How to stop a car starting

[Barakka]

Damn, was hoping there would be an easy answer.... it's to get the sound of the engine turning over but not starting. It's for a scene in a horror movie where they jump in the car and in true horror movie style it won't start. It's just the sound I need, I could use a library FX but wanted to get an original recording, might give the transponder key thing a go as that's probably dependent on the individual car and least likely to damage anything.

Cheers for the help everyone

[DanceswithUnix]

Well it worked on my mums pug when i swapped the keys over and stupidly forgot to put the little fob thing in the new key (yes we was there for about an hour trying to work it out XD)

It would work on my Alfa as well. Immobilizer works on the ECU, not the starter motor so it turns over but no fuel will flow. If I open up my key fob there is a little brick shaped block next to the metal of the key, and it is easily removed. The rest of the circuit board is just the remote door opening, a completely different function.

Not sure what you are trying to do, but try not to flatten the battery. Once flat they are damaged forever, and they aren't cheap.

If you let the fuel flow into a modern injection engine, they don't evaporate off in 5 mins like the carb engines of my youth and can be a git to un-flood.

[DanceswithUnix]

Another thought, it takes my car maybe three turns to start up, that might be enough to record and then get out an audio editing program and loop the last rev before it fires up. Could make for a rather odd ringtone

[Rave]

Another vote for fuel pump fuse here. Beware of disconnecting the ECU on any car with coded keys.

[SilentDeath]

or you could just intentionally run out of fuel? for a film, that has more win.

fuel pump works well, recommended way of doing it by haynes for compression testing, without damaging the cat.

[[GSV]Trig]

Another vote for fuel pump fuse, depends how easy it it to get to the fuses though I suppose.

[Jay]

Give it to my wife, she has a way of stopping cars from working.

[Barakka]

It would work on my Alfa as well. Immobilizer works on the ECU, not the starter motor so it turns over but no fuel will flow. If I open up my key fob there is a little brick shaped block next to the metal of the key, and it is easily removed. The rest of the circuit board is just the remote door opening, a completely different function.

This... worked like a charm, starter motor turning, but engine not firing up

Although hearing my exhaust in the quiet of mid-morning I think some welding or expensive pipework will be called for next month when MOT time comes around