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Is there any way to bypass the immobilizer?

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55K views 22 replies 7 participants last post by  j0hnct78  
#1 ·
Hi,

So I am almost certain my cars immobilizer is not working. I can not afford to put 800 bucks into my car. I really need to know if I can bypass the immobilizer somehow. I honestly do not care if it would make my car easier to steal, because honestly if I can't fix this the car is just parts.
 
#2 ·
change to OBD1
 
#5 · (Edited)
#8 ·
If you have an SH be warned that your ATTS unit will not work in OBD1 mode. The SH ECU talks to the ATTS computer unit. By removing the SH ECU in lieu of an OBD1 ECU, you will lose those signals.

If you don't mind the dead weight, by all means go OBD1.
 
#10 ·
As already stated, you are stuck with your current ECU if you want ATTS to work. If you keep your original ECU, you will have to either replace the immobilizer and get new keys programmed or figure out a bypass. While a bypass certainly is possible, thankfully no one on this forum has been dumb enough to provide the world with a step by step guide to disable to lone anti-theft device on Preludes....but apparently that's not the case for PP. Ugh. :mad:

If you are not electrically inclined yourself, you might want to ask a shop that installs car alarms with remote starters to bypass it for you. They will know a work around so that a remote start can work. Odds are that they won't do it for you without an alarm install, but it's worth a shot.


Something else to consider is that the immobilzer unit itself doesn't seem to fail very often. About the only time this topic ever comes up is when someone loses all their keys. What have you done that leads you to believe you have a defective immobilizer?
 
#12 ·
As already stated, you are stuck with your current ECU if you want ATTS to work. If you keep your original ECU, you will have to either replace the immobilizer and get new keys programmed or figure out a bypass. While a bypass certainly is possible, thankfully no one on this forum has been dumb enough to provide the world with a step by step guide to disable to lone anti-theft device on Preludes....but apparently that's not the case for PP. Ugh. :mad:
if someone has that amount of time, know how, and tools to steal your car then let him have it lol

I doubt any Honda thief would pull out the ecu, crack it open and start soldering to take a prelude.
 
#11 ·
I would agree with indylude18
what have you done to think its INOP.

easy way to check is to turn the key on then go under the hood and jump the starter to the battery. car should crank and then start as immobilizer runs the cranking function. I don’t remember if it kills fuel and spark, but I don’t think so.

I have AEM in my lude and the immobilizer sometimes gives me trouble and won’t start. I figured out that the AEM would still run the car even if the immobilizer won’t allow it to start by accidently turning the car off while cruzin. I went to restart it and the immobilizer was just flashing and no start. I decided to put it in gear and bump start it and it ran and drove fine. The immobilizer light flashed all the way home, but as soon as I turned it off and pulled the key out and then reinserted it and tried to start it went away.

It has happened a couple of other times since this but the fix has always been to pull the key and retry.

I would like to note that this started as soon as I went to stand alone
 
#14 ·
easy way to check is to turn the key on then go under the hood and jump the starter to the battery. car should crank and then start as immobilizer runs the cranking function. I don’t remember if it kills fuel and spark, but I don’t think so.
If all the immobilizer did was keep the engine from cranking, it would be completely useless.


NORDICNINJALUDE said:
if someone has that amount of time, know how, and tools to steal your car then let him have it lo l
It doesn't require any know how anymore, only the ability to read. True, if someone wants to steal any car bad enough they will take it on a flatbed, but why make it so much easier for them?
 
#13 ·
IF you need an OBD1 ECU, I have a virgin p72 for only $130+shipping. Just PM me and let me know
 
#15 ·
So the reason that i am sure that the immobilizer is the problem is becasue for the last 6 months when i have tried to start the car I have had to turn the key many times to get the car to start and then when it does most of the time the green key indicator light will keep flashing as I am driving down the road.

The car has a relativily new battery and just to make sure that the starter was not the problem. I took the car to a very steep hill turned it off and then turned the key back on. Then i coasted down the hill allowing the engine to turn over, if the ignition was engaging then the car would have fired up. It did not. To make sure that it is not the DEI aftermarket alarm system that the dealership installed, I bypassed the ignition cutout and tried to start the car, with no luck. So that is why i think it is the immobilzer that is the problem.
 
#16 ·
what year is your car? Between 97-98 they had a ignition recall, so maybe you to have that replaced
 
#18 ·
They had more problems with the earlier years than the later ones, but it doesn't hurt to check and see if your car has had the recall done to it or not. Just call up the stealership, and they can let you know
 
#23 ·
Yeah, well lets think about what this website is suppose to be. Is it a community of prelude owners that are coming together to help eachother? I can understand that people do not want their cars stolen, but I am sure that there are a lot of people that do need legitmate help getting around this problem with their own cars.

Honestly, if you were really concerned you could have asked for me to post a pic of my car, or even the title to my car.

That being said, I have heard that there is a way to just use jumpers to bypass the immobilizer on the ECU. Does anyone know if this is true, and how to do it? If so please PM me, because as Bucky put it, I do need a broke ass solution. :)