“Plug and play” anti-theft kill switch

So, I absolutely love this idea- but has anybody thought about just splicing into the same ignition wires and taking it to one of your aux switches? 🤔 you can set the switches to be latching, so it should remember its last state of operation and should do the same thing as this aftermarket switch. Or you could do a combo of aux switches for even more complexity for a thief...
The latching function of the Aux switches doesn’t always work unfortunately. Allegedly Ram is working on fixing the issue.
 
So, I absolutely love this idea- but has anybody thought about just splicing into the same ignition wires and taking it to one of your aux switches? 🤔 you can set the switches to be latching, so it should remember its last state of operation and should do the same thing as this aftermarket switch. Or you could do a combo of aux switches for even more complexity for a thief...

But can the aux switches complete a circuit without the ignition being on? On my Raptor, the answer was no.
 
I didn’t explore the aux switch option because I don’t trust the Ucconnect software involved. At least compared to a simple analog switch that is totally unlikely to ever fail.

I also read somewhere on the forum that a thief did try the aux switches on their Raptor when they were attempting to steal it. I can kinda picture someone frantically pushing buttons when it doesn’t start.

But it’s a neat idea if it could be applied reliably.
 
But can the aux switches complete a circuit without the ignition being on? On my Raptor, the answer was no.
Yes, they can be set to battery-powered. But as others pointed out, they won't remember the last state, so you can't set one to 'on' all the time.

In this particular example with a kill switch wired into the start button circuit, you could replace the switch with a relay, and control the relay via an aux switch - but then you'd have to hit the aux switch EVERY TIME before pressing the start button.

You could even set the aux switch to momentary, meaning you'd have to HOLD the aux switch down while pressing the start button, to REALLY confuse someone... but after the third day, I imagine that would get pretty old.
 
So, I absolutely love this idea- but has anybody thought about just splicing into the same ignition wires and taking it to one of your aux switches? 🤔 you can set the switches to be latching, so it should remember its last state of operation and should do the same thing as this aftermarket switch. Or you could do a combo of aux switches for even more complexity for a thief...

funny I was going to do this until I installed my CompuStar alarm system. I would definitely use one of the auxiliary switches, no one would ever think that was where you return power to the starter. Unfortunately the switch that you showed in the picture is uglier will stick out and definitely would look out of place.

The cool thing about using one of the auxiliary switches is it can all be done in the fuse box and no one would ever see it, then go into your Uconnect and you could set the auxiliary switch to latching or momentary.
 
Note that only 4 pins are populated in the truck’s harness, so I de-pinned the blue and orange wires. Dunno what they do, but they ain’t there in the TRX.
@OnTheReel Could you tell us how you de-pinned the connectors? I searched on YouTube...but there's so many different kinds of connectors, I couldn't find this particular one.
 
@OnTheReel Could you tell us how you de-pinned the connectors? I searched on YouTube...but there's so many different kinds of connectors, I couldn't find this particular one.
Sorry, I don’t even remember the exact method for these connectors. I typically just try a few different de-pinning picks in a few different spots until I get them to release. If the metal pins/terminals get damaged on the way out, it’s not a big deal since the removed wires will never be re-used. Also wouldn’t hurt anything to just leave them in place.
 
Preparing to take delivery of my truck and implement this solution. I found that the TRX ignition button is part number 68453905AA and is readily available for about $30. Is there any way to look up which harness part number connects to the ignition button? It might end up being a cheaper and easier swap than the current concept. Or it might not. But I'd like to see if it's possible!
 
Preparing to take delivery of my truck and implement this solution. I found that the TRX ignition button is part number 68453905AA and is readily available for about $30. Is there any way to look up which harness part number connects to the ignition button? It might end up being a cheaper and easier swap than the current concept. Or it might not. But I'd like to see if it's possible!

It's part of the dash harness, this option will be way cheaper.
 
@DIN0ZR just gotta figure out what kind of 6 pin connector it is and probably get it for cheaper than the kit but then you'd have to build the harness.
 
You only have to remove a couple of wires to use the Fortin harness. Some of the sellers on Ebay even have a "or best offer". I got mine for $63.00. You might be able to save a little $$$ but what is your time worth? Plus, this thread has step by step instructions on how to do it. I'm going to put my cut off switch in a different location but the "plug and play" instructions make it super easy.
 
So if I thief tries to use the two popular methods of stealing a TRX, and this switch is in the off position, what happens?
 
Ordered all the components to construct this harness. Also ordered another TRX ignition button. I am going to see if I can somehow affix the harness to the ignition button such that to remove it would require destroying the ignition button or harness beyond usability. Don't know if it will work. But will be an interesting experiment to see if I can add one more layer of difficulty for a thief, at additional cost of only $40 shipped. And I'll always have my original ignition button to swap back in if I want to remove the harness altogether.
 
So if I thief tries to use the two popular methods of stealing a TRX, and this switch is in the off position, what happens?
Theoretically any kind of key exploits (either programming a new one, or using an amplifier to boost your own key’s RF signal) won’t work. I mean, I can sit in mine with the actual key and push the start button all day…nothing will happen with the kill switch engaged. Even if it’s on a remote start, the truck won’t actually boot up or come out of park until the kill switch is flipped.
 
Theoretically any kind of key exploits (either programming a new one, or using an amplifier to boost your own key’s RF signal) won’t work. I mean, I can sit in mine with the actual key and push the start button all day…nothing will happen with the kill switch engaged. Even if it’s on a remote start, the truck won’t actually boot up or come out of park until the kill switch is flipped.
So if all the currently known exploits rely on creating a new fob, either by tapping into the truck's ECM or by intercepting your own FOB signal, then this solution blocks all of them because the truck ain't starting with any fob--the real one, a fake one--it just ain't starting.
 
Also ordered another TRX ignition button. I am going to see if I can somehow affix the harness to the ignition button such that to remove it would require destroying the ignition button or harness beyond usability.
I'd put the splice as close as possible to the switch connector, then use some JB Weld SteelStik to mold around the back of the switch, connector, and splice. The SteelStik is nice because it won't run all over like regular epoxy - it has the consistency of Play-Doh before it sets up, then turns hard as a rock.
 
Just another way to get the job done. I’ve seen people do kill switches on the fuel pump, e-brake, etc. This one I cooked up uses an off the shelf harness to interrupt power to the starter button. This allows retention of the remote start, and no wires to cut. Just about everything can be defeated but I figured this would at least add another layer of “fuck you” to the key-cloners. And 100% reversible to stock with no footprint at all. Primarily intend to use it at hotels and when I’m on the water with my boat. I’d be really pissed to come back to no truck and no trailer.

Anyway, this is the harness:


Guessing it’s for some kind of remote start system but I cut 90% of it off anyway.

View attachment 42117
Peeling back the onion, these 6 pin connectors are what we’re after:
View attachment 42118
Note that only 4 pins are populated in the truck’s harness, so I de-pinned the blue and orange wires. Dunno what they do, but they ain’t there in the TRX. In this aftermarket harness, there are also long wires teed into the blue, white with green stripe, and black wires. I got rid of the tees and soldered just the two ends back to each other as shown. Note that the one wire has a green stripe on the male plug and red stripe on the female, but they do go together and are in the same pin position.
View attachment 42119
I then extended the red wire leads to go out to a kill switch using the excess wire from this kit.View attachment 42123
Next up is the truck-side of the work. I pulled the knee buster down, and reached up to push the starter switch out of it’s hole.View attachment 42124
There are two tabs on top and one on the bottom.
View attachment 42125View attachment 42126
From there it was a matter of installing my tee harness:
View attachment 42135
I taped over the connector to make it a little less apparent and harder to disassemble. Anyone who’s dealt with Tesa tape knows it’s a bitch to unpeel. Obviously the way to defeat it is to unplug the tee harness and plug the factory harness directly back into the switch. To avoid that possibility, you can hardwire without the tee harness. That would be more secure, but I just didn’t want cut wires. I never ever do, and won’t start now. You do what you want.
View attachment 42136
Last step is the kill switch. Any simple SPST on/off switch works. I used a high quality Carling marine switch because I just didn’t want problems. I soldered my wires right to switch and heat shrunk and taped over them.

You can put the switch anywhere you want. I found a pretty neat location. Very difficult to find while being comically easy to reach. The steering column has a leather thing around it and a hole where the tilt adjuster lever passes through. I pulled the headlight switch (just pull!), and mounted the kill switch to a brace that is facing the adjuster lever. I have the switch positioned so I can reach in the hole in the leather and flip it. The switch does not restrict the adjustment lever movement and is totally invisible. Switch is on the metal bracket with the slot running down it.
View attachment 42139
This is the view from below. Yes, you can kinda see it, but it’s way up there and not obvious. You wouldn’t be likely to find it in a rush, and you wouldn’t be able to feel it or reach it from below. Good enough for me.View attachment 42140
Now, I did highlight it’s weaknesses, this is not the perfect solution. I am aware. I just figure for $70 this is way better than nothing. It is easy to install with no factory wires to cut and could supplement other security measures such as my S&W 500 mag. Or maybe a dummy OBD2 port, wheel club, etc. I’m not super paranoid, just wanted to do a little something.
thumbs up on the "fuck you" pic! :p
 
Another harness built using the parts in this thread, plus an additional ignition switch. During install I will test fit the parts, and if everything is good I will then permanently epoxy the connector to the back of the ignition switch. That way if the thief does decide to spend the time troubleshooting to figure out why his fob won't work instead of moving on to an easier target (pretty unlikely) and he manages to discover the reason (even more unlikely) then he will find he better have brought his own ignition switch to the party or decide to spend the time to dissect the harness, cut, and splice the correct wires (now we're talking lottery odds).

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So, who else thinks thieves watch and learn from forums? Probably best leaving out the details that would help someone detect/diagnose/disarm. Sometimes secrecy is the best security.
 
So, who else thinks thieves watch and learn from forums? Probably best leaving out the details that would help someone detect/diagnose/disarm. Sometimes secrecy is the best security.
Not all things that are possible are probable. I don’t think thieves study resources to try to improve their craft. I think they get trained with a specific tool and then they look for easy targets with that tool. Thieves are not looking for a challenge. They are looking for the easiest way out.

Are there exceptions? Sure. The odds my truck will meet up with one of the exceptions—almost zero.
 

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