Porsche 911UK Forum

Welcome to the @Porsche911UK website. Register a free account today to become a member! Sign up is quick and easy, then you can view, participate in topics and posts across the site that covers all things Porsche.

Already registered and looking to recovery your account, select 'login in' and then the 'forget your password' option.

Alarms, immobilisers and trackers...

pierrebear

Well-known member
Joined
27 Sep 2017
Messages
387
Hi all,

I spent yesterday with Christian Sanger looking into the alarm system(s) on my car. As my car was a C16 car it was fitted with aftermarket systems designed by Hamilton & Palmer.

Surprisingly Porsche UK must have had some old systems lying around. Despite being a June 95 build date, 1 August registration the car had a PA100 (hundred, not a typo) system installed. This consists of the remote fobs (one red master, two black) and the ultrasonic sensors. The car also had an immobiliser blade on top of all that.

All of that is of course in addition to Porsche's own factory alarm system which is linked to a horn rather than a siren and is fabulously annoying and attention grabbing when triggered.

I know many of you will say, if it ain't broke don't fix it but that just didn't cut it with me...particularly as Swindon OPC managed to trigger my PA100 on reconnecting the battery post wiring loom replacement. To say that it sounded pathetic, asthmatic and wouldn't have stopped my granny (let alone a thief) is probably giving it too much credit.

Christian and I found that there were myriad alarms lurking under the seats and in the wiring under the dash. This also included separate control boxes for closure of each of the windows and the sunroof. All told we have stripped out a large bag (pic attached if you don't believe me) of crap - some 3.1 kilos in total.

The other point to note is that our cars are beautifully engineered from factory - even the cable ties have a neat and tidy home to live in. The UK spec alarms are often rather poorly shoved in anywhere that suited the fitter - and it makes a total mess of the seats etc. I am a little surprised that the aftermarket ones have stood the test of time quite as they have given the state of the electrics and how they were carved into the existing infrastructure.

Anyway, food for thought I suppose. I feel much safer knowing the car has a really robust factory alarm system in place which is in rude health and will wake the dead. I might consider getting a cheap-ish GPS tracker at some stage but I'll cross that bridge another day perhaps.

All the best,

Pierre
 

Attachments

  • e662a884_3355_4b58_a50c_fc092edaef6b_540.jpeg
    e662a884_3355_4b58_a50c_fc092edaef6b_540.jpeg
    562 KB · Views: 4,137
  • e848285d_baf2_46b8_a550_fcccac7a1ed8_110.jpeg
    e848285d_baf2_46b8_a550_fcccac7a1ed8_110.jpeg
    388.8 KB · Views: 4,137
Nice bit of weight saving there. Bet she drives a bit quicker now. :grin:

C.
 
Almost certainly!

In all seriousness, it is nice not to have all sorts of thuds underneath the seats when one is pushing on over less than ideal roads.

It's also much easier to put 'her' on a diet than me, cableguy! :lol:
 
My 944 died on me in a pay car park. It was fitted with an all singing and dancing Clifford alarm by a previous owner at great expense. I had to be towed out and the following day it self healed. It failed again later, on the drive this time, so I stripped it ending up with a similar bag of bits and fitted a simpler Sterling immobiliser. The instalation of the Clifford was shoddy and would take 5 mins to bypass, all the interrupts very easy to identify. the 993 had an HP which also stranded me so that also has a Sterling.
 
I hope you're sending it all back to Euro Car Parts with a note Saying the HP lead set was unsuitable.
 
I had a similar problem with the Hamilton Palmer alarm fitted to a 1996 993. It was draining the battery and then setting off the alarm. I ended up getting the alarm removed (like yours) and having a Cobra alarm and immobiliser installed.
 
Battery drain common on those - mine did same. It's because the back-up battery in the siren gets old and won't hold any charge, so continually drains main battery until that dies.
 
Mine got the same treatment, the original Huntley and Palmer (sic) co-existed with a Lazer system . . .it was all pure crap. And like yours Pierre, it weighed a ton . . .
Christian removed the whole caboodle and replaced it with Tore's T-Lock system.
The T-Lock is a very simple remote system that centrally locks the car and activates the original Porsche system. Very neat and modern. The red lights in the door caps come on to indicate activation.
Needless to say, I'm very happy with it. I do have a $50 Chinese Sim card tracker that may give a warning in the first hours of a theft, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
If a professional thief wants your car, there is no security system that is going to prevent him. So why bother . . .?
:bandit:
 
I've never really got the argument that "you can't stop them so why bother", Phil. I'm happy paying top dollar to protect my car.

I am assured by someone I respect that no thief is going to find my tracker quickly and apparently won't even try - they'll park it up almost immediately and see if it gets picked up by the rozzers (or in my case, Metatrak). If it's still there in 2 days, then they take it.

Admittedly this makes it "stolen recovered" I guess, but I have to hope that the deterrent of the stickers makes them not take it at all... mind you, they'll never notice one small "Cobra" sticker on my car at the moment and it's not exactly inconspicuous! I do like getting a phone call when the alarm goes off (...at Silverstone as the classic F1 cars roared past!) or being able to click my app and see where it is &/or turn it off. Plus, I can see how garages have driven it ;-) (always very sensible, fortunately!).

Each to their own!

Sorry - off thread.
 
Its a brave man that attempts to nick yours Toby . . . !
:judge:
 
Bumping this thread as the title is relevant to my 'to do' list!

Alarms, immobilisers and trackers...

What have people gone for, for each of the above, and are you happy with your choice?

Popular alarms:
(Thatcham Cat 1)
Clifford Concept 650 MKIII
Autowatch 457 RLi
Vodafone Cobra A4138HF
Sigma S30
Toad Ai606T2 (largely discontinued)

Popular trackers:
(Thatcham cat S5)
Scorpiontrack S5 VTS
Smartrack S5 VTS
Meta Trak S5 VTS
(Thatcham cat S7)
Protector Pro Global S7 ALS
SmarTrack Trident S7 ALS
Scorpiontrack S7 ALS
Meta Trak S7 ALS
Clifford Connect 6 S7 ALS

Anything else to consider? Eager to hear feedback on personal experiences... :thumbs:
 
Came here to post the same question: what's current sentiment on theft deterrent/ recovery aids? Just had my aftermarket crap removed and hesitant to add sh*t back in. But also conscious this car is a target.

Any light touch, reliable systems?
 

Attachments

  • 39861bf4_1851_46c5_8b3e_e8a31d836454_158.jpeg
    39861bf4_1851_46c5_8b3e_e8a31d836454_158.jpeg
    416.8 KB · Views: 1,569
I just pulled all the h&p garbage out of my car as well and I'm delighted to get rid of it. It was working fine but I always worried that the key fob or the immobiliser would let me down at some stage.

I now have the standard factory fitted Porsche alarm working on the analogue door key in the door lock and it works fine. I'm definitely not thinking of adding any new alarm or tracker that's for sure.

Alarm systems have caused a few problems on my cars and motorbikes over the years, but I've never had a vehicle broken into or stolen and I don't know anybody that has. Always wished they weren't fitted at all.

I'm not convinced my car is a target but then again it is a cab! To be honest I've never even bothered locking it in the 10 years I've owned it as I usually drive it with the roof down and when I park it up I just shut the door and walk away.

I do shut the roof and lock the car when it's parked in the barn but I've never had that broken into either.
 

Attachments

  • 20221023_173606_copy_1512x2016_211.jpg
    20221023_173606_copy_1512x2016_211.jpg
    889.4 KB · Views: 1,559
A993LAD said:
I now have the standard factory fitted Porsche alarm working on the analogue door key in the door lock and it works fine. I'm definitely not thinking of adding any new alarm or tracker that's for sure.
With the above in mind, the added convenience an alarm brings is remote central locking!
Oh, and for others' reference, the factory Porsche alarm uses the horn to sound, in the absence of a siren, should that matter.

Paulb33 said:
Came here to post the same question: what's current sentiment on theft deterrent/ recovery aids? Just had my aftermarket crap removed and hesitant to add sh*t back in. But also conscious this car is a target.

Any light touch, reliable systems?
Of the 7 installers I have spoken to, 4 have recommended the Clifford listed above as the 'best technology' available for our cars. In case it bothers you, it would involve having a bright blue LED on your dash, and 5-button fob, of which only 1 or 2 buttons would be useful for our cars. The Vodafone, Autowatch and Sigma are a little less 'in your face'...
 
I was driven crazy by the H&P fob palaver. Now using central locking on the key in the lock, protected by factory immobiliser and horn alarm. Much happier.

But, I do fret about the car being stolen from the garage. So having a tracker installed. Should be minimal disruption to the electronics and some peace of mind.
 

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
124,350
Messages
1,439,412
Members
48,705
Latest member
Scratch
Back
Top