Thread: Discovery 1 How to disable Immobiliser / Alarm

Originally Posted by Cousinlarry

Hi

I'd like to disable the alarm and immobiliser on my 1997 Discovery 1 but, retain the central locking off the key fob. Is this possible and if so any ideas? I've read about something called the "spider" which seems pretty hard to get to for obvious reasons, but if I go to the trouble of accessing it would it simply be a case of removing a relay that controls alarm / immobiliser activation?
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Gday Cousin Larry,
You can get a plug that disables the alarm but keeps the immobiliser and central locking. This gets plugged into the loom behind the stereo. Try your local Landrover mechanic they maybe able to help.

Cheers

Jim

If you can follow instructions and swing a soldering iron then the Spider modification is quite easy. There are plenty of posts with good pictures. I recall one showed the whole deal in pictures and easy to follow instructions. I have done mine and have not looked back.

Check out
alarm system - Land Rover Zone

I'm probably telling you something you already know, but if your disco gets stolen and you have disabled the immobilizer you're going to be up crapola creek as far as your insurance goes.

Thanks all of you for taking the time to write a reply. Bazzle218 I assume you're talking about this link here The Definitive Alarm Spider Post - LR4x4 - The Land Rover Forum which is very informative. As always I've done a heap of searching prior to adding this post and came across it and a few others, all seem to bypass the immobiliser but, not the alarm. Forgive me if I'm wrong but, if you lock the car with the remote but, then try open the drivers door with the key I seem to recall the alarm will go off??

These questions are all due an incident a couple of weeks ago when I was on Fraser Island with a mate and his Chevy Suburban (p.s. what an incredibly capable 4x4!) and he accidently dropped his remote into a beer which rendered it useless - the remote not the beer - and we spent half a day trying to open his car and bypass the alarm/immobiliser. And it got me thinking, usually I don't lock the car when I'm in the bush or the beach for this reason. I can't think of anything worse than been stranded somewhere in the middle of nowhere due to something simple like a dead remote battery or the remote breaking. How many times have people even thought of taking a spare remote battery with them on a trip? Anyway, considering how easy it was to bypass the Chevy's immobilser (once we actually figured it out - no exaggeration someone experienced could have done it 3mins flat) I thought I'd like to know how to do the same to my Landy in case something like that happens to me. I think I may give the spider mod a miss but, continue to hardly ever lock the car even in here in Brisbane as I'm sure there's far more appealing cars for thieves to be interested in, 'cause lets be fair they're not going to steal a Landy from the local shops to go joyriding at 150kph in

Correct. If you lock the car with the remote, and then try to open the car with the key, the alarm goes off.

Like you, I simply do not use the remote when I am in remove places.

I still lock it with the key however.

That is the link i used. I have a dicky key fob which locks the car remotely only when it wants to. (Sometimes it works other times it does not) If i have to open the car with the key after locking it via remote, i just unlock via the key in the drivers side front door and allow a couple of seconds for the alarm to deactivate and then open the door and the alarm does not activate. ( I just ran outside and checked to confirm and no problems) . Prior to doing the alarm bypass, every six months or so, the car would refuse to start. I had to let it sit for a while (times varying) and it would start no problem. Since doing the bypass it has not failed to start first time every time. I will stand corrected my view is that if the keyfob is stuffed ( dropped into water) then the key itself will allow you entry and to start the vehicle without the alarm activating. You are onlly bypassing the engine imobiliser side of things not the alarm. As allways willing to be proven wrong. worst case pop the bonnet and disconnect the horn.

I know for certain that on my 95 Disco (one button remote) if I lock it with the remote and unlock it with the key, the immobilizer will not let me start the car.