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Resolved Finding previous owner Killswitch?

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Mahreeoh17

Proven Member
148
121
Jul 12, 2020
California
Hey all,

My first electrical post on the forums so bare with me. I have a 1996 GSX 5spd that I recently purchased, and to avoid any theft the previous owner installed a Killswitch on the car where the headlights need to be turned on to start it. I'd like to remove this but can't find any hint of wiring to start at. Is anyone familiar with these types of modifications?

I did disconnect the nuetral safety switch today so now I'm able to start it without the clutch in, but still have to turn the lights on.
 
That setup is usually a black box with a flip switch on it to turn it on or off, dealerships used to offer them to customers, they are usually under the hood somewhere, but if not I would guess it would be under the steering column.
 
Have you asked the previous owner as if they did this they are most likely the best person to tell you this and what was done. If not then this is going to be a bit tricky as who knows whats been tapped into what to make this work.

My guess is and its just a guess, the stock alarm unit / box immobilizer is powered through the headlights and once switched then it allows it to start but i would imagine once turned off the lights it would kill it? Heck i dont know LOL headlight killswitch is a weird thing to do
 
That setup is usually a black box with a flip switch on it to turn it on or off, dealerships used to offer them to customers, they are usually under the hood somewhere, but if not I would guess it would be under the steering column.
Thanks, I don't remember seeing a black box under the hood, I just don't want to have to pull the steering wheel off to get to the steering column.


Have you asked the previous owner as if they did this they are most likely the best person to tell you this and what was done. If not then this is going to be a bit tricky as who knows whats been tapped into what to make this work.

My guess is and its just a guess, the stock alarm unit / box immobilizer is powered through the headlights and once switched then it allows it to start but i would imagine once turned off the lights it would kill it? Heck i dont know LOL headlight killswitch is a weird thing to do

No contact with the previous owner as I bought it from the guy who purchased it from him to fix. Not sure if I should trave wires from the headlight stalk and see what sticks out.
 
Thanks, I don't remember seeing a black box under the hood, I just don't want to have to pull the steering wheel off to get to the steering column.




No contact with the previous owner as I bought it from the guy who purchased it from him to fix. Not sure if I should trave wires from the headlight stalk and see what sticks out.
You dont need to pull the steering wheel, just drop the panel under the column which is above the pedals, it might be up in that area.
 
Are you sure this thing has a kill switch? Most kill switches/immobilizers will interrupt signal coming from the key to the starter, which doesn't seem to be the case here as it will attempt to crank, but acts like its not getting enough power. It's a very strange setup where the lights would need to be on before it cranks.

So if the previous owner hooked it to the headlights, that likely means he added a relay somewhere that is getting its control voltage from the light circuit, and the load side of the relay goes to the starter. If you can't find anything under the dash as others suggested, I would start my search at the headlight relay in the main fuse box and see if someone spliced in another relay in that area. I'd also check the marker light circuits. I'd also have a look at the starter itself with an inspection mirror and see if anything strange is going on with the wiring--aftermarket wiring on the starter instead of the factory harness.
 
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They could have used any source that's triggered by the light switch, dimmer, cigarette lighter, radio, ashtray. Look under the center console and fuse box area too if you don't find anything under on the steering column. I'd bet it's in the panel under the steering wheel.
 
I am leaning towards the same thing @shinzon says. I bet the headlights energize a relay that then allows the starter wire to engage. It is probably a simple break in the starter wire so follow the single terminal wire off of the starter backwards and I bet you find a relay that it is hooked to. Take out the relay and hook the starter wire back to itself and all should be fine. Lets see if any of these suggestions are the culprit...... then report back please.
 
Okay so I believe I have located something that is not from factory. Two wires are running to the under hood fuse box and two more are running down near the starter I believe. But I can't trace them for sure. I can't find another stock photo of a 4g63 that hasn't been modified so does this look familiar to anybody else?
 

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Thank you all for the help! I removed the black box and traced the wires and it seems that they are cut into the BY starter motor for the car. I'm going to disconnect the relay and rewire the factory wires now, fingers crossed.

not sure how old is relay is. But just curious if anyone else has heard of these. I can see how it would be installed from the factory.
 

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As I said earlier, these were VERY common for dealerships to upsell these on new vehicles on the lot, some you had to hit the horn to start it, some you had to turn on the lights or a turn signal to start it, these were not factory installed, they were a dealer upsell just like undercoating or paint sealer.
 
If you do not see any third party box, the previous owner may have done a simple cut-off using a single relay. Basing on your description, the behaviour of the starting circuit will just make the relay "click" but not engage the starter when the headlights are not powered. In the first illustration below, substitute the 12V from the headlight instead of the brake light positive and you get the same effect.



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Another way that this can be accomplished would be to use two relays (like below). For this diagram, the cigarette lighter was used. The lighter needs to be pushed in and the headlights need to be turned on in order to start the car. Simply omit the lighter and you basically get the same effect as the single relay design above. This second one is a much safer implementation.

Look for a third party bosch style relay. This can either be a 4 pin or a 5 pin. It will look very much the same (and is actually identical) to the 2-3 relays on the firewall near the brake master/clutch fluid. I would guess that the previous owner installed this in the engine bay (as opposed to inside the cockpit) esp if he did it himself.

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