Hello,

I have a question straight from left field that I'm hoping somebody can help with. I live in a high crime area and in previous vehicles I had installed a toggle switch in the trunk to shut off the fuel pump, whenever I'm in a risky area I would switch it off so that if somebody attempted to steal the car they would only get about 10 feet before they would have to abandon it. It saved my Grand National from a theft while we were in a restaurant having dinner and since then I like to use this lo-tech approach to a very real and current problem.

My question is... would it be possible to put a toggle switch on the fuel pump of a 2013 jaguar XKR – S and if so where can I find the wire or the wire(s) to interrupt? I would like to install the switch near the left access panel in the trunk where the battery cable is located.

Can anybody answer me with any certainty if this can be achieved?

Thank you in advance and wishing you well,

Marcel

 

easily done. But, there are a thousand ways to disable a car…. professional thieves know all of them and of what value is this if they have a hiab and a flatbed.

I think just get over it and install the MI6 vehicle theft deterrent device = BOOM!
Or move.

 

Thanks for the input.

I agree many ways to disable a vehicle however professional thieves will rarely break into a trunk to get a car started so I'm still looking for a technical reply to my question... if anybody has answers it would be much appreciated.

Marcel

 

You could start with fuse F33 (fuel pump module) in the rear seat compartment fuse box. Add a remote switch on that fuse, or somewhere along its wiring.

 

Thanks for your reply, my 2 follow up questions are...

1- I know there are multiple wires for the fuel pump, any idea what colour this wire would be?

2-Is their any chance this mod could mess with the cars electronics?Thanking you in advance, Marcel

 

Hi,
You might install a remote battery switch.
Accessing it is such a pain they would not have the time to access it... And they would need to know where to access the battery.
Easy to install and efficient.

 

Hi Tiepolo,

Thank you for your suggestion, I am not very familiar with them but I thought that installing that type of unit may cause issues with the ECU? Does it not cut off power completely to the vehicle?

Marcel

 

Get something like this to plug in where F33 is in the fuse box. Mount the switch wherever you like (extend the wires if needed):

 

I'd tell you which wires where, but I don't know that info. The fuse block is an okay idea, you could use your own parts and go from there.

 

Hard car to own in a high crime area. How hard are these cars to break into? I'd want to stop the the thief before they're sitting in the driver's seat. How effective are steering wheel locks?

 

When I'm parking the car in a risky area or situation I always use a steering wheel lock bar, however some of the more aggressive thieves have been known to cut the steering wheel, and it's for these extreme situations that I wanted something that would force them to abandon the car once they got started, I would hope they never get that far but this is a special car and I don't wanna lose it even if it needs replacing a steering wheel and a window.

Marcel

 

An exotic vert in a high crime area? I wouldn't be able to sleep. Why not get an old Lex for a daily and store the XKR-S somewhere safe? A steering wheel lock and fuel switch won't stop someone w/ a flatbed.

 

Is there an echo in here
Bad jokes aside, attach a toggle switch to any of the fused circuits, at the fuse. Any mechanic can do this for you.

But I sit firmly with CA Jag on this one.

 

Marcel, the Amazon switch is good enough. I would attach it to the fuse box behind the rear seat, let the toggle switch lay on the rear seat under a blanket.
When leaving the car your right hand could easily go under the blanket and flick it. When at home keep your keys far from the car and in a metal box, so the thieves can not pick up the key fob signal, to amplify it, and send it to the car.

 

Thank you Sony!

 

these are pretty easy to steal but skilled north american car thieves usually go for chargers and challengers. if they have the skillset to put new smart keys in they're smart enough to realize the car has a fuel pump interrupt on it

 

With any luck they're also smart enough not to sit in the car for ten minutes searching for a custom switch that could be ANYWHERE. You're not trying to outsmart theives - you can't - you're just trying to add enough noise, light, or time to the job so that it becomes too risky and they bugger off. Dumb theives will sit there all day, smart theives will see the increased risk and move on to a new target. Arguing that you shouldn't install a kill switch because someone might find it is like arguing that you shouldn't bother locking your front door because someone could pick the locks.

There is no single solution to security... good security is about adding lots of layers that add up to make the job too risky. Sensor lights, cameras, kill switches, immobilisers, locks, alarms... none of these will stop a determined theif on their own, but enough of them added together will encourage them to steal your neighbour's car instead. This is generally referred to as the "swiss cheese method" or the "cumulative act effect" - if you look at three slices of swiss cheese separately they all have lots of holes in them, but if you layer them on top of each other the number of holes that line up is way less than any one on its own. Each added layer eliminates some holes, and if you add enough layers you'll eventually have no holes left.

@MarcelC66 If you're concerned about security I'd encourage you to disregard the "It's not 100% effective so it's not worth it" attitude and go ahead with a fuel pump interrupt, but don't rely solely on it to stop everyone. Review your whole system and add lights, cameras, better locks to your garage doors, alarms, barricades, dogs, tin cans on a string, anything that will add more noise/light/time for someone trying to access your car. The most important thing you can add, which acts as the final defense, is good insurance that will pay you out properly in the event of a theft.

 

Thank you for those very positive posts, I just wanna clarify for those that really didn't get the gist of what I was trying to accomplish. When and only when I am in a risky situation, shopping malls which are high risk and restaurants as well, I use a steering lock with highly visible red paint so it can be seen from a distance outside the vehicle and as I mentioned in my initial post I've already used a toggle switch in several vehicles but initially in my trunk when I had my Grand National, many disappeared while having a quick lunch, it was it highly desired vehicle back in its day, I like locate the toggle switch in the trunk because when I'm at mall or a restaurant where there's no visibility on the parking lot, I don't mind reaching into the trunk to flip the switch. My reasoning is as follows... if the thief wants the car beyond the steering wheel lock I just want to avoid a total loss, he'll get 10 feet if and the car will stall and he will have to ditch and run. I don't like it there's a broken window and damage inside the vehicle but at least it's not a total loss. I realize that anybody can take the car with a towing or a float but that doesn't happen in broad daylight because it's way too visible and that's a whole other story as far as I'm concerned, I don't leave my car out in these high-risk areas overnight.

Just conclude they're not making any XKR-S anymore so I would like to hang onto mine at all costs.

Just to be clear I was never looking for this toggle switch to be my main antitheft deterrent but 24 hours and only a Hail Mary in a worst case situation.

I thank all of you for your input both positive and not so much, I really appreciate your time and for responding to my query. I will be sure to follow up once I've installed and tested my set up with a blurb and some phics

Be well and thanks again

Marcel

 

G'day Marcel,

A lot of suggestions there, do you know where the fuel pump relay or fuse is? If they are easily accessable pull it/them when you park the car and put it in your pocket. Easy.

I used to trip the inertia switch on my SIII XJ6 years ago but it was very easy to access unlike my X300 where it is hidden behind a panel.

Cheers,
Jeff.

 

Fuse F33, in the fuse box behind the divider between the rear seat backs. Not a place easy to get to, especially in a coupe (unless you are small, or a contortionist).