Every car owner thinks about how to protect his vehicle from theft. Therefore, you need to know what an immobilizer is. This is an electronic car security device that robs the car of mobility, blocking all of its important systems. Its main task is to break some of the electrical circuits necessary for the operation of the engine. This will prevent the hijacker from stealing a car. If additional solenoid valves are used, then non-electric systems can also be blocked.
There is another option for the immobilizer. It involves first starting the engine and driving the car during theft. However, after a few meters the engine stalls. In this case, most likely, the thief will simply leave the car. Immobilizer is a device that protects the vehicle from breaking and prevents its theft.
A feature of such a device is that even in the event of its unauthorized shutdown or destruction, the system lock is not removed.
Immobilizers are contact and non-contact. In the first case, the owner using a special electronic key must turn off the device. It is impossible to make a copy of this key if there is no master card. In the second case, the immobilizer is controlled by a key fob or card (the so-called “label”). The receiving antenna is hidden under the skin of the cabin, and its radius of action reaches a meter or two. The driver simply carries the mark with him, and it does not need to be specially brought anywhere.
To better understand what an immobilizer is, and what is the principle of its operation, it is necessary to study its elements. It consists of three parts:
- The control unit. This is the scheme from which signals about the activation of the entire system come from.
- Blockers. Perform the function of immobilizing the car, breaking all the important electrical wiring circuits.
- The key. He is at the owner of the car. The control unit only recognizes it.
What is a new generation immobilizer? Such devices use fingerprint scanning. To start the engine, you need to attach a fingertip to the optical device (scanner). If a lot of people use the car, then samples of their prints must be entered into the general system. There is also a technique of fingerprints of different two fingers, one of them blocks the system. If, for example, the hijacker forces the owner of the car to unlock it, then he can use the other finger. The car starts to move, but then stops, as the engine stalls.
Electronic immobilizer has a disadvantage when installing on an outdated car. In this case, there is a risk of spontaneous blocking of the system. It simulates a physical malfunction, and this makes it difficult to diagnose and repair the "iron horse".
There are many types of immobilizers with completely different levels of protection and the number of functions, which directly affects their cost. Any anti-theft device has a high price. It makes sense to pay if you want to keep the vehicle.
You need to not only know what an immobilizer is, but also how to choose it correctly. First of all, you need to consider the features of the use of the car, its brand, technical condition, as well as the storage location. This will help determine the risk of theft.
Today, most cars have an alarm system. It is either of factory origin, or installed after the purchase of the machine. But it just notifies the owner of a hack and does not prevent theft. It is worth noting that one immobilizer is also not enough at all, since there are people who want to steal the wheels, the radio, and so on. Therefore, to effectively protect the machine, it makes sense to jointly use both an alarm system and an immobilizer.