Theft Prevention: Ravelco

[gcvt]

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

Thanks for the link Greg. I had not thought of putting the GPS antenna under the panel on the top of the dash, great idea. I just wish he had gone into more detail about the cell phone and programing aspect of the install though. It should be as easy as finding a reasonably priced plan and then installing the SIM card, but I've yet to do that part of the research. As for finding which wires will work in your van, a factory wiring diagram will be really usefull. I love the idea of shutting off the engine as a thief tries to escape, bait car style. If the mic is hooked up, it would be fun to listen in as it coasts to a stop. I also like the idea of turning on the flashers and headlights as it comes to a stop. Have you ordered one yet? If you bring it up to Juneau, I'll install it for you. Thanks again for posting.

Jeff, do I have this straight? The TK103A is the base system. The TK103B adds a remote fob. And the TK103B+ adds a shake/motion sensor?

Every person in China seems to be selling these things on Amazon, with varying details. It's a tad confusing. Which one did you buy?

[skyrat]

Getting ready to have one installed. gcvt, did you do a battery disconnect of any kind? The person that set the appointment said that disconnecting the house battery was a must.

[rallypanam]

Originally Posted by skyrat

Getting ready to have one installed. gcvt, did you do a battery disconnect of any kind? The person that set the appointment said that disconnecting the house battery was a must.

Permanently or just during installation?

Either way, I did neither during my installation.

[gcvt]

I think the installer disconnected the house batteries at the battery isolator when he did the install on my van.

[arctictraveller]

No doubt just for the install to prevent any shorts while cutting all those wires.

[skyrat]

Right, just during the install. From the wiring diagram it looks like the isolator is the place to do that, or at the circuit breaker next to the isolator under the hood. I have a mailed Peter Del Toro at SMB Fresno on how to accomplish this without messing things up. I will let you know what he says.

EDIT:
Right after posting this I got a response from Peter Del Toro.
He says "You can disconnect the main positive cable coming into the van at the “buss” fuse, it should be close to the inverter. It is a very thick heavy cable you can’t miss it."

[rallypanam]

Yeah, not sure I'm following their logic. The battery is disconnected from the system when the van is not running.. that's the whole point of the isolator.

[gcvt]

They must know something we don't know. My installer said they do a lot of Sportsmobiles. He said when anyone calls about a Ford van install, it's almost always a fleet vehicle or a SMB. In fact, when I originally called to ask about scheduling and timing of an install, and mentioned Ford van, their first question was "Is this a Sportsmobile?"

Maybe they just assume the isolator is malfunctioning for safety, or maybe they need it disconnected to test if the engine shuts off when they pull the plug while the ignition is still on. Who knows?

All I know is, I'm glad to have it.

[skyrat]

Me too! Rich at Ravelco CA said that they had been to SMB Fresno many times to install on vehicles that were in production. He was very familiar with them and that gives me even more confidence in the people and their product.

[arctictraveller]

Originally Posted by rallypanam

Yeah, not sure I'm following their logic. The battery is disconnected from the system when the van is not running.. that's the whole point of the isolator.

I"m guessing it's just a standard practice since it's possible other vans are wired diferently, and it's easy to do too. If an isolater malfunctions, or there actually wasn't one, they could be liable for any damages if they accidently shorted something during the install. When welding on steel boats with electronicaly controlled engines, the manufaturer says to always disconnect the batteries, but I've seen plenty of times they weren't, and I've never seen any problems. It's just an easy safety precaution.