VII
MOTOR DEVELOPMENTS
Clifford Keyless ignition and
immobiliser system
Brief
The Caterham 7 comes as
standard in all forms except the R500 with a Rover immobiliser system which
works from a little remote control handset like you get on an old Metro.
Having had experience with
this on the relevant Rover’s I can’t belive that Caterham are still using it
and certainly it won’t be immobilising my new 7. I was under the impression
that Caterham would now be using the excellent “crypto” transponder key system
with a little chip built into the ignition key – hence my earlier (now deleted)
comments that once the ECU had gone the car was left un-immobilised (is there
such a word.) A colleague on the Lotus 7 website soon put me right on this one
though, as he has successfully created his own keyless ignition system simply
by removing the key switch and fitting the ignition switch and starter button.
He still relies on the Metro fob thing for immobilisation, though.
Superlights, and any other
7 which have a removable steering wheel generally don’t come with a steering
lock but they do have a big, chunky ignition barrel assembly which weighs about
1kg.
In addition, I wanted a
way to reduce the complexity of the car a bit and do away with the keys – after
all, the 7 has no doors, so it seems a bit silly!
Solution
After a lot of
consideration, I chose the Clifford VirtualKey transponder immobiliser as the
most suitable system. It is very small and light and super reliable, as well as
being Thatcham Category 2 approved.
The ignition key barrel is
totally removed from the car and the transponder receiver loop fitted behind
your dashboard. A lovely big R500 style starter button is fitted to your
dashboard along with a suitable Caterham style switch for the ignition supply.
To start the car up you:
1) Wipe the small Clifford transponder key past the
hidden dashboard receiver.
2) You can now put the transponder (which can be in
your wallet, in a glove, on a keyring or whatever), back into your pocket.
3) Flick the ignition switch to on.
4) Press the starter.
If you stop the car by turning
off the ignition switch you have 60 seconds to turn it back on before the
immobiliser cuts in and you need to represent the chip to he car again.
The immobiliser brain is very
tiny, and is fitted in a place of our choosing. The circuits cut are again at
our discretion. This makes each install different and so much harder for a
prospective thief to bypass.
Bargain on the job taking
about 6 hours for us to complete - here are three pictures detailing the
system. The first shows the Superbright LED that flashes when the system is
armed. The middle shot is of the system brain and the last image depicts the
two little keychips with a pound coin for scale.
Price
We will undertake this
jolly little lot for the not unreasonable sum of £160. This price includes the
R500 starter button and ignition switch, as well as the Clifford hardware
needed to do the job and a very nifty pair of
“Clifford” stickers, cut by our
own graphics department to fit on your scuttle panel. (Ordinary Clifford
stickers are reversed to go on the inside of the window of an ordinary car so
are no use when the car has no side windows……(!) You can choose your sticker
colour.