My husband has a 1997 Nissan pickup. Car thefts in our city have risen dramatically recently. When parking in a risky area (even the YMCA!) would there be a fuse that he could remove that would prevent the car from being stolen? The fuses are clearly marked and it would be easy to remove one and put it back in. He could even carry spares in his fanny pack. Would this work? Which fuse would be best to remove? Is there any risk of damage by doing this? Biggest question: which fuse? Thanks for any input!
Thanks for the 2 guys who responded to Car Theft Prevention. I see that this was not an interesting Tag and was ignored.
Nothing would prevent it from being stolen. You have some options. You can pull the ECM fuse, which will keep the computer from working and thus the car from starting, but the computer will lose its stored driving adaptation memory and it might not run well for a while after that (while it re-learns things about the driving style, environment, engine condition, etc.)
If it’s not the same as the ECM, a better option would be the fuel pump fuse.
Another option is to pull the coil wire from under the hood. That connects the coil to the distributor and will keep the car from running.
ooh, Don’t have an owner’s manual here ( Ford dealer parts man ), but look in yours for fuses marked -possibly-; fuel, fuel pump, ignition, engine, coil or such to prevent it from running. Or maybe there’s a fuse for the starter which would even prevent it from being turned over. I’m not sure what selections you have to pick from on this truck.
Pulling the fuel pump fuse would prevent the truck from starting, but NOTHING can prevent it from being stolen. Thieves can just back a roll-back up to the truck and haul it away without ever starting it. I wouldn’t pull any fuses at all. You have insurance, don’t you?
The trouble is that newer cars are so difficult to steal that most car thieves are either doing the tow truck method or have had to become somewhat adept automotive electricians and are unlikely to be long deterred by something as simple as a pulled fuse.
If you did want to do this, I’d also vote for the fuel pump fuse for the reasons Mr.Josh was saying, but also because if the thief figures out what’s wrong and crams a screwdriver blade or something into the fuse holder you might be out a several hundred dollar ECM computer in addition to whatever other theft damage gets incurred in a joyride situation.
I’ll also suggest you should try starting the car with the fuel pump fuse out since some cars have strange things where the fuel pump can be powered from two different sources-- for example my old 88 Buick had a fuel pump fuse under the dash and a relay under the hood. The power that goes through the relay was energized only if there’s oil pressure, but when the key was turned to “start” power went though the under-dash fuse directly to the pump. So if you pulled the under dash fuse labeled “fuel pump”, the car would still start after oil pressure built up.
Install something like this. It is pretty simple and does not change the apearance of the auto interior. You will, of course, have to find the right wires and a suitable button in your vehicle.
What this guy has done is find a button to provide a ground path that does not do anything when in the start position. The key is that the defrost button causes a relay to close if the ignition is in the run position. The button is provides a signal that is ignored when the ignition is in the “start” position. With other vehicles you might be able to use a window switch, for example.
Since most car thieves are dim-bulbs, and don’t take the time to troubleshoot a vehicle that doesn’t start, removing a fuse would reduce your odds of having your truck stolen.Put a bad fuse in the Fuel Pump fuse position, and in the ECM position.
If your truck, still, gets taken, it may be some consolation that it was taken by smarter thieves, OR, by more patient thieves.
Take into consideration the harm done to the contacts in the fuse box,they need to maintain tension on the fuse,they are not made to have there fuses removed several times a day,I have repaired fuse boxes when the failure was poor contact due loss of tension.