Which Alarm/immobiliser?

[gavbrum 18 1 Cars]

Need a complete alarm system for my nearly restored Pug. What are you guys using and what can you recommend? obviously has to be a quality system with a nice reliable key-fob. Just out of interest has anyone managed to run the alarm and immobiliser off the Pug key-fob?

 

Cheers,

 

Gav

[Ryan 99]

I know a lot of people rate the Toad Ai606 pretty highly.

 

The original Pug fobs are infra-red rather than RF, so they don't work with anything else. They're also not programmable anyway.

[Anthony 1,000]

Personal preference for a CAT1 alarm is a Toad Ai606.

 

Does exactly what it says on the tin, and carries on doing it reliably (installation quality permitting)

 

Won't work off the Pug keyfob, nor will any after market CAT1 alarm for that matter, but will drive the OE central locking directly (on Phase 2's) making the fob redundant.

[gavbrum 18 1 Cars]

Cheers guys, it's a Phase 2 so it would be good to have the central locking work off the one fob.

[S@m 156]

I've been eyeing the Toad ai606 for a little while now, is the install as easy as it looks online? And if you install yourself how do you get the CAT 1 certificate? (sorry for slight thread hijack!)

[Anthony 1,000]

I've been eyeing the Toad ai606 for a little while now, is the install as easy as it looks online? And if you install yourself how do you get the CAT 1 certificate? (sorry for slight thread hijack!)

I've found it to be pretty simple to install, and if you do a search I posted a semi-guide a few years ago. Clearly of course that depends on how good you are with vehicle electrics - if you know what you're doing and have a decent amount of experience then it's easy enough, but if you don't then it's likely to be a frustrating experience and potentially unreliable, particularly if you can't do a good solid wiring connection (which is where most "professional" installations fall flat in my experience with scotchlock connections or bare wires taped together )

 

With regards the CAT1 certificate, given that you're not an approved installer you can't certify it yourself. To me, that's not an issue as it's just of peace of mind but if you need a certificate for the insurance you can always take it to a Toad dealer and pay them £30 odd to re-certify it, choosing your wording carefully as some of them understandably don't like people installing the alarms themselves.

[Ryan 99]

If you install it yourself then you need to take to to a professional fitter and have them inspect it and stamp the certificate.

[S@m 156]

Cheers Anthony, I would probably say i lost the certificate to get a toad dealer to certify it - that should work? With regards to electrics, i'm reasonably experienced with soldering/electrics etc. not so much with cars, more with guitars and amps but its all the same theory. Mines a phase 1.5 though, does that complicate things at all? Aside from having to fit a door lock solenoid to the drivers door as i have already read. I'll have a search for that 'semi-guide', don't think i've seen that on my travels yet.

[Anthony 1,000]

Cheers Anthony, I would probably say i lost the certificate to get a toad dealer to certify it - that should work? With regards to electrics, i'm reasonably experienced with soldering/electrics etc. not so much with cars, more with guitars and amps but its all the same theory. Mines a phase 1.5 though, does that complicate things at all? Aside from having to fit a door lock solenoid to the drivers door as i have already read. I'll have a search for that 'semi-guide', don't think i've seen that on my travels yet.

That's a fairly sensible way of going about getting a certificate for the insurance, yes

 

Phase 1.5 only really makes a difference from a central locking point of view, as like you said, you need to install a slave motor in the drivers door to activate the original locking motor to then trigger the other doors. Phase 2's you can just directly operate the original locking motors via the OE RCL module under the dash.

[Simes 248 2 Cars]

If you're handy with the iron it's straight forward to install. There are a few threads on fitting these.

I never got mine certified, it's insured as a non descript immob.

 

[Simes 248 2 Cars]

Check my resell project thread, there are links for installation in that.

[S@m 156]

Cheers Simes, i'll gave a look at those too. I've got a load of heatshrink and such ready to attempt a half decent job of it aswell.

 

Sam

[gavbrum 18 1 Cars]

Apart from the Toad alarm are there any other suggestions? Maybe a more modern system as the Toad system is about 15 years old.

[jason7579 5]

Apart from the Toad alarm are there any other suggestions? Maybe a more modern system as the Toad system is about 15 years old.

 

I think it says a lot about a product if it is 15 years old and still highly recommended.

[M@tt 77]

what other features are you after that the Toad Ai606 doesn't have??

[gavbrum 18 1 Cars]

I was just wondering if anyone was using something different or could suggest anything other than the Toad Ai606.

 

It's unusual to have little debate on any subject. 15 years is an eternity for most products and there may be better/updated/more secure systems out there that some people may prefer. However I do agree if something works then there is no need to change it. There are no features I am looking for that the Toad Ai606 doesn't cover. Not looking for anything too fancy as it won't suit the car.

[Anthony 1,000]

I wonder if there has really been much development/advances with regards aftermarket systems at this end of the market in the past 10 or so years anyway - after all, just about all cars less than 10 years old will likely have a half-decent immobiliser as standard and many an alarm too, so there must surely be a dwindling market for aftermarket systems and hard to justify significant R&D.

 

Interesting that you mention something more secure - in my experience, the single biggest weakness by a country mile in the security of any aftermarket system is the installation. The way that many "professionals" install them means that they can be easily bypassed/disabled, often in mere seconds, whereas even a fairly rudementary system that isn't even CAT1 compliant can be difficult to get around if it's been well fitted.

 

Don't forget, if someone really wants the car, then they'll have it regardless - all you're doing is adding a deterrent against the opportunist and if they still break in and try to take it, hoping to slow them down sufficiently that they give up or are spotted before they get it started and drive off.

 

Worth remembering too that someone that knows 205 wiring well enough can fairly quickly bypass any aftermarket system, and no alarm stops your car being loaded onto the back of a flatbed and taken away. A friend of mine challenged me to that once, and was none too impressed when I had the engine running within about 15 seconds...

[scottbarton 34 1 Cars]

I had a good chat with my local car alarm installer when i had mine done couple of weeks ago. He told me that the 'Car alarm of choice' used to be the Toad Ai606, indeed i used to have that exact system on my Toyota MR2, but he said that the quality of the new systems now, compared to what they once were, are not as good. The components seem cheaper and are not as 'robust' as they once were.

With this in mind i opted for a supplied and fitted 'Autowatch' Cat 1 system. It comes with 2 fobs, controls central locking and has immobiliser built in. The install was 1st class and the after sales customer care spot on.

These were the guys I used...appreciate its a bit far from Dundee....!

http://www.caraudiok...co.uk/index.php

Edited March 9, 2012 by scottbarton

[kyepan 291]

my Mazda has a clifford concept 5 or 600 - the only advance over any other alarm i've seen is that when the microwave detctor is activated by people in close proximity to the vehicle it chirps.. to stop people cruising past and looking in the windows.. so an early warning deterrent. I know it has a pot on the sensor and can be adjusted at the time of installation to set the distance the bubble grows to around the car.

 

The directed electronics (clifford copy) i have on the mazda goes off because of loud noises / vibrations because the ultrasonics are a bit sensitive.. if you can install yourself, perhaps you can set the sensitivity of the sensors to avoid false alarms / annoyed neighbours.

 

Tracker is the next logical step IMHO.

 

Cheers

 

J

[gavbrum 18 1 Cars]

I managed to get a new Toad Ai606 alarm off feeBay for £87 delivered. Thanks for the advice. Just need to find someone to fit it now. Don't really trust myself to do it properly. I'll have a look at Simes install links but I'll probably get an expert to do it.

 

Anyway cheers everyone

[M@tt 77]

good price, good choice

[S@m 156]

Does anyone have a link to Anthony's install of an ai606? Whenever i find a link to it (such as the one in this topic http://forum.205gtidrivers.com/index.php?showtopic=125388 ) i get the "[#10340] We could not determine which topic you were attempting to view." message. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Sam

[Will Eastman 6]

Yeh I couldnt find it either

[Carbs4me 45]

i have a clifford alarm on mine, its a very good alarm, it randomly goes off, every now and then, but not offen enough to annoy me as i can turn it off and on from inside my bedroom, and ive seen it work from at least 300 meters away.

 

It locks and unlocks the doors and boot, and can even have it setup to start the car on thob while i wait inside for the car to get warm. overall i think its a fantastic piece of kit and never had any problems with it in the 6 years ive had it.

[ian010778 21]

Hey - I've been following this as I will (at some point) be upgrading my Sigma alarm and Meta immobiliser combo'.

 

Can anyone confirm if the basic TOAD Ai606 package is just an alarm or is it an alarm and immobiliser in one?

 

Some suppliers list it as both and others as just an alarm and the TOAD website doesn't clear things up either.

 

 

Ian.