Cranks, occasionally fires and then dies.

[StanTheMan]

and those alarms.....my underdash wiring has been totally butchered.

every time I have issues with non starting. I think about that alarm below the dash....29 years old......
but until now Its usually been a relay or the pump....or the fuel line crossed over......or something other than the shitty old alarm

[93_Clubman]

NB won't start guide: http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 9&start=15
NA won't start guide: http://wiki.miata.net/tiki-index.php?pa ... tart+Guide

[Warwick]

Also the number 1 biggest random asshole problem we ever get here is 15 year old immobilisers.

Dann

Thanks Dann, but as I said it's completely stock. I was just stating that it's like what an aftermarket immobiliser can be like.

[Warwick]

To be honest, i've never actually heard of a non factory immobiliser being any good.

They all tend to just be a constant headache to own, and as far as preventing theft, most take all of 5mins to google and get a wiring diagram to remove/bypass them.

In WA they were compulsory to be fitted to all cars when they were sold if they didn't have a satisfactory original system. I'm not sure of the situation now as I left WA 17 years ago. I was working as a service advisor/manager at a busy workshop and we fitted them on a daily basis.

Contrary to what you've heard problems were few and far between. Not a single one that I was aware of tended "to just be a constant headache to own". We fitted hundreds. There was a difference between getting a decent one fitted by a trained installer and someone buying something from super cheap and installing it themselves. They could all be removed and the wiring harness rejoined but the whole purpose was to stop cars being stolen (in some cases) in a matter of seconds.
The KC Laser would just about start if you stared at it. Early Commodores and Falcons were the same. A car thief who was looking for a joyride was not going to google the wiring diagram and spend time tearing the dash apart.
The government introduced the legislation at the time as car theft had almost reached epidemic proportions.

I fitted one to my own R31 skyline and it worked perfectly for 10 years until the old girl cried enough after exceeding 400000km.

Cheers,

Warwick

[hks_kansei]

I imagine a lot of it would be a combination of dealerships probably using slightly better gear than most consumers would pay for, as well as the installers having done enough to have got half decent at it.

Compared to most installs where it's the cheapest unit, installed by a hungover 18 year old who never even held a pair of wire strippers before they started working at Supercheap.


Never knew WA had that weird rule.
Did it only apply to new cars at the time? or any car sold?

[bruce]

I'd heard about WA compulsory immobilisers. NSW has that weird pink slip (roadworthy) thing every two years?