Thinking about removing the cheap Clifford alarm

Cliffords were responsible for a huge number of electrical problems on the cars.
System was bad.
Installation was usually worse.

Many installers were in a competition for "Crimp connector per linear foot award".

 

A little red LED is all you need. Wire it so it comes on automatically when you turn off the key. Go to Radio Shack and buy one that blinks.

 

My car (348) has a Clifford alarm- but I have no idea how the damn thing works. Does anyone have any tips? For now my son thinks the large LED on the console is the ejector seat button.....

 

Really the only info you need is an estimate on removing it. What you don't want is to have the the car fail to start because the ignition kill switch won't behave as described on the box it came in. Just get rid of it before it leaves you stranded and buy the little blinky LED to deter the average 17 year old amature stereo thief.

 

The alarm you show was an avital champion. It was a decent alarm for its time(Its over ten years old) but thats not saying much. As with anything technology has greatly improved the performance and reliability of car alarms. However, there is still garbage out there, and even the best security system can be unreliable and useless if installed improperly. Back before clifford was bought out by dei, the shop I worked at was tracking a disgusting 75% fail rate on there alarms. There imobilizers went through a 95% fail rate, leaving the owner stranded having to have the car towed to have the piece removed. Once bought out, the performance didnt get much better. I think that this has caused alot of people to discount the benefits of having a good, properly installed alarm.

Yes, the blinking red light is your first and best line of defense, but its not that hard for anyone to figure out that thats all it is, when not backed by an actuall alarm. Lojack is good for tracking your car once it is stolen, but not for PREVENTING the theft in the first place.

Layered security is your best bet. A good alarm and some type of passive anti theft is going to be your best bet. The old saying is true, If someone wants it bad enough, they will get it. You just have to make yours harder to get then someone elses.(A lousy way to have to think about it but its true.)

And I can give you numerous real world instances of peoples cars that have been saved by having an alarm.

 

The best anti-theft device is to put a strategically hidden on/off switch between your ignition switch and your engine.

 

I had a Clifford in my old Mondial, and it caused all kinds of havoc with the electrical system. I took the car to a local alarm shop and had them remove it and patch the electicals back together. Removing the alarm system eliminated a major part of the electrical problems. Fixing the ground cable, removing the stock battery switch and putting in a new battery eliminated most of the rest, except a couple of connector problems with the fuse box.

 

My 328 had some kind of ancient "locating" alarm, complete w/ it's own battery and antenna. It took us nearly 3 hours to get it all out. Since its removal, I've had no more dead battery issues (it used to drain the battery if I let the car sit more than 2 weeks) and the fuse panel behind the dash almost looks neat. Insurance is the only system I need. I still have an LED in my center console, but it's wired to nothing.

 

That is the BEST solution case closed. If you want to get really really fancy, put the super cheap blinking LED in there too.

The other thing I do with all my cars is leave the doors unlocked. I NEVER lock them. Haven't locked them in 20 years. There is nothing visible in my 2 Sciroccos, MG, Alfa Romeo or Ferrari that anyone would want (they all have old Blaupunkt cassette radios - the CD players are hidden in the trunks and pipe thru the antenna on a FM station) I would much rather someone not tear something up getting in just to leave it all alone anyway. And even if there is someone out there that just HAS to have that tape deck, at least I don't have to pay for a new window or conv. top also. 2 years ago this finally paid off. My next door neighbor and I were hit one night by a couple of stereo, etc. theives. He had a broken T-top (MR-2) and a broken window (Camero) plus missing stereos and busted dashes. I had two doors that were left open. That was it. No damage (because they were unlocked) and nothing torn up or missing.

 

Door locks on a ragtop are a really bad idea.

 

Best advice I have seen! I did exactly this about 7 years ago for a Honda Accord I had....blinking red LED and a "normally closed" relay...that when energized by 12 volts when the ignition is "on" would turn it off. Took me about 30 minutes to wire up, and I drilled a tiny hole for the LED in a blank spot where a fog light switch would have gone. Worked great, and never had a break-in during the 6 years I had the car. Never had a worn battery or false alarms either!!

 

I agree. That can easily be a $16,000 convertible top that is "protecting" a $300 window and $200 CD player.

Keep the top down as much as possible; keep the car unlocked.

Keep your insurance paid up.

 

Agreed. It seems counter-intuitive at first, but makes sense when you think about it. Don’t keep anything valuable in the car, don’t leave anything visible that might attract attention (I once left a shirt lying on the seat and had the car broken into so they could see if there was anything being hidden under the shirt), and don’t lock the doors.