120 Factory Alarm... Hmmm What Alarm!

[Prado44 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Prado44]

Can anyone enlighten me as to why the Prado 120 ( When New a $70K car ) , doesn't have a factory alarm?
In saying that , what are people's recommendations?
1) add to the existing central locking ( via factory remote )
2) complete new alarm system

3) any other way ,that smart and savvy PradoPoint members have done in the past?

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

There's been a huge shift away from alarms since the introduction of immobilisers. Alarms are notably a pain in the ar$, always going off un-intentionally and late at night to the point that nobody gives any notice when they go off. Most cars today are stolen by thieves that first break into your home and then steal the keys allowing them to drive away uninhibited. If you're so worried about the car being stolen then you're probably best advised to have a GPS tracker installed.

[gumboot Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close gumboot]

Very sensible advise there.

[OziOffroad Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close OziOffroad]

The 120 in Grande spec came with a factory alarm as standard. Not sure on the VX off the top of my head. GXL and GX miss out and it wasn't an option.

Mick

[kav Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close kav]

Gotta agree with bushy , I hear some butt wadds alarm go off and I want to help them steal it . I'm sick of hearing some idiot activate the alarm with a blip whoop whoop whoo whoo . My grande has the factory alarm/immobiliser . The only time it has ever gone off is when I didn't want it to , because I triggered it from the inside . When I arm it there is no noise just a blinker flash . Forget the alarm get an immobiliser .

[kevdebbi Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kevdebbi]

I've been told my 2003 Grande has an alarm. It was parked next to my bosses office the other day and for some reason it kept going off By the time he found me he reckons it had been going on and off for about 30min. It was fine when I had a look and hasn't done it again. I think he might of been making it up, as he is a Surf driver and might be jealous

[brooksy78 Member Find all posts View Profile Close brooksy78]

Any good gps trackers out there? I was thinking of a mongoose alarm that works with the existing central locking and then thought what was the point for exactly the same reasons everyone mentioned.

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

If you're with RAC or similar organisation or have a good insurer they may be able to advise on a suitable device and you should also be offered a discount on your premium. I've never researched the GPS because I don't live in a high theft risk area (touch wood). I also keep sharp pencils on my bedside table.

[OziOffroad Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close OziOffroad]

I'm also good with numbers 22, 357, 12, 9, 308, 223, 40 and keep sharp pencils on my bedside table.

We got independently targeting particle-beam phalanx. WHAP! Fry half a city with this puppy. We got tactical smart missiles, phase plasma pulse rifles, RPGs. We got sonic, electronic ball breakers! We got nukes, we got knives, sharp sticks.

Sorry...got carried away, you were playing my tune......

Mick

[RanJ Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close RanJ]

I'm on the flip side. I've been fitting alarms for 15 years now and those little bastards are smart. Bushbasher is right for the most part. Majority of vehicle thefts are through home invasions where the keys have been stolen. I'm sorry, there is no preventing this. Vehicle recovery has been made a lot easier with GPS tracking systems.

BUT

The majority of vehicle crimes are actual break ins into the vehicle itself. From what I can tell from my customer base... majority of these go unreported. The usual conversation goes something like...
Me: Why did the cops say?
Cust: Didn't bother. What can they do?
Me: Absolutely nothing if they don't know...
Cust: Yeah well, they didn't take much... just a laptop, GPS, stereo, fridge, winch and so on and so forth.

That's what you need to stop. You need to prevent and deter these thefts. Plenty of ways to do this.

Over the years I've worked with several good alarm systems. At the moment (past 8 years) I've been focusing on Viper Alarms and their array of different sensors. There are three main types of alarms/immobilizers. Alarm, upgrade alarm and remote start alarm.

• Alarm: A full system which involves the replacement of your OEM transmitter with a new one. Considered the most secure due to nothing being able to disarm the alarm except for THAT transmitter. Also available in 2way (paging) format.
  
• Upgrade Alarm: This system will allow you to retain your factory remote (perfect for vehicles with the keyless buttons built into the remote) but since the alarm itself has wires that can be pulsed to arm/disarm the system, is not the most secure. But is convenient.
  
• Remote Start Alarm: This is the same as a standard alarm but is capable of starting the vehicle for a short period of time for whatever reason. (it IS safe in manual tranmission vehicles, it CANNOT be stolen while it's running and it IS legal provided you follow your state/local laws regarding leaving your vehicle running unattended, which is usually illegal in a public place so technically your home driveway is fine)Also available in 2way (paging) format.

As for the various sensors available...

• Impact Sensor: Essentially, a small device that measures impacts on vehicles. When too sensitive a truck driving past will set this guy off. Take the time to set it right and it will never give you trouble, but when Mr Druggo comes along with his scissor and hammer to smash your lock in to take your $7 in change... he won't get far. This sensor always has a two stage alert system. Soft impacts will trigger two or three chirps from the alarm too warn away. Heavier impacts will set it into full alert.
• Tilt Sensor: When some smart cookie decides he wants everything on your car and can't be bothered taking your keys or he just wants your wheels. This guy is going to get a shock when he tries to haul it up onto a tow truck and sets off the alarm. On most cars you get two pumps of a trolley jack before it goes off.
• Glass Break Sensor: Need I say more?
• Microwave Sensor: This guy is great but like the shock sensor, if not set properly, it's going to cause trouble. It detects movement of high density objects (Like the remnants of a druggies brain). I set mine so that if someone tries to peer inside my car, they get a few chirps to let them know it's protected.
• Flashing Led: Not enough can be said for this. It really is a case of just move on... Viper themselves went one step further. You can get from them a flashing Electro-Luminescent Viper Logo about 40mm square. Nothing says back off like a $40 flashing sticker lol
• There are plenty of other sensors that are a little more unknown. My lightforce spots are protected. When my alarm no longer sees the negative input from the positive wire of the lights.. off it goes! Lift my ladders off my ute roof... off it goes. Open my tool boxes underneath my tray... off it goes. Force a window on my canopy... off it goes! My tools in my ute are my income. If I lose them, I'm screwed. Probably $10K in gear and then there is the lost income.
• GPS Tracking: Speaks for itself. Plenty of options in regards to cost out there. I personally offer my customers two options. A cheap install option but the plan can cost a bit more. Or a higher installation cost but full vehicular security control through your smartphone and lower ongoing fees. On some installations I can even offer an option to immobilize the vehicle from your phone when speed drops below 15km/h

By the way... unhook my trailer... yeah you guessed it.

I'm truly shocked at the attitude you guys have taken. Add up the amount of dollars you guys have spent on your rigs. Thousands upon thousands.. some of you in the tens of thousands yet you won't even fork out $500-700 for a decent alarm system. Incredible.

Yep, sure. From time to time, my alarms go off and nothing is wrong. Perhaps a sparrow farted overhead. But on the flipside, I've had instances where something was going on and the would be thieves had the shit scared out of them and left the car alone.

/rant

I really expected more from you guys ya know? lol

[RanJ Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close RanJ]

Imma just a leave this here.... http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...olen-80-Series

[Prado44 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Prado44]

Thanks for taking the time to write such an in depth reply, very interesting reading.

Obviously with you being in the industry you know, but I was told remote start is illegal unless it was made from factory, I.e the new Holden Commodores? But I see that I have been given the wrong information ( mind you I'm in SA , so it probably is true.. They'd probably defect a car , if you farted in the seat down here)

[*] Remote Start Alarm: This is the same as a standard alarm but is capable of starting the vehicle for a short period of time for whatever reason. (it IS safe in manual tranmission vehicles, it CANNOT be stolen while it's running and it IS legal provided you follow your state/local laws regarding leaving your vehicle running unattended, which is usually illegal in a public place so technically your home driveway is fine)Also available in 2way (paging) format.[/list]

[Prado44 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Prado44]

Imma just a leave this here.... http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...olen-80-Series

That's the very reason I started this thread hey! I read that post, and thought I'd better do something myself

[RanJ Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close RanJ]

Prado44. To the best of my knowledge (and I really do try to stay on top of this because it comes up so often) remote start is not illegal. Leaving your vehicle running whilst unattended in a place of public access (I think thats the wording used) is illegal. Mind you, when it's doing this... it's doors are locked and the alarm is armed. Also, whilst running these are the things that will immediately shut down the engine...

Hood opened
Foot on brake
Park brake released
Engine over rev

Now the laws I was refering too are for Victoria and to the best of my knowledge don't breach any Federal laws. As for individual states, I couldn't tell you. Also, if anyone else can shed some light on a differing law, please let me know as I need to stay on top of the laws. But please, if you can't quote from somewhere, can you at least tell me why it's valid.

[RanJ Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close RanJ]

If I can add in, I try to avoid upgrade alarms wherever possible. At the end of the day, all you need to do with these vehicles if installed correctly is pulse the indicator wires and the central locking unlock wire. It not that hard. I've demonstrated it in USA on a cab chassis vehicle. Using a Stanley knife, a pair of side cutters and 5m of wire. I rolled under the pick up, wrapped my wire around the starters heavy duty wire. I then popped off the side indicator and got instant access to the indicator wires. As it was a cab chassis with a half suicide door, I could remove a vent and pull out the harness going into the back door. I could then strip back the central locking wire join it too the indicator wire and then touch the bare end to the starter motor wire. This pulsed the indicator circuit and the central locking... so not only did it disarm the alarm, it also unlocked the car for me.