Autowatch Ghost
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Have you guys looked at obd portector and its Thatcham approved and one of our site sponsors
https://www.obdportector.com/portector/?gclid=CLG79pLpn9YCFUm77Qod7BMCTQ
https://www.obdportector.com/portector/?gclid=CLG79pLpn9YCFUm77Qod7BMCTQ
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I suppose that still wont help when they steal the keys from my house...
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Yep, and thats where the Autowatch Ghost comes in, as far as I understand, it doesnt matter how many extra keys the bad guys will program to the car, or if they have the original key, they still wont be able to start it without the "access code". I might be wrong, and there is a way around for them, I'll try to find that out
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I prefer the idea they take the car and don't come in my house looking for keys,,,Will it make your insurance go down by £400??? Probably not, but I like the idea of my car going nowhere in the first place
Im sure deterrents help. though some of these people are so brazen, on something, they don't perceive risk. I leave my keys downstairs near the front door ... though I have on street parking in Victorian terrace street so whilst parking can be a nightmare... On the one hand I yearn for my own drive... . maybe they don't know which door to try .. so maybe the hassle has an upside..Errrr, yes, there is also that too
Ive fitted CCTV to the front and the back of the house, hope that'll put any unwanted visitors off
yes I did look at that and it's a good system, but! I'm with KBB on the key side.
That and also the fact that it has a carjack mode, if you are stopped at some lights etc. and they drag you out of the car and drive off, the Ghost system notices that the door has been opened and after a set distance it starts to flash the indicators constantly, if the code isn't entered and the car gets down to 5 mph the engine cuts off and will not start again without the correct code. I think they may also be able to get it to activate the horn as well!
That sounds drastic, but looked what happened a couple of weeks back to a member on here and his wife http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/carjacked.341062/
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So, I've got the Ghost fitted to the car now and its absolutely amazing!
First of all the recommended retail price for the Ghost fitted is £399, but you might get a bit of a discount from your local fitter. (Email autowatch uk to ask who is the closest authorised fitter to you)
Fitter came to my house, took about an hour from start to finish and as advertised there was no wire cutting needed. I've been asked not to share too much information about the location of the fitting and the device itself and it is quite understandable why. All I can say is that after fitted it is very difficult to locate where it is, even if you know about where it should be. So there is little to no chance for the average thief to rip it out of your car.
After fitted and programmed you will need to put your "PIN code" after you turn to ignition on. Now there is a few ways this system can immobilise a car, but with the A5/S5 it works like this:
You can turn the ignition on, you can even start the engine. Then if there is no pin code received, you can NOT put the car in gear. When you use the shifter to put it in D or R mode, it goes in for a fraction of a second and then it goes back to P mode. If you keep trying, after about 4-5 attempts a yellow error message comes up on the dash: "Drivetrain fault, please visit workshop". It is a genuine Audi fault code, so if someone doesn't know about the Ghost in your car, they can certainly think the car is just faulty.
Once you put your PIN code in, a couple of seconds later the hazard lights will flash 2 times and you can go. The car actually becomes drivable straight after you put the PIN in and you don't even need to wait for the indicators to flash.
Once you switch off the ignition the system activates almost at once.
Changing the PIN is relatively easy and there is an emergency card supplied in case you forgot the pin, with instructions and little scratch off code.
On the A5/S5 you can use any buttons/toggles on the steering wheel and the driver's side window control.
There is a valet/service mode, where once activated the car will be drivable without the PIN code. It comes out of this mode once the car reaches higher speeds than 30mph for a certain period or if you put your pin code in.
Apparently there is a 2 year guarantee by Autowatch and "lifetime" support.
All in all I highly recommend this system to anyone, who want to spend a bit on security.
First of all the recommended retail price for the Ghost fitted is £399, but you might get a bit of a discount from your local fitter. (Email autowatch uk to ask who is the closest authorised fitter to you)
Fitter came to my house, took about an hour from start to finish and as advertised there was no wire cutting needed. I've been asked not to share too much information about the location of the fitting and the device itself and it is quite understandable why. All I can say is that after fitted it is very difficult to locate where it is, even if you know about where it should be. So there is little to no chance for the average thief to rip it out of your car.
After fitted and programmed you will need to put your "PIN code" after you turn to ignition on. Now there is a few ways this system can immobilise a car, but with the A5/S5 it works like this:
You can turn the ignition on, you can even start the engine. Then if there is no pin code received, you can NOT put the car in gear. When you use the shifter to put it in D or R mode, it goes in for a fraction of a second and then it goes back to P mode. If you keep trying, after about 4-5 attempts a yellow error message comes up on the dash: "Drivetrain fault, please visit workshop". It is a genuine Audi fault code, so if someone doesn't know about the Ghost in your car, they can certainly think the car is just faulty.
Once you put your PIN code in, a couple of seconds later the hazard lights will flash 2 times and you can go. The car actually becomes drivable straight after you put the PIN in and you don't even need to wait for the indicators to flash.
Once you switch off the ignition the system activates almost at once.
Changing the PIN is relatively easy and there is an emergency card supplied in case you forgot the pin, with instructions and little scratch off code.
On the A5/S5 you can use any buttons/toggles on the steering wheel and the driver's side window control.
There is a valet/service mode, where once activated the car will be drivable without the PIN code. It comes out of this mode once the car reaches higher speeds than 30mph for a certain period or if you put your pin code in.
Apparently there is a 2 year guarantee by Autowatch and "lifetime" support.
All in all I highly recommend this system to anyone, who want to spend a bit on security.
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I have a rather large and very agile GSD who roams around my house at night, If anyone feels they want to relieve me of my car by pilfering the keys while i am asleep then they are very foolish.
Liddo
S5 Sportback Lease
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I have a rather small Shih Tzu that will bark a lot, then leg it, so I might go for the AuoWatch Ghost
I like the idea that the system makes the gearbox seems defective aswell, very clever
I like the idea that the system makes the gearbox seems defective aswell, very clever
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Haha, that helps too! Lets just hope you make the effort to take the dog wherever the car goes
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Well the fitter did not ask me, he just told me it works like this (I described it above) with this car, and to be fair, I'm quite satisfied with that. I can start the engine to warm up, leave the car with a running engine on the drive as I pack in, while it is still secured.
Had one of these fitted today, I went for the gearbox lock option. I made a review and posted it over on the S3 forums as a lot of those are going missing! If you are interested you can read it here http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/ghost-fitted-today.349810/
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How did you found these guys? I live around Chester and when I've contacted Autowatch UK they told me the closest authorised installer is in Liverpool. Well the guy came to my house, so it was okay, but I find it strange that there is a closer one they haven't mentioned. Also this company, according to the website they are mainly doing car wrapping and so on, so I probably wouldn't have called them just by looking at their website.
How long since you had yours done? I think they have only been doing them a couple of months, Simon Pettersson gave me the detail after contacting AW directly. Prior to that I had a number for a guy on the Wirral, but that was a one man and van setup...I'd rather be able to take it back if something went wrong!
A mate of mine has also used them for a wrap, so he said they were good at what they do. They also do...easier:
EDIT* Just spoke to Kev, this is the link on their site for anyone interested: http://www.apmcustoms.co.uk/secure-your-ride/
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Yeah, I had mine done in middle of September, so maybe thats why. I only got that guys number you also got from Wirral, but he did a good job. And lets be honest, if this system brakes down you won't take your car anywhere, let that be a shop or a man with a van
lol I know what you are saying, but I mean if random lights start to flick on and offYeah, I had mine done in middle of September, so maybe thats why. I only got that guys number you also got from Wirral, but he did a good job. And lets be honest, if this system brakes down you won't take your car anywhere, let that be a shop or a man with a van
I had one come up when he was showing me how it all works, a red triangle with the caution symbol in it, it was reading a fault on the gearbox!!! 
It was because we had deliberately tried to put into gear before putting the code in as soon as you drive off it goes off and resets itself....worth noting actually just in case you get it come up at anytime! He did reassure me it was meant to be like that by showing me the AW fitting instructions on the laptop Fantastic piece of kit for the money though. I've just changed the code on mine, as the one I was using was messing my display up, so I had to keep moving things back to where I wanted them
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Yeah, the drivetrain fault code is "normal" if you keep trying on the gearbox when the ghost is locked, but I've already explained this in my review around the middle of this thread.
It is an amazing system, isnt it? I've managed to figure out a pin code where I don't look like an idiot when I put it in, so its quite seamless.
It is an amazing system, isnt it? I've managed to figure out a pin code where I don't look like an idiot when I put it in, so its quite seamless.
Can the gearbox lock be defeated by quickly shifting it "left" into manual mode before it has chance to revert back to P?
No, because to get into manual you first have to move it into drive, then move it left ito manual...just been out and tried it
Had the Ghost fitted to my S4 today, seems like a very impressive system and feel safer knowing that it's there.
One thing that he mentioned that I hadn't heard before is there is a hijack mode that can be activated, basically if one of the doors are opened when the car is on, it activates unless you keep your foot on the brake. When activated you have to enter the code again, if the code is not entered before the car has been driven 300m the hazard lights will start to flash, then a short while later when the car comes to a stop again , all lights flash, alarm triggers and car can't go into gear.
It will take a bit of getting used to when picking people up and dropping them off, but this is definitely a good feature in my opinion.
One thing that he mentioned that I hadn't heard before is there is a hijack mode that can be activated, basically if one of the doors are opened when the car is on, it activates unless you keep your foot on the brake. When activated you have to enter the code again, if the code is not entered before the car has been driven 300m the hazard lights will start to flash, then a short while later when the car comes to a stop again , all lights flash, alarm triggers and car can't go into gear.
It will take a bit of getting used to when picking people up and dropping them off, but this is definitely a good feature in my opinion.
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I've never heard of that function and I certainly haven't seen it in the manual. Using the Ghost now almost 3 months ago and I've never encountered with this protection you are describing. I think I've seen something on their website that this is how it works in South Africa, but in the UK it is actually illegal to immobilise a moving car, so I doubt it would do that.
At least for my setup the only time I have to reenter my pin if the ignition switches off. Now that can happen automatically when you stop the car and open the driver's side door.
Edit: I've found the corresponding webpage:
https://www.autowatch.co.uk/products/security-solutions/anti-hijack-system
Now this talks about a different Autowatch product, but I suppose the legal bit applies to the Ghost too.
At least for my setup the only time I have to reenter my pin if the ignition switches off. Now that can happen automatically when you stop the car and open the driver's side door.
Edit: I've found the corresponding webpage:
https://www.autowatch.co.uk/products/security-solutions/anti-hijack-system
Now this talks about a different Autowatch product, but I suppose the legal bit applies to the Ghost too.
I'll give it a try tomorrow and get a video next time I have someone in the car to film it.
Maybe it's a new feature?
I had to choose whether I wanted it switched on or not before he started installing the system, but said that he could deactivate it at a later date if I got annoyed with it.
Maybe it's a new feature?
I had to choose whether I wanted it switched on or not before he started installing the system, but said that he could deactivate it at a later date if I got annoyed with it.
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APM are looking to do a group buy if anyone is interested! http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/autowatch-ghost.351757/
Other cheap cars they work on http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/what-do-we-do-at-apm-customs.351762/
Other cheap cars they work on
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/what-do-we-do-at-apm-customs.351762/
