Nicked spotlights

Terranical · 05-09-2013, 22:54

Just had a look on eBay with a view to replacing the pair of Hella 160 spots that were stolen off my T2 in Spain last week - £75.99 each

Gonna be replaced with something cheaper methinks - I've got a pair of ratty Ring 7" spots that have been kicking around in storage for a couple of years, I hope these, plus the retaining nuts drilled, tapped and fitted with socket head grub screws might put off the thieving toerags that nicked the Hellas! (Unless of course, as well as spanners they also carry sets of Allen keys!)

solarman216 · 05-09-2013, 23:24

you can never tell, I remember a time when I was driving a truck in Italy, I was in a cafe in Milan and a British guy walks in looking for help, he was driving along and his trailer brakes locked up, he checked his susies were connected OK (tractor-Trailer air lines) but could see nothing wrong and the manual trailer hand brake was off, any way we walked the 400 yards up the road to where he left his truck locked up and it was gone, never to be seen again, Rick

Terranical · 05-09-2013, 23:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by solarman216

you can never tell, I remember a time when I was driving a truck in Italy, I was in a cafe in Milan and a British guy walks in looking for help, he was driving along and his trailer brakes locked up, he checked his susies were connected OK (tractor-Trailer air lines) but could see nothing wrong and the manual trailer hand brake was off, any way we walked the 400 yards up the road to where he left his truck locked up and it was gone, never to be seen again, Rick

If the thieving b******s only knew, in the boot was my netbook, my granddaughters laptop, my iPod, toolbox and in the front a very nice newish Sony in-car stereo!
Amateurs!

rustic · 06-09-2013, 08:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terranical

If the thieving b******s only knew, in the boot was my netbook, my granddaughters laptop, my iPod, toolbox and in the front a very nice newish Sony in-car stereo!
Amateurs!

They probably thought the car was alarmed, but the spot lamps not.

It wouldn't be difficult to fit an alarm to them.
The positive wire, when the lamps are switched off would be at 0 volts due to the bulb going to earth, if this was no longer 0 volts, ie if the wire was cut then off goes the alarm.

Ideally you would want to use a double pole relay to the lamps, so that each can be monitored, otherwise both would have to be cut before an alarm sounded. Although if a bulb failed,the alarm would go off... OH could be a selling feature..
The circuit could be quite simple, using an NPN transistor, a relay, and a resistor, a siran, and maybe a diode or two and that's it.
Rustic

Terranical · 06-09-2013, 10:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by rustic

They probably thought the car was alarmed, but the spot lamps not.

It wouldn't be difficult to fit an alarm to them.
The positive wire, when the lamps are switched off would be at 0 volts due to the bulb going to earth, if this was no longer 0 volts, ie if the wire was cut then off goes the alarm.

Ideally you would want to use a double pole relay to the lamps, so that each can be monitored, otherwise both would have to be cut before an alarm sounded. Although if a bulb failed,the alarm would go off... OH could be a selling feature..
The circuit could be quite simple, using an NPN transistor, a relay, and a resistor, a siran, and maybe a diode or two and that's it.
Rustic

That sounds like a plan - I already have an aftermarket alarm fitted, don't use it much because the on/off remote is so sensitive it keeps switching the alarm on when not wanted.
This uses an earth connection as the trigger, so it might be possible to get some sort of reversal circuit which, when looped through the lamps, triggers the alarm if cut - may look into that.
Thanks for the info Rustic.

05-09-2013, 22:54	#1
Terranical Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Resident in Bristol, Terrano in Spain Vehicle: 1994 Terrano 2.7TD SWB Posts: 1,398	Nicked spotlights Just had a look on eBay with a view to replacing the pair of Hella 160 spots that were stolen off my T2 in Spain last week - £75.99 each Gonna be replaced with something cheaper methinks - I've got a pair of ratty Ring 7" spots that have been kicking around in storage for a couple of years, I hope these, plus the retaining nuts drilled, tapped and fitted with socket head grub screws might put off the thieving toerags that nicked the Hellas! (Unless of course, as well as spanners they also carry sets of Allen keys!)

05-09-2013, 23:24	#2
solarman216 Off road maniac Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Bexhill on Sea Vehicle: Y60 Patrol Me, 3 ltr Mrs Posts: 17,431	you can never tell, I remember a time when I was driving a truck in Italy, I was in a cafe in Milan and a British guy walks in looking for help, he was driving along and his trailer brakes locked up, he checked his susies were connected OK (tractor-Trailer air lines) but could see nothing wrong and the manual trailer hand brake was off, any way we walked the 400 yards up the road to where he left his truck locked up and it was gone, never to be seen again, Rick __________________ Ex banger racer now off road maniac Lokka on the front with manual hubs Diff lock on rear 3 inch SS straight through exhaust Manly winch bumper with 13000 lb winch 10 spike ground anchor, with multiple straps and blocks Super strong body cills capped with scaffold pole 20% stronger springs all round aggressive off road tyres on wheels so just swap. Aim to get stuck and be completely self sufficient in extraction, love getting muddy, 2ft deep is good but rare.