Attempted break in - disabled horn

[SteveNC]

Someone used a tool of some type (likely needle nose pliers) to pull the wires from my horns. The wires for the two horns are accessible through the grill. Someone stuck a tool in, marred up the grill, and pulled the wires from both horns. This disabled the sound on the theft alarm. Apparently/luckily someone else must have passed by and the thief/thieves left. I was parked in a wooded recreation parking area. The wires are pretty easily accessed and disabling the horn seems to be an easy way to aid a thief. Has anyone else had this problem?

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[FoxForce4]

First of all, that sucks. Second of all, too bad they didn't get beaten into paste. Third of all, seems like a lot of effort to jack a car. Much of the time alarms are completely ignored.

A wilderness area doesn't seem like the usual trolling ground for scumbags. Of course scumbags don't always follow the same pattern. I guess maybe they were looking to steal components, not the entire jeep. You probably already figured that out.

I'd take a good long hard look under the hood to see if they did indeed nab something. It may not be the case that they were spooked before they got something.

 

[Psycho Squirrel]

I’ve not had the problem but I’m suprised this is the first time I’ve heard of this. Whoever the would be thieves were obviously knew they’re way around a Jeep. Just hope they’re not Jeep owners themselves! I will be taking preemptive measures this weekend to prevent such a scenario.

@JeepCares, toss this one up to the engineers to think about!

 

[SteveNC]

I’ve not had the problem but I’m suprised this is the first time I’ve heard of this. Whoever the would be thieves were obviously knew they’re way around a Jeep. Just hope they’re not Jeep owners themselves! I will be taking preemptive measures this weekend to prevent such a scenario.

@JeepCares, toss this one up to the engineers to think about!

I am going to put cable covers (like the ones used to organize wires for computers, etc.) around the horn wires and wrap tape around the connection to the horn to try to prevent this from happening again.

 

[SteveNC]

First of all, that sucks. Second of all, too bad they didn't get beaten into paste. Third of all, seems like a lot of effort to jack a car. Much of the time alarms are completely ignored.

A wilderness area doesn't seem like the usual trolling ground for scumbags. Of course scumbags don't always follow the same pattern. I guess maybe they were looking to steal components, not the entire jeep. You probably already figured that out.

I'd take a good long hard look under the hood to see if they did indeed nab something. It may not be the case that they were spooked before they got something.

The area I was in is used for mountain biking and hiking. It is pretty heavily trafficked but unfortunately provides a lot of opportunities for quick theft from vehicles. I think the only thing that kept them from actually getting in to the vehicle was that someone else came by. I got an email from Mopar that the theft alarm had triggered, but because I was in an area without signal, I did not get it until I was back at home. I just want other owners to know how easily the horn can be disconnected.

 

[Jay Gatsby]

Thank you for this info. Good to hear they didn't get anything.

 

[smlobx]

Do you have a soft top?
Was anything taken?

 

[SteveNC]

Do you have a soft top?
Was anything taken?

No soft top, but soft Tonneau cover (surprisingly they did not cut it). Just realized they also reamed out the key lock on the driver’s door and tailgate. I had not noticed this until now because I never use the key and it was not overly obvious. However, the key will jot go in the lock now. Nothing stolen. They never got inside. I assume someone else came along. I can fix the horn wires, but will have to have the locks replaced. Sucks.

 

[Psycho Squirrel]

Problem solved!

 

[Psycho Squirrel]

Just link the electronics to the alarm (horn) and poof! Problem goes away!!!

 

[SteveNC]

Just link the electronics to the alarm (horn) and poof! Problem goes away!!!

That would do it!

 

[4xjeepr]

Someone used a tool of some type (likely needle nose pliers) to pull the wires from my horns. The wires for the two horns are accessible through the grill. Someone stuck a tool in, marred up the grill, and pulled the wires from both horns. This disabled the sound on the theft alarm. Apparently/luckily someone else must have passed by and the thief/thieves left. I was parked in a wooded recreation parking area. The wires are pretty easily accessed and disabling the horn seems to be an easy way to aid a thief. Has anyone else had this problem?

Whereabouts in NC did this happen? I'm in NC as well and like to know where the incident happened. Thanks!

 

[SteveNC]

Whereabouts in NC did this happen? I'm in NC as well and like to know where the incident happened. Thanks!

Bent Creek - a forest recreation area in Asheville.

 

[Code 3]

Sorry to hear about what happened Steve, thieves suck. I appreciate your posting the horn wire info, I never thought about how easy it is to cut them. Time to figure out a way to shield them or otherwise prevent my alarm from being a silent alarm.

On a side note, ever since I got my Gladiator, I've been thinking about adding a proximity alarm for when I have the top and/or doors off. Haven't found a solution yet.

 

[SteveNC]

Damn, that’s great. Thanks!

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