elnido

I'll be driving to Baja next week and I was wondering if it's a smart precaution to pull a fuse to further deter vehicle theft. I may want to leave the vehicle for short periods of time. If I remember from a post I can no longer find, the EFI fuse is the one to yank. Is that true, will the truck drive even a short distance? Is there just a master "kill switch" fuse? I don't have anytime to do any mods before I leave, I was just looking for some extra insurance. I remember reading somewhere that savy thieves will carry extra fuses with them.
thanks

eric-the-red

I'm prety sure pulling the EFI fuse will prevent the truck from starting, the fuel pump won't run. But if you do that and the thief knows about it they don't need to carry extra fuses, the fuse box is full of fuses they could swap in. If they're stealing the truck they don't care too much if they have no radio, lights, wipers or whatever.

Better to pull the EFI relay, they're less likely to have a spare relay with them.

Rick F.

Pulling the EFI fuse prevents the engine from firing.

midiwall

3rd vote for the EFI fuse. The dash lights and all will come on, the truck will turn over, but it won't start.

Unhappy99

Better than a Trunk Monkey, get the new Dashboard Dobie from Honda as an antitheft device.

MTL_4runner

This is a quick an dirty too.....a little more secure, but not as easy as the fuse method.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/fuel-cut-off-switch-3rd-gen-4runners-14582/

dragr1

iTrader: (3)

I pull the EFI fuse when I'm hiking and leaving the 4Runner in remote areas-it will not start with that fuse pulled.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Get a Grant removable/lockable steering wheel. Harder to steal if they can't drive it.

PirateFins

Or even still replace the EFI fuse with a blown one. That way they won't see which one is missing and isn't as obvious as to what is wrong and why it won't start.

Yamaha+Toyota=Fun

Any good car theif carrys a pair of vice grips!

HUTCHSTACO

just dont lose the fuse

4x4Lamm

Hard to carry around a steering wheel too!

Best cheap and long term solution is a battery kill switch needing a key (Hella). A determined car thief will always get away with your rig, the other 95% will never figure it out.

Lamm

MTL_4runner

Most car thieves will only take a few minutes to try and steal the vehicle (unless you leave it in the ghetto or a place they feel comfortable taking some time). Anything you can add which makes the vehicle look difficult (steering wheel lock, flashing LED, window sticker for an alarm, remove the steering wheel, etc) will help and even better if you go the extra mile to make it difficult to start (fuel pump kill, battery kill, EFI fuse, starter kill, etc) since the thief will not sit there and diagnose why your vehicle doesn't start. At that point they either have a towtruck/flatbed ready (in which case nothing you do will work) or they'll move on to the next vehicle.

surf4runner

i vote for the secret hidden switch.
pulling a fuse entails lifting the hood=someone sees you do it=the truck must be worth stealing. same with pulling plug wires.
ive used a blinking LED as the alarm :bounce2:
where in baja are you headed?

rudestar

Old item from the 60's works well. Time delay fuse that stops engine after a minuet or two. Your truck will be found dead in traffic a mile away.

elnido

where in baja are you headed?[/QUOTE]

Heading to Mulege (halfway down, east side) Will do a few Pacific side trips from there.

PirateFins

Another good one I've used in the past on a VW GTI I had was wiring the EFI fuse inline with the Headlights / Fog lights. You had to turn both sets of light switches on to start the car. Now what thief in their right mind would want to draw attention to theirselves by turning on the lights? I had friends that took 30mins to try and start my car, when they went to borrow it, before they came back in and I asked them if they turned on the lights? lol