it wasn't a broken or worn out ignition. how's that for security?

[theslacker]

I also heard you can break a club with a big enough combination wrench.

You can break the club with your foot. Open the door and stomp at the keyway. You gotta love living in Surrey, Car-Theft capital of the english speaking world.

[Double Down]

First, get a decent alarm and then get an air horn for your engine.

Attach alarm to air horn which should already be attached to engine.

Then get this stuff http://www.shattergard.com/home.html

Make it real damn hard for the suckers to get in your vehicle in the first place.

If all else fails, there is a system out there that everytime your alarms goes off for more than a set period of time, a smoke canister goes off in your car and they can't see crap.

Heck, if it was me, I would get the air horn, the alarm, and the smoke canister and a strobe light inside the car. So at least when I wake up from hearing my car going off, I can laugh at the sucker as the strobe light lights up the smoke and confuses the hell out of 'em. Heck, I may even wire the stereo to come on and play "Rosanne Bar singing the National Anthem".

Chris

[mikeny59]

i have two kill switches, UNFINDABLE, but those will go when I finally complete the Viper remote start install.

Use yer heads. Install a couple of dummy kill switches that any moronic miscreant can find, one of which will activate a Radio shack piezo pain generator. or two.or three. leave the door unlocked so no damage is done to the lock mechanism. mount then in the upper air vents.

The sirens will have a greater effect on the ocupant than the pedestrian.When as the last time you paid an iota of attenion to some guido's alarm annoying you?!?

It's kinda IMPOSSIBLE to cover your ears and manipulate a stereo out of a car.

It's late, I teach, and the kids mission in life is to drive us to the precipice of suicide. So I'm not @ 100%.

I welcome any criticism, thank you.

good nite..................

[bjoehandley]

Heck, if it was me, I would get the air horn, the alarm, and the smoke canister and a strobe light inside the car. So at least when I wake up from hearing my car going off, I can laugh at the sucker as the strobe light lights up the smoke and confuses the hell out of 'em. Heck, I may even wire the stereo to come on and play "Rosanne Bar singing the National Anthem".

Just hope they don't drag it to a Rave to use as a source of music, smoke, and light.

You'd probably find them popping an Extasy pill around here just as you go to drag them out of the car.

[theksmith]

I think a kill switch is the best thing you can do, BUT ONLY IF:

1. it is truly hidden well enough that it's not findable (or use the magnet/hidden reed switch idea, or something else clever)

2. and, it's self setting. i.e. when you turn off the car it automaticly sets the kill switch so you don't have to remember to manually do it when you exit the car (because if it's well hidden, then it's hard to get to most likely, and you just won't set it everytime.. and it only takes that one time). Search the net for a circuit that works like this, or if you really can't find one I'll sketch the way I did it out.

No as far as keeping your valuables safe... no idea what to do except not have any! But the above will keep the car in the garage unless they tow it... but if they have time to do that, then they have time to install a steering wheel, cut through any steering lock device, etc.

[xuv-this]

a bit of alarm advice- it's best used when you park as near as you can to where there are the most people moving around. at night park under a light. so pretend you're a gangsta' in a benz settin' on blingin' dubs yo. :D drive it in and park it like you're showing it off. the more people that can see it/it's driver, the more likely the sound of breaking glass or an alarm is to be noticed, the less likely a theif is going to get away. and 99% of them know that.
also, if you think you're in a place where you would feel safer by taking an extra measure, you can always spray paint or remove the relay box cover, and pull the starter and fuel relays. the theif would either have to tow it, or figure out what the hell exactly is missing, and spend over $100 in parts at a parts store, which could be traced, to him, and if he has the luck that i do in parts, he'll have to make 2 or 3 trips. :D

[JoBo]

I bought my '98 off the lot and I believe if it had that option they'd be some sort of sensor on the overhead console up front.

I recently bought a 99 sport and it has the remote. Get a build sheet and see if yours has it. Then email mark@mykeyless.com for remotes. I got two oem ones he had on a ebay auction for $27.90 shipped (buy it now). The dealer then programmed them for $27. Be aware that the sport uses different ones from the classics and ce's (more features then the sport). There are no visable signs of a remote reciever on my 99 like there was on my 96. As I recall the 99 and up is different then the 98.

JoBo

[mikeny59]

oh yeah, forgot this one:

some sort of mechanical lock that prevents the auto tranny lever from being moved, maybe 3/8"steel w/ tubing around it that prevents a hacksaw from sinking its' teeth. u-shaped.

lock/unlock mechanism would be a McGuard type socket attached to a 1/2' drive extension that is hidden deep inside bottom dash area.

One could always @#$& w/ them and leave a locked cheap money box on the passenger seat, door unlocked of course, let 'em take it and then rig it so it'll go off like a money pack thing that tellers give to miscreants that turns 'em purple. or scarred...:flame:

all in jest, of course....

Oh, to vent at the end of a school year:paperwork

[8Mud]

Somebody tried to go in the wifes 96 last night. They popped the top trim off of, the outside top of the window and pushed something through past the inside window rubber. Looks like they knew what they were doing, but didn´t succeed. Maybe somebody walked by or they just got spooked.

[wolfepack215]

I saw on Jeepforum.com a thread that some guy had wired a on/off toggle switch to his fuel power supply, flip the switch and no fuel. (Well, maybe enough to get it started and down the driveway). Also, a series of cutout switches is a good Idea, (someone mentioned) that when Wired correctly will enable the starter, fuel, whatever, but.... when manipulated wrong, would set off a pain Generator. Thats distracting as He!! to anyone trying anything in your car. Side note: a friend of mine had done this to his T-bird, only put auto lockers on his doors (limo locks). Some jerk broke in and trying to keep the dome light off, closed the door. The alarm sounded the pain generator went off. And when the cops arrived, the guy was on the floorboard covering his ears, screaming to be let out... Yes!, the disclaimer on his side windows read "forceful entry into this vehicle may cause severe pain and/or hearing loss". Yes, let the criminals pay.... immediately!!

[dmillion]

...when the cops arrived, the guy was on the floorboard covering his ears, screaming to be let out...

I know it doesn't seem right, but the fact of the matter is that in America today, something like this is an open invitation to a lawsuit that you WILL lose. Any kind of booby trap that could harm the bad guy is, unfortunately, not a good idea.

[bjoehandley]

Maybe rig it to blast elevator music instead, or would that be cruel and unusual punishment?