Alarm System for a 6V Positive Ground Vehicle.

[SergioG]

Hi, can anyone recommend a good reliable alarm system for a 6V positive ground vehicle? I'd like to put an alarm in the Studie, but all the ones I keep coming across are 12V negative ground.

As always...thank you for your help!

[gordr]

I doubt there is one made; the potential market is so small. I hate car alarms; all they ever seem to do is annoy me when they false-trigger when I'm trying to sleep. Most car thieves would not even know how to start a '48 Champion, with the starter button under the clutch pedal. And the real pros, who steal cars to order, will just winch it into an enclosed trailer, wheels locked, alarm blaring, and be gone in 60 seconds.

If you feel you must have a car alarm, just get a 12 volt model, and power it with one of those portable booster packs. It should keep an alarm going in standby mode for weeks. Just don't use any of the car's switches in the alarm circuit.

I'd also recommend one of those GPS locator devices. And get an alarm with a pager function. You are motivated to prevent the theft of your own car. Some passer-by isn't, and if the thief simply says, "I'm the owner, and this alarm has been giving me fits lately", said passer-by will likely believe the thief.

[Mrs K Corbin]

Yeah, I'd be tempted to put an old cell phone in the car under the seat or something and keep it powered on, so the Keystone Kops might have a snowball's chance of catching it using the phone's GPS.... Provided that the phone is on, and the GPS is turned on.

[SergioG]

Hi Gordr, thanks you for the input...I understand your response given that you live in Trochu, Alberta, with a population of roughly 1,000 people, but when you live in a major US city like Los Angeles, Chicago or Miami-Dade where the population is in the millions of people, car theft is a big business. Sometimes these guys steal the cars simply because they can...so I'd rather install an alarm, as annoying as they might be and at least have some level of "warning" that the vehicle is being tampered with.

I had an H2 Hummer in 2004, when the Hummers first hit the market. It was stolen from my driveway at around 9AM in plain view of everyone. A large flat bed tow truck pulled up to my driveway, loaded the car and it was never to be seen again - and it had OnStar, which in my humble opinion is absolute crap. So, a noisy alarm is your best deterrent.

[warrlaw1]

Just bring your car to Trochu, Alberta and it will be safe? Gord was trying to be helpful. Get over yourself. I have a 6 volt pos ground and an Jack Russell terrorist. If you send me the wool, I'll make one for you too.

[Mike Van Veghten]

As you might know...alarms don't do much, at least here in SoCal..! People just get annoyed, no one pays attention.

Better to put in security cutouts. Like electrical cut-off switch, or switches. I used to have a friend that had seven toggle switches in the dash of his El Camino. It was like combination lock, they all had to be in the correct location for the ignition switch to work. A master cutoff is both a good safety AND a good anti-start switch...just remove the key.

Me, I've done something similar, not so obvious in the dash. There are many other ways to do the same thing.

Mike

[jclary]

Just bring your car to Trochu, Alberta and it will be safe? Gord was trying to be helpful. Get over yourself. I have a 6 volt pos ground and an Jack Russell terrorist. If you send me the wool, I'll make one for you too.

Very entertaining post! Multi-faceted too. Canadian coming to the defense of another...and an excellent assessment of the Jack Russell, even as they age, they sleep light and get bitchier (term of endearment). Very lawyer-Ly presentation, but surely would be even more entertaining if you would sing it. OH...and the wool...I wanna see that!

[SergioG]

Dave...uncalled for!!! -- I'm not a 5 year old and you're not my Father, so back off. -- What I was pointing out to Gordr is simply factual. A town with a population of 1000 residents is nothing compared to a major city with millions of residents. Crime is a huge factor as population increases, so as much as Gordr thinks that getting an alarm for a car is silly, its simply is not. Its a crime deterrent. I certainly didn't mean to be harsh to Gordr, but let there be no doubt...you're not my Father so I don't expect any lessons from you!

[SergioG]

Hi Mike. yes...I agree with what your saying. I looked at the Flaming River (http://www.flamingriver.com/batterydisconnect) series of cut off switches, which I think are rather good quality. I like the idea, but the only issue is that you have to conceal the switch in a way that no one can get to the back end. If you can get to the screw posts, you can defeat the switch with a jumper. Anything can act as a jumper (a screw driver, a wrench, etc). So, I was hoping for something that made noise. However, I haven't ruled the switch out just yet. - Thanks!

[SergioG]

My sister in law had a Jack Russel Terror...WOW! What a crazy little creature he was! Not mean, just crazy...

[sweetolbob]

Convert from 6 pos to 12 neg with a converter like this. Google around and you'll find a fair number. I used one years ago to power the radio in my AH 3000.

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Inverter-6v-Positive-Ground/dp/B004P9NX9C

Bob

[Skip Lackie]

I think Gord was trying to be helpful, as I tend to agree with his point about audible car alarms: there are so many going off (for whatever reason) in most cities, nobody pays attention to them any more. A secret switch (or standard shift) will deter most amateurs. Pros are equipped to steal cars in seconds, no matter what kind of anti-theft/deterrent equipment a vehicle may have. One can only hope to locate and recover it quickly.

[jclary]

Well...since I tried to inject a bit of humor to disarm a bit of the edginess this thread was developing, now I'll make a serious attempt. Having never had a "stand alone" aftermarket alarm, I'll have to admit, I have zero experience with how they are constructed or their wiring schematics. However, Sergio, you have awakened my curiosity.

Take for instance, radar detectors, GPS, units and other "plug-in" power supply accessories. Check the "Power-in" and "Power-out" specifications. I've seen some accessories that are only 3volts out. Some of these units have reduction circuitry built into their power supply adapters. I've seen posts where folks are running these accessories from six volt systems by making sure to bring the polarity leads correctly into the unit's power supply and they work fine. Are there any aftermarket alarm systems using a reduced voltage power supply that could be adapted to accept a six volt input? Just asking.

[TWChamp]

Here is a 6 volt to 12 volt converter I bought for less than $18 delivered. It claims to be good for up to 10 amps, but I only tested mine for 3 amps, as I bought it to run 12 volt LED lights for turn signals on my Model A.
BTW, I'd also be interested in a good 6 volt alarm system. Thieves are everywhere. When I lived in the country near a small town I had more theft and vandalism there than any other place I lived.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/122281429216?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[8E45E]

I think Gord was trying to be helpful, as I tend to agree with his point about audible car alarms: there are so many going off (for whatever reason) in most cities, nobody pays attention to them any more. A secret switch (or standard shift) will deter most amateurs. Pros are equipped to steal cars in seconds, no matter what kind of anti-theft/deterrent equipment a vehicle may have. One can only hope to locate and recover it quickly.

In Las Vegas, nearly all the hotel parkades clearly state, 'If your car alarm goes off, it will be towed', which tells me its an annoyance thing as others have stated.

The best ounce of prevention is to keep it in a secure garage in the first place; especially a convertible.

Craig