Repair After Someone Tried To Hot-Wire My Car

[dynamicmailuk]

Hello,

Last weekend, returning to my 2005 Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi after visiting a friend I found that it had been broken into and some people have tried to hot-wire it. It seems they failed as the car hadn't moved, but they left a really big mess and stole all the car documents in the glove box and the radio as well.

Here is the main damage:

My insurance does not cover the vandalism, so I'm on my own. The car was taken to a Ford garage and they say the work will cost 2500euro. They say the main cable spindle that needs to be replaced is 500euro alone, and the work includes taking the complete dashboard off so is not easy.

I don't think I can afford the work at a Ford garage, so will have to try buying 2nd hand parts and doing what I can or in independent garages instead.

My questions are:

Since the main cable spindle is the most expensive part, and removing the dashboard is an undesirable task, my preferred option would be if I could repair the damaged cable and connector that are still in the car. I'm not sure if the connector itself is broken or not, so I may need to replace that.

Is this feasible? Where to find the connector diagram? I am not sure what is the technical name for this cable/connector.

Should I expect some difficulties that one man and a toolbox cannot not fix on his own?

If anyone has any comments or pointers to useful information it could be a great help. Please let me know if so,

[jeebowhite]

Christ! that is a mess, you certainly have my sympathies! I am surprised that they even tried to hotwire a modern car! clearly they should have heard of immobilisers? where was it parked? and how did no - one see the damage being caused? did they also damage the door gaining access?

I can irritatingly see why the insurers are classing it as vandelism as it wasnt a successful theft, however check your small print, as if its not made clear, you may still be able to appeal the decision and get them to pay out!

Doing this alone is going to be no easy task, and taking it to an indie means that you chance purchasing the incorrect part, or a none functioning part, and you cant be 100% sure what is going to be the issue. Therefore as much as it will hurt to go to the dealer, you may find it a more worthwhile excercise doing so. it may cost slightly more, but imagine how much it would cost to buy the wrong part several times, or have the garage not wire the car up properly.

I would say dont try to look for the wiring diagrams, if the garage havent the confidence to do it, you shouldnt take it to them.

I hear what your saying and 2500 euros is a lot for someone to pay up, especially when its not your fault! however if its 2500 Euros to get it fixed properly and at a fairly quick pace, or possibly more for more hassle, more time, and less guarantee, are you sure you are making the right decision?

Definately squeeze your insurance company, see the terms and conditions, and see if there are any exclusions to vandelism. you may be able to class this as an attempt of theft, as such that is not just vandelism (i.e. kicking someones mirror off) that may grant you exception to their usual case, plus there is theft of the stereo and as such you may find the damage is covered as part of the attempted theft of both articles.

Really look into this, because if you can push your insurers into a corner and save yourself the money - you are better doing it! write complaints, and get the highest authority you can involved!

I certainly wish you the best and will keep looking here for updates!

[artscot79]

Christ! that is a mess, you certainly have my sympathies! I am surprised that they even tried to hotwire a modern car! clearly they should have heard of immobilisers? where was it parked? and how did no - one see the damage being caused? did they also damage the door gaining access?

I can irritatingly see why the insurers are classing it as vandelism as it wasnt a successful theft, however check your small print, as if its not made clear, you may still be able to appeal the decision and get them to pay out!

Doing this alone is going to be no easy task, and taking it to an indie means that you chance purchasing the incorrect part, or a none functioning part, and you cant be 100% sure what is going to be the issue. Therefore as much as it will hurt to go to the dealer, you may find it a more worthwhile excercise doing so. it may cost slightly more, but imagine how much it would cost to buy the wrong part several times, or have the garage not wire the car up properly.

I would say dont try to look for the wiring diagrams, if the garage havent the confidence to do it, you shouldnt take it to them.

I hear what your saying and 2500 euros is a lot for someone to pay up, especially when its not your fault! however if its 2500 Euros to get it fixed properly and at a fairly quick pace, or possibly more for more hassle, more time, and less guarantee, are you sure you are making the right decision?

Definately squeeze your insurance company, see the terms and conditions, and see if there are any exclusions to vandelism. you may be able to class this as an attempt of theft, as such that is not just vandelism (i.e. kicking someones mirror off) that may grant you exception to their usual case, plus there is theft of the stereo and as such you may find the damage is covered as part of the attempted theft of both articles.

Really look into this, because if you can push your insurers into a corner and save yourself the money - you are better doing it! write complaints, and get the highest authority you can involved!

I certainly wish you the best and will keep looking here for updates!

you must have stupid thiefs round youre way any monkey would know you cant hotwire modern cars you need the key however sympathies it is a mess but i reckon you could find a scrapyard and cut off said connector with say 2 inch of wire still attatched solder it to youre wires and it should be okay most trim you would find there ive only done it once for a friend and parts cost me £60 from a scrapyard and when all together it was fine

[dynamicmailuk]

Thanks guys, I find it really great that even though I have never posted on this forum before I can get still get a couple of sincere replies.

Well it seems the thieves were not too clued up as you say, although initially when I found the car I thought they might have been. I'm quite sure that the car was locked but I could not see signs of how they got in, maybe something with the remote key? But because you can see on the photo that they used some black ribbon to tie around part of the wiring loom to pull it out and make it accessible, and also that they stole the car documents, presumably to sell on the black market made me think that maybe they were 'professional car thieves'.

But when I tried to tidy up the damaged wires to prevent any shorting during transporting the car back to my home town, the horn started going off when two of the cables touched. So perhaps that is why the thieves had to leave in a hurry.

Also, they dropped their mobile phone in the car. We gave that to the police, so I'm hoping that maybe they can be caught, but whether the police will follow it that far I don't know.

Thanks for the comments Jeebowhite, I will look at the policy and talk more with the insurance company. It's something I didn't think about when choosing my policy...

If things aren't successful with the police or the insurance company I will probably go for the route you suggest Artscot79. I'm looking for the wiring configuration on that connector, any idea what is the name of it or where I might find it?

The garage have told me another thing they broke was a 'ring for the airbag' that is near to the remote for the stereo on the side of the steering wheel. No idea where to start with that one...

[Mitsimatt]

feel for you bud

Edited November 11, 2011 by Mark M.K
Swearing removed. Please Don't swear on FOC

[Preee]

I had an attempted theft many years ago now , and my insurance paid out full cost , i'm pretty sure you should be able to push this matter and even take it to the insurance ombudsman.

If your in the UK

http://financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

If your not then try the local one to your country.

that sounds alot of money just to repair the wiring loom , seeing the stereo stolen gets me mad when i see people making one post requesting a stereo code on FOC. Makes me wonder sometimes.

Regarding Documents you need to contact straight away and get replacements so they can void the others

Comprehensive cover should cover it , or are you third party fire/theft ?

Regards

Paul

[fernsie]

I'm no expert and i'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong, but surely if you found a Focus same model in a scrappy, you could chop the end of the good loom from there and the end off of yours and stick the goods bits back together with something like a choc bloc, or jelly crimps ...

<< Choc Block >>

<< Jelly Crimps >>

Hopefully plastic trim pieces from the same car and your done

That sounds far too easy! What have I missed?

Gutted for you though ... had my first car broken into ... lost some CD's and the front facia for my stereo. They couldn't get the stereo out ..... what couldn't they just leave the facia ... grrrrr!!!

[Chutney]

Absolutely gutting and you have my greatest sympathies.

Now as said previously, the stealing of the documentation for the car as well as the stereo to me suggests that it would be ridiculous for your insurance company to uphold a vandalism clause.

I would from this point hope that something comes up out d the dumped mobile phone and lead to an arrest, so even if the insurers won't pay out then you can claim back the money from them directly. If thy happens to be the case, keep a log of all the time you have spent dealing with it, a log of all calls and every cost possible as you should be able to claim money back for all that.

Also whereabouts are you based, as by posting a 'general' location then you may have someone (or someone with a sympathetic friend / garage) locally who can help or do the work for you.

But really push the insurer first.

[dreadz]

had couple of cars broken into like that- insurance paid out due to attempted theft! thats how insurance works here in uk -as long as you not third party only. shame mate. not the nicest feeling in the world when it happens. good luck sorting out

[jeebowhite]

The pratts left their phone... oops.... you would have thought they would have noticed and come back for it! I dont know how they would have unlocked the car though...

Im also not sure what is dont if someone steals your documents? you may need the car to be re-registered? maybe new license plate or something just to prevent cloning?

I hope they do pay out, as insurers are just as bad as the thieves who hit your car.. especially when they use any get out clause they can.

as has been said, they clearly werent the brightest bulbs in the box, and I wouldnt have said they were pro's... if they did they would have tried to get the keys from your house!

Otherwise, they may have rooted through your glovey looking for valuables, and found them and took a chance... As you say the black market is something else, but I recon they seem stupid enough they wont get the full value of the certificate, they probably will ask enough for a couple of bottles of cider and a packet of cigarettes... I know it wont make you feel any better about the incident... but it would sure make feel better knowing they might have just left a confession at the scene of the crime, and all they got was drunk and a topup to potential lung cancer?

I also look forward to seeing them on crimestoppers branded as idiots...

by the way, welcome to the forum! I forgot to say in my first post! were all friends here, some of us bite, but you will learn in time im sure ;)

besides if you made an effort to seek the assistance, there are always folk who have a lot of time on their hands to offer something back... or is that just me, trying to avoid work? lol

Welcome along, and look forward to some good news!

[dynamicmailuk]

Thanks alot for all the replies.

Insurance company will not do anything as my cover is equivalent to 3rd party in the UK. (I'm British working in Belgium). I feel very stupid now for not paying extra for the theft coverage, but it wasn't something I thought of at the time. Live and learn...

I haven't been able to do much til today as I had to take the day off work and arrange with a friend to tow the car back from the garage. After I told the garage I couldn't pay 2500euro for the repair, they put all the damaged stuff in a box, and charged me 90euro for looking at the car. Also had to pay 90euro to replace the conformity document that was was stolen from the car.

So now I have the car at home and assessed the damage a bit more. Trying to work out what is what, and where it all goes.

Most of the damaged wires run into the unit just behind the steering wheel that carry the signals from the arms (for indicating, control of headlights), some of the damaged wires that have been cut I can easily join back together, but two of the connectors have had their wires ripped out:

The first one runs into close to the ignition. Will require a another connector with some excess wire to fix.

The second one is on the other side of the steering wheel and the socket is a metal part fixed to the steering column. The wires that go into it are much thicker. The wires have been ripped out of this with the metal parts damaged. Maybe fixable without a replacement part...

But what I'm more stumped on is this coil:

From what the garage said, I think it is a PATS coil, so I guess it goes close to the key. But I couldn't see where and how it connects to the ignition circuit. If I replace this coil with a new one correctly, will the ignition system still work with my old key, or does the system need to be 'paired'?

They also said the airbag coil needs to be replaced, so I'm not sure which one this is, PATS or airbag...

So I will try to source the two connectors from a junkyard with some excess wire and join the wires with solder and shrinktube, and get some new coils form Ford.

If any advice in the meantime, would be happy to hear!

[Lenny]

Thanks alot for all the replies.

Insurance company will not do anything as my cover is equivalent to 3rd party in the UK. (I'm British working in Belgium). I feel very stupid now for not paying extra for the theft coverage, but it wasn't something I thought of at the time. Live and learn.

If any advice in the meantime, would be happy to hear!

Noticed in the pictures mate your stereo is gone,

spotted this brand new 6000cd on eBay going cheap may cheer you up Click Here

[dynamicmailuk]

Noticed in the pictures mate your stereo is gone,

spotted this brand new 6000cd on ebay going cheap may cheer you up Click Here

Thanks, indeed that is a bit cheaper that most of the 2nd hands I've seen, and this one seems to be new.

But this 6000CD is a 2010 model and looks different to my original one. Do you know if it will fit in my car from 2005? and all of the connectors are the same etc..

[Lenny]

Thanks, indeed that is a bit cheaper that most of the 2nd hands I've seen, and this one seems to be new.

But this 6000CD is a 2010 model and looks different to my original one. Do you know if it will fit in my car from 2005? and all of the connectors are the same etc..

yes it will fit your car mate,

i think it states 2010 as the stereo is brand new and the software would be the latest version etc,

as i think ford updated the software in 2008 to better help the bluetooth settings and sound quality with deeper Bass

the interior on your model is the same as the interior on my 2010 focus too and i have one of these fitted in mine,

you will also need the dash piece that surrounds the stereo in the oval shape, this is your current surround Click Here

the one in the 2005 is square shape and the stereo is oval so you need the oval shape piece, cost around £10 on eBay or the scrappy

ill see can i find one for you, heres a link to a new one but ive seen alot cheaper Click Here

also the haynes manual for the 2010 is the same for the 2005 so the wiring loom on the 2005 focus is the same all the way up to 2011

so it will defo fit your car,

you could also contact the seller too.B)

[dynamicmailuk]

Hey guys,

Been a long time since I last posted. Been able to try to fix this now, since I was able to go to a breakers in UK during the Christmas holidays and cut off the connectors with some wires from a dead Focus estate in the junkyard. I also managed to get off the PATS ring and the radio controller from this car. Cost 60pounds.

Of the wires on the connectors I had cut out of the dead car, and the loose ones in my car that had been pulled out, all the colours matched. On each of these connectors I soldered the loose wires in my car with matching ones from the 'new'connectors'. It was 4 connectors in total:

1. Connector that goes to the left of the steering wheel with the main ignition wires.

2. Connector that goes to the base of the steering wheel (I think this is for the controls on the steering wheel)

3. Connector for the radio control

4. Connector that goes to the PATS ring

I thought I was all good to go, but I was wrong.

I connected the battery, and turned the key.

At the second stage stage of the key turn, no extra lights come on the dash (normally I would expect to see the battery light and the oil light). But the rest of the electrics related to the steering wheel controls do work eg. lights, windscreen wipers, radio etc.. And when using these electrics the corresponding lights do come on on the dash.

At the 3rd stage of the key, nothing happens all, no sound from the starter or anything else.

Does anyone have any ideas what this could be now?

I'm sure all the soldering is good. Here is a list of things I'm thinking it could be:

1. Difference in wire colours between the car I took the connectors from and my own.

Mine: 2005 Diesel 1.6 Left Hand Drive Hatch-back.

From the breakers: 2005 Diesel 1.6 Right Hand drive Estate.)

2. Damage to cables further down the loom where I cannot see, done by thief when he has been pulling the loom.

3. Something to do with immobilzation or PATS that I don't know about. The PATS ring I have put in is from a different car. (But I would expect some kind of warning light if this was the case)

battery is charged, and starter/engine will be fine. The problem is almost certainly to do with electrics.

Anything anyone can think of why it wont start? I'm really hoping there is something I've forgotten, since I'm not sure what else I can do except face the 2500euro asked at the garage.

Thanks, Rowan

[dynamicmailuk]

Just to wrap up the story.

As written in the last post, I had failed to start the car after re-wiring it with the connectors I got off the car in the junkyard.

So I called up a garage and asked them to pick up the car, and do whatever was needed to fix it.

They called me up the next day, and said they only needed to replace a fuse!

They even complimented me on my wiring!

Feel a little bit stupid for not having checked the fuse myself, but at that point I had frustrated with it all that I gave up.

Still need to replace a bit of plastic that was broken by the thieves, but apart from that it's all as good as new, and I saved alot of money than if had had a garage replace the full wiring loom (though it did take me a long time).

Thanks again to those who replied to the original post.

[btmaldon]

Thats great news that you have it all sorted and well done for sticking with it.

[Stoney871]

Patience and determination wins the day.

Thanks for the update.

[Preee]

Fantastic news and well done on fixing it yoursefl :)

[jeebowhite]

Glad to see you came out triumphant on it!

its always the silly things that do your nut the most! but hopefully the garage didnt charge a great deal for their discovery?