Marc '91 C2 Coupe

Help please, gang!

I received a very strange phone call today from somebody who would not identify himself, warning me that he had intercepted information pertaining to my car. It seems that he believes that somebody is about to perpetrate a criminal act, but would not give any further details.

I presume he meant that he feels that some lowlife has identified my car for unauthorized export!

My car is currently in winter storage in an underground garage, not very accessible to a tow truck.

Can anyone please give me some advice on how to make the car unstealable??? The battery is already disconnected (and dead anyway). I tried to remove the ingnition wires, but they seem glued to the distributor caps. Should I remove the rotors? Any thoughts/ideas would be most welcome!

Thanks.

Tom

I don't know if there is any way to truely make anything unstealable, but you could put it on jackstands and take the wheels home with you, and take anything worth removing too. Is your car especially special to except of course to you? This may make other cars more attractive. Removing the steering wheel could also make it too much trouble. Also maybe the miscreants would think someone had beaten them to it and stripped it already!

Jeff Curtis

Marc, I was going to suggest removing the wheels and placing the vehicle on jack stands, but Tom beat me to it!

As far as the ignition wires, they are quite frustrating to remove if they haven't been for awhile...just twist them in place while pulling...use the boot/connector only while twisting/pulling. I just changed mine out and they were tough to get off.

Just keep in mind, if your car has been targeted, once they discover it on jack stands, they might retaliate by tipping the car over...which is fairly easy once a car is on jack stands - just something to think about.

At least inform the owners/employees of the garage. Let then know that you have not called someone to tow your vehicle in for service, etc. and that it is to remain there until hearing from you...IN PERSON!

Hopefully this was just some jacka$$ calling with his version of a practical joke. <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

Kevin

Marc;

I would pull out your DME (brain), battery, and remove your wheels off your car if you are concerned. It is hard to prevent someone who is really determined to get it. In the late 80's I was out of town on business alot, and I had a concrete coring company cut holes in my garage slab, I then cemented chains in the floor. I would wrap the chains through my 930's suspension. The funny thing was when I sold that house the buyer actually liked the idea (it was a selling point). He had a restored convertable Chevelle. It was piece of mind.

Roygarth

Will it cause any problems if I disconnect my battery?

Thanks in advance!
Piers
1990 C4 Coupe

Ade - C4 91

Hi Marc,

What a horrible feeling, at least someone did the right thing and told you.

If practical move your car somewhere else more secure. If they want it they will find a way of taking it.

Love to know how they identified your car, are you sure it's not just a prank?

Good luck

Ade 91 C4

Christer

Piers

Disconnecting your battery will reset the 'brain' in your C4. The next time you drive it you should do so for at least 15 minutes so that the brain 'relearns' the necessary parameters. Other than that, if you have a coded stereo write down the code first because you will need to re-enter it!

How technical was that explanation....?

George Stevens

Perhaps a bit obvious this one

Why don't you move the car for a short time into alternative secure storage

A bit easier than stripping parts off it, what happens if you feel like driving it and you have to bolt on four wheels, plug in the DME, put the steering wheel back on.

If I had to all that just to have a drive, I think I would sell it!!

Marc '91 C2 Coupe

Well, here I am at 5:00 am, up and worried enough to go and check to see whether my car is still where it should be (it is!).

Thanks for all of the suggestions, guys. Jackstands are somewhat impractical for me. A friend suggested just removing 1 or 2 wheels; how does that sound? I was also told (by my mechanic) to get a kill switch installed (and I will, as soon as the good weather returns to the Great White North - mid-April or so), assuming I still have a car by then.

Unsure how to remove a steering wheel with an airbag. I do have "The Club" on my steering wheel, but I understand that this takes only 30 seconds to bypass.

Will the car run without the DME?

How do I remove it? Is it located in the fusebox?

Thanks again.

Roygarth

[quote]Originally posted by Christer:
<strong>Piers

Disconnecting your battery will reset the 'brain' in your C4. The next time you drive it you should do so for at least 15 minutes so that the brain 'relearns' the necessary parameters. Other than that, if you have a coded stereo write down the code first because you will need to re-enter it!

How technical was that
explanation....? </strong><hr></blockquote>

Brilliant answer! But............
would you recommend doing this on a regular basis? Is car safe to drive while brain is being sorted!? I ask as I have a 'DISCARNECT' battery switch on my 2CV which clamps onto negative terminal of battery, a turn of a **** disconnects the battery. Have not yet put on 964.
Thanks in advance!
Piers
1990 C4 Coupe

Christer

Piers

As far as I know there is no harm done at all. The only thing is to drive the car 'normally' for at least 10-15 mins before switching off. This is because the brain has lost all power and is in 'limp home'mode. This means that the car will not be operating at full efficiency until the brain decides that it has reacquried the necessary parameters for normal operation.

How it works and what 'limp home' mode is from a technical point of view - I have NOOOO idea... <img src="graemlins/oops.gif" border="0" alt="[oops]" />

Christer

Piers

I forgot to ask: do you need to disconnect your battery all the time? How often do you use the car?

Kevin

Marc;

The DME is your engine brain. The engine will not be able to fire off without it. It is located under your drivers seat. It is best to remove your seat to get to it. If the seat is out, take that home also. You also will have to take more than one tire off to make it a challange. What happens if you take the tire off and forget to grab the spare? There is no damage that can occur with one taking there DME out, however one must have the battery disconnected.

Christer

I think it might be possible that we are getting carried away. I mean, by the time you have removed the 4 wheels, the seats, the steering wheel and the DME you might as well just move the car itself somewhere else. Surely if you have space for all the items above then you will have space for the car itself someplace else?

Another idea: perhaps you could completely dismantle the whole car into manageable parts and use them as ornaments in your house. That way, unless the thief really knows his stuff (i.e. he can identify distributor rotor arms when they are cunningly disguised as a bodum coffee maker) he won't even know you OWN a Porsche!!

<img src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="[hiha]" />

What I mean to say is, take some sensible precautions but don't sweat it too much. I mean the car is insured right? right?

Drew_K

Hey Marc, sorry to hear about the dilemma. I was talking to a tow truck driver once who used to repo cars. He basically said that he could get to any car as long as the wheels were on it and he could get his tow truck near the car. He didn't need to 'hot wire' the car.

I think the easiest solution is to move the car, if that's practical for you.