strange sensor question

[ramonesfreak]

recently had my carpet up in the E-brake area and found a wire with a small, (size of a quarter), plastic covered disc stuck to the floor of the car directly under E-brake.

sort of looked like an EKG- heart beat monitoring thingy. i assume its a vibration sensor from an old alarm install? i didnt take any pics and i left it in place. is my assumption wrong? its an 83

[javadog]

A picture would be helpful but it doesn't sound like anything Porsche put there. The only wires that would normally be found in that area are for the handbrake warning light and automatic heat controller, if fitted.

Trace where the wire goes, you may have more stuff to remove. I've never seen an aftermarket alarm that I would keep in one of these cars.

JR

[Peter Zimmermann]

Originally Posted by srandallf

recently had my carpet up in the E-brake area and found a wire with a small, (size of a quarter), plastic covered disc stuck to the floor of the car directly under E-brake.

sort of looked like an EKG- heart beat monitoring thingy. i assume its a vibration sensor from an old alarm install? i didnt take any pics and i left it in place. is my assumption wrong? its an 83

I'm pretty sure that little device is a monitoring chip put there by the FBI...

Just kidding! It's a touch pad used by a now-defunct (I think) alarm company called Hofco. When it was functional pressing it to start the car was required. At the shop, when we had a car in for service that wouldn't start, the first thing that we did was to look for the permanent thumb print in the carpet, press there and start the car (well-vacuumed cars were harder!).

You would be well-advised to trace that wire, and see if any other parts of that alarm were left behind (fuel pump relay, ECU, etc.) that might cause you grief on a cold, rainy night six months from now.