Kill switch to the coil vs fuel pump

[llilibel03]

Thanks Dan. I must have been writing my response while you were posting yours, so I didn't see it. Your response confirms what I thought. I have wired a 4 unit apartment and parts of my house so I have a basic understanding of wiring but have never done any auto electric. This seems like a pretty easy and useful project. The vanagon is my auto maintenance classroom and I have no illusions- I'm in preschool.
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87 syncro tintop
90 gl tin top
85 westy 2.0 tiico automatic (present)

[danfromsyr]

I told you what the 4 prongs are for.

put the wire cutters down..
it's not broken. don't try to fix it.

fwiw the neutral safety switch 'interupts' or 'connects' the black +12v ignition power feed from the ignition switch while it's enroute to the coil. ..

you can add as many interrupts as you like in that wire.. but if one goes bad. then you have no joy.

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[llilibel03]

Yes. I know that. I am going to wire it to the neutral safety switch of the automatic transmission as outlined earlier in the thread. I like the idea of using an extra defrost switch to "hide in plain sight."

I am wondering about the four prongs. I can't remember if there is a dash indicator light that maybe the two little prongs are used for?

I can easily just start attaching wires and testing. I was just wondering if anyone did this and already knows which wire is which.
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87 syncro tintop
90 gl tin top
85 westy 2.0 tiico automatic (present)

[danfromsyr]

indeed that's a fog or rear defog switch..

likely a rear defog.

the 2 larger pins are interrupted by the switch.
the 2 smaller ones power and ground the little indicator light so you can find it in the dark.

edit.. and If I may add.. that if understanding the switch stymies you, that you most likely should leave the rest of the important wiring alone. it's not the place for learning, the curve can be steep.
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[Ahwahnee]

[cmayna]

Couldn't you simply hook a ohm meter up to this switch to see which two prongs cut the power?
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'90 Westy / automatic.
If I'm not working on the camper or my '50 Chebbie truck, I'm either fishing with the wife or smoking Salmon.


Craig

[llilibel03]

Thinking of doing this mod, using the neutral safety switch.

I know you have to interrupt one of the red/black wires at the shift lever. Does anyone know which of the four prongs on the back of the switch you would use?

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87 syncro tintop
90 gl tin top
85 westy 2.0 tiico automatic (present)

[cmayna]

[Aryana]

Locks are only there to keep honest people honest. It's literally child's play for a thief to take your van without having the keys.

Seriously, I could teach a 10 year old to do it it's so easy.

All of you guys have completly ignored the best solution mentioned in this thread. I think it's best we leave it that way.

[sped372]

Forgive my naivety, but what exactly is the point of all of this? Is it because the ignition switch is relatively 'easy' to bypass compared to a newer vehicle? Or are you concerned about someone stealing your keys? Parking in sketchy areas? Doesn't the steering lock offer some security against someone driving away even if they get the engine started without the keys?

Maybe I'm not as worried as I should be?
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1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

[Paulbeard]

[GusGusdasWesty]

[512dude]

[Ahwahnee]

[kourt]

I wanted to provide documentation of what I did for a starter kill switch.

What I wanted:

-something hidden in plain sight
-something that would suppress starting, but would not kill the engine once it is started

Too many other people (wife, brother) drive my van and could throw the "kill" switch accidentally while driving, thinking it was a headlight switch or something like that. That's just unsafe for my user context...

The answer is to cut the starter solenoid circuit using a defroster switch mounted in the available slot in the gauge cluster. It is helpful if you already have a Jay Brown hard start relay kit installed--this further reduces the current passing through the ignition switch. Splice the defroster switch into the red/black starter solenoid wire coming from the ignition switch, and give yourself plenty of 10ga wiring slack to run the wires up to the gauge cluster.

Now I can flip the switch on and the van won't start. Flip it off and it starts fine. When the van is running, operating the switch does nothing at all. The perfect setup for me.

For controlling the fuel pump, use a heavy switch on the ground wire and mount it someplace inconspicuous--perhaps inside the B pillar, accessible when the driver door is open.

kourt

[fxr]

[MootPoint]

OK, having read all 12 or so threads about Kill Switch installation ideas, I'm still not clear on one thing:

I have a spare rear window defogger switch that I grabbed at the U-Pull a few years back and I think it would work well as a Kill Switch (or no-start switch) in plain sight on the dash, replacing the blank below the existing fog switch. This would would break the GROUND side of the fuel pump. It sounds as if others here think this is an OK solution as well. (And yes, after posting this here I may add a second switch somewhere...d8~)

The question that everyone seems to dance around, while at the same time as offering other really good solutions, is: Does the fog switch have the carrying capacity for the direct-to-FP-ground current? Yes, I could do a switch to the relay/starter/coil etc. but that's not the route I want to go unless the fog switch is a bad idea. I didn't see an amp rating on the switch.

Have I missed the correct answer somewhere or has it not been posted. I may look at a more "complex" solution in the future, but for the moment this solution will work for me.

Thanks in advance.
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1984 Westy with tencentlife power!

[gampbell]

So here are some photos of my NSS. The wires all disappear into the floor body. What I'm thinking of doing is cutting one of the red/black wires there inside the shift console and splicing a wire to each end (10 gauge?) and running them under the carpet to an undisclosed location to the CAT switch. My passenger seat pedestal doesn't have a cutout so I'm not sure how I'd mount and wire up the switch on the side of it.

Just ordered the CAT switch today so I'll prolly start this project soon.

My questions are:

1. Does it matter which of the two red/black wires I cut?
2. Anyone know what gauge the red/black wires are?

Mahalo's

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'84 Westy 2.2L Subaru

[cmayna]

Yes, that's the CAT key. It'll MEOW each time you activate it
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'90 Westy / automatic.
If I'm not working on the camper or my '50 Chebbie truck, I'm either fishing with the wife or smoking Salmon.


Craig

[gampbell]