Run Lock

Introduction

First it may be important to explain what run lock is, and where it can be useful.
Run lock allows the car to continue running even when the ignition keys have been removed, then and depending on how it has been set up if the handbrake or any of the pedals are pressed it will cut out the engine, and the car cant be restarted until the key is put back into the ignition.

This allows the car to run with the engine on and possibly the doors locked, but if anyone tries to drive off they get a nasty surprise in that the car will not drive.

Runlock is used mainly by the emergency services to keep their vehicles running at the roadside if they were switched off their batteries would drain very quickly. However for the ordinary motorist it is useful for preventing frost jacking, this is when you turn your car on to defrost and go back to the house for something and in that time someone steals it, with run lock its not possible to steal the car.

Its ok to use run lock if the car is on your own driveway, but as for using it in public places legally it is a bit of a grey area, it is worth reading this:
http://www.enginerunlock.com/Run_Lock_Legality.htm
However this still should suit most people who want to safely let their car run on their own driveway.




The Run Lock Kit

I purchased the run lock kit from this site:
http://www.enginerunlock.com

Basically all it contained was a relay, a switch, some in line fuse holders, connectors, and it was already wired together. The instructions that come with it are probably the most valuable bit, and they actually sell the instructions as a single item for people who want to make the complete kit themselves.

A few days later it arrived and i installed it following the instructions, if you have a multimeter and know how to use it then instalation of the relay is very easy.

(testing out the kit after wiring it to the ignition key

Handbrake Switch

This kit intends for you to have it deactivate with the handbrake switch, this is where i had to become a bit inventive, because on multiplexed 406's the wiring isnt a simple case of the handbrake switch connecting a warning light to the bodys ground/earth, in the 406 its connected to the BSI

a wiring diagram showing the handbrake switch
(406 wiring diagrams are available from: http://petrila.net/peugeot/Service/index.htm) 

From past experience of wiring round the 406 anything added to the BSI can make it go mad and all the cars electrics will act strange or possibly not at all.
Therefore i decided to put in a seperate handbrake switch just for the run lock, to make it i got a spare 406 handbrake switch, the easiest place to get one is the glovebox switch out of a 406 in a scrapyard, when removing it keep the connector plug and a decent bit of wire which makes wiring it up to the run lock easier.

Here was the handbrake area before adding in the second switch:

I made a bracket to hold this switch out of some spare tin that i had when welding a hole on the subaru,
to get a rough idea of the shape required for the bracket i used card first and tried it for size, this is easier than cutting metal. Once the card template was right i used a dremel and cut off wheel to precisely cut the metal, here was the bracket with the switch installed onto the car beside the original handbrake switch, as well as the striker plate to push the switch down, both parts were glued into place with JB weld:

(note the loose wire was there to test the connection at the time, all connections were soldered and heatshrink tubing applied over them)

The wiring of the switch was very simple one wire was given a ring crimp connector and that was bolted onto the nearest earth point, the second wire went to the ground wire on the run lock kit, therefore when the handbrake was up the switch provided the run lock circuit with a ground connection and allowed the car to run, when the handbrake was put down the connection was broken and the car turned off.

In order to see how to remove the centre console to get to the handbrake switch this video is available:

Clutch Switch

At this stage everything was put back together and the run lock system worked, the car would run with the key out of the ignition but when the handbrake was set down it turned off. However on the 406 the handbrake is notoriously terrible, and even though the steering lock would engage there was nothing to stop the potential thief putting the car in gear and moving it, so i decided to improve the system by adding a switch to the clutch pedal.

The clutch pedal on my 406 has already got a cruise control switch on it, but like the handbrake switch the clutch switch is connected to the BSI so to avoid problems a second switch was to be added just for the run lock. The area to work in round the clutch is much more cramped and awkward than the handbrake area, this involved some uncomfortable positions trying to look at the area, as with the handbrake switch card was used to measure out the profile required for the clutch switch bracket, and just as importantly the striker plate, which was just a flat bit of metal on the handbrake, here it would have to be correctly shaped to clear obstacles in the area, here is the area before the addition of any extra switches:

The switch required was one that when pushed closed would be on, and when out would be off, a push to make switch, the direct opposite of the handbrakes push to break switch. However that is exactly what the crusie control switch does so i purchased another cruise control switch for £6.

Below shows the switch bracket and striker plate:

(the switch is held onto the bracket by the fact the hole cut is tightly cut, and the JB weld)

(the connection at the back for 2 wires is the same as the connection at the back of a 406 handbrake or glovebox lid switch, thankfully my attic is full of these connectors)

(the striker plate, the hole in the fold is so that the striker plate does not come into contact with a spot weld on the clutch pedal and thus it can sit flat)

(when making any of these parts it can be a case of trial and error, constantly checking that the parts fit correctly and do not interfere with moving parts)


The switch brakcet was the first part to be put into place, it was glued beside the original cruise control switch:

(JB weld was used again to hold this part in place, note the vice grips which were used to hold the part while the JB weld dried)

With the switch bracket in place and the JB weld dried, the next part was to add the striker plate, however because normally the cluch pedal is held up against the switch it had to be held away so the striker plate could be put in place and the JB weld allowed to dry. To hold the clutch pedal back an old piece of timber was used and the striker plate was stuck into place:

(the striker plate was glued onto the back of the original clutch pedal striker plate, a different type of vice grips were used to hold it in place wile the JB weld dried)

After waiting for a few hours to allow the JB weld to dry, the piece of wood was removed and the clutch peal brought back to it natural position, the striker plate made contact with the switch and the mutimeter confirmed it was on:

(time was taken to ensure this extra switch did not make any odd noises when the clutch was used, and that the original cruise control switch was not affected or altered in any way.)

With it working wiring the switch up was a simple case of interrupting the earth supply to the handbrake switch, therefore if either the handbrake was down or the clutch pressed in the car would turn off.

With this done the car was put back together:

Run lock switch

The instructions show how to wire up everything and the switch supplied in the kit has 3 wires going to it, its up to you to decide where to position it, however i decided that the best place was beside the ash tray, this is an easy panel to mount it to as its flat and ergonomically easy to reach.
Another reason for selecting this location is that replacing the ash tray is relatively easy if the car is to be returned to standard. Below shows the switch closed then in use:

(note it is the black switch with the cover the other switch in this area is the one which operates the hands free system)

(this is the switch turned on with the red light to show that the run lock is activated)

The Run Lock in Operation

To see the operation of the run lock there are 2 videos, one of the run lock before adding the clutch switch, the other after it was added:

Conclusion

Run lock is an easy kit to add to a car, even cars like this with an immobiliser, the challenge can be in working out is it safe to wire to an existing handbrake or clutch switch and if not as was the case here then being able to add extra switches.
I have done this mainly as an experiment to see if it was possible to add run lock to a multiplexed 406 and it is indeed possible, i live in the countryside so its normally safe enough to leave my car around the house with the keys in it, but if you live in a suburban area and have your car running on your driveway to defrost it in the morning then this is a great kit to avoid worrying about someone stealing your car.

Update

The bracket holding the extra clutch switch in place fell off today, the JB weld didn't stick to anything on the car side, the reason was there is a plastic ring on most of the area and JB weld didn't stick too well to the plastic, in all other areas it was sticking metal to metal which it does fine. I therefore used small pop rivets to hold the bracket in place:

(you can see in this picture with the main cruise control switch out of the way that the area is mostly occupied by the plastic ring which holds the cruise control switch in place therefore the JB weld had nothing really to stick to, the pop rivets are holding the bracket into solid metal and are holding the bracket in place very strongly)