Kill switch ideas
 

Hello folks,

I have a 4WD 96 E350 7.3. We are all but finished doing a homebrew camper conversion, which has mostly gone well, and I've learned a ton in the process.

In the past, in gas vehicles, I have installed straightforward ignition interruption kill switches, and fuel pump kill switches.

On my van, I've installed an ignition kill switch, but the fuel pump switch isn't going to work so well. I have put off figuring out a 2nd kill switch as I've been working on other projects. I was mulling over buying a second starting relay and interrupting the starting solenoid but really, you could screwdriver the ignition, get under the van and scrape the jacket of the 12V to the starter motor and jumper that to the solenoid and start the vehicle, and there is ample room to crawl under and work at leisure.

So I'm curious if others have suggestions for effective kill switches. My first other thought is to interrupt the Camshaft Position Sensor signal to the PCM, though the physical wiring of that might be painful around the belts and the front of the engine.

If I'm overthinking this or if people have a better idea for a kill switch outside the ignition system, I'm all ears!

Thanks for help in the past and thank you in advance for any ideas. We will be living out of this vehicle for a few years in South America, so getting our home stolen would SUCK!

Cheers,
Josh

Interrupt the power wire to the PCM. It will crank but WILL NOT run without that. You can do so by interrupting the feed from the PCM Maxifuse for the PCM under the hood. It's Fuse 22 on the trucks, I'm not sure if it's the same in the vans or not.

This sounds like a really cool project! You should post some pictures up here. We all enjoy a good build thread.

Will this throw a code or cause any other ill effects when we routinely forget to re-enable the kill switch and try to start anyways? A year of driving an old Tacoma around Mexico and Central America provids ample empirical evidence that we are good about SETTING kill switches, bad about remembering them before starting...

We have something of a build page on our otherwise bird/biology centric website (we're field biologists first, van dorks second):

https://birdsofpassage.wordpress.com/birding-mobile/

At the bottom of all the pictures are some very incomplete detail pages about the various parts/systems...

Thanks,

Josh

I've got a power shutoff for my batteries. If I turn that switch off, there is no power anywhere. Of course it was pretty easy for me to install as I moved my batteries to the frame rail and installed it then.


A chip with a no start position is an option also.

Kill switch on the PCM switched power circuit won't throw a code. As long as you disable the circuit that's energized through the ignition switch, the status of the PCM will be exactly the same as with the key off. So even if they force the key cylinder to turn on the ignition switch (or hot-wire the ignition switch), and then jump the starter relay, the starter will crank but there'll be no engine control. Throw the switch, turn the key, and the PCM will be "none the wiser".

If you do use some master power shutoff for the batteries, that will set a KAM (keep-alive memory) code each time you turn it back on. It won't affect the running of the engine, and shouldn't set the CE light, but it'll just be lurking there.

Awesome build BTW. Sportsmobile is the company that did the first pop-ups on the VW Buses when I was a wee lad. You need to have them add "Roving Ornithologist" to the Customers section of their Who is... page.

Nice project! :-X22 I always wanted a 4x4 Powerstroke van! Maybe someday :D

great!!! Now you've got him thinking of another project :-roll. :D

Maybe after I finish the three I have now....:-X18

Here you go bill
attention hunters!!powerstroke 4x4 van

You suck Gabe! LOL!!!!

c'mon. You know you want it lol

I want em all :-jammin But I can't afford the ones I have...:'(

Hehe that was fun

You just love toying with my emotions don't you! :'( LOL!