Unknown Anti-theft Device?
 

Hey Gang,

The previous owner of my 1994 Honda Civic DX Hatchback installed some sort of anti-theft device that disables the ignition when a secondary key isn't in place. The secondary key looks like an old-school video game cartridge crossed with a key fob. Does anybody have any idea who manufactured this device? Does anybody know how I would go about removing it? Here are a few pics...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hanoiha...n/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hanoiha...n/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hanoiha...n/photostream/

The anti-theft system works fine, but I just discovered I have a 175 milliamp draw at rest, so I'm trying to eliminate all possible electrical gremlins. I've pinpointed 75 milliamps of draw to a wiring issue with my glowshift gauges, but the only way to bring down the remaining 100 milliamps is to remove the engine compartment back up fuse.

Thanks!

Hanoihancock

It's a crappy dealer installed device. If you follow the wires, you will see where they spliced them and installed this. There is probably only one wire to the ignition. Reconnect the cut wire(s) and you should be able to remove it with no issues.

The "Back Up" fuse powers the radio, dash clock (not standard on a DX), the ECU and possibly the SRS module.

If it has a sound system with external amplifiers, make sure the amps are properly wired to shut down when the key is off.

Like the other guy said, I doubt that device does anything more than break the circuit to the ignition or the fuel pump. Doing that with an ordinary toggle switch mounted in a hidden location (commonly called a "kill switch") is actually a very effective anti-theft measure. No thief is going to sit around and crank and crank while trying to diagnose it. The sound of a car cranking but not starting attracts a lot more attention than a car alarm.

Thanks gents!
 

You guys were both right. Although it looked pretty hairy with 6 wires and a relay, it was really only one ignition wire that had been cut. I removed the ugly contraption (pictured below) and reconnected the original ignition wire.

I was hoping the anti-theft device was causing the 100 milliamp drain, but no such luck. I pulled every cabin fuse and every engine compartment fuse individually, re-checking milliamp drain each time. Oddly, the battery does okay even though it has a parasitic drain. I'll post an update if I can figure it out.

Meanwhile, I opened up a new thread to try to figure out why my Glowshift gauges have a 75 mA draw.

https://www.hondacivicforum.com/foru...96/#post770792