And its a question thatll have most of you up in arms... How can I be sure that my Cat1 alarm is well installed? Im tired of half arsed jobs done with decent kit. Whats the point of buying a decent alarm when the tosser who fits it leaves my car barely any more secure than he found it? Ive spoken to a number of installers recently and none of them will tell me which circuits theyre cutting and where. Supposedly this is because its a secret, but in practice it seems to be because cutting the supply to the fuel pump is easiest option but no one wants to admit that I can start the car with a long crocodile clip lead.....

How do you really know whether theyre doing a good job: fitting the device and connecting it to enable it to be as effective and as difficult to bypass as possible?

 

good question... I am often asked questions by customers when i am fitting an alarm. They generally want to know the where, how and why and I don't have a problem showing them or telling them. At the end of the day, they are paying me to do a job and they are entitled to know what it is that i am doing to their pride and joy.

The only way you can really tell if your alarm has been fitted properly is to take it to another installer and as him to check it out. You can bet your *** that he will go out of his way to point out any potential issues.

 

But there is fitters out there that like to put down other fitters work.

 

There are some things you can looks out for:

A good place to look: is to remove the steering column cowling and look at how its been wired round there.

Scotchlocks instead of solder joints is a no no (usually on IGN live and indicators), and see where the splices are for the immobilser; Ideally, immobilser circuits should not be wired near the steering column area (although sometimes difficult to avoid on some cars, but still it should be wired in a manner that makes it difficult to bridge).

Also rummage round behind the dash, glove box or the centre console...and make sure the control unit hasn't just been stuffed and wedged in place - it should be fixed firmly in a location which ideally needs tools to access. Back in the day I, lost count of how many systems I ripped out that were just stuffed loosely behind the glove box - whilst this doesn't strictly mean its unsecure or vunerable. Its a sign of a lazy install, where corners may have been cut for sakes of time/ease.