Hi i am currently an enthusiast and i am currently on the market of purchasing a new s2000 in the next week or so, i just wanted to know:

what exactly does the Security Hood Switch do?!?!

the sounds of security and hood sounds like music to my ears, since some nights i may have to leave the s2k outside in the driveway.. you never know what may happen but it would make me feel better if there was some kind of extra security... is this an option i should pick up... ?

 

It's an option with many aftermarket car alarm systems. A small pin switch is installed under the hood so that when the hood is closed, the pin is pushed down. If you have the system armed and the hood is opened, the pin pops up and triggers an alarm. For an S2000, you are likely going to have a proximity type (motion sensing) of alarm anyway being a convertible. We have a remote release for our hoods. If anyone reaches in to pull the release when the top is down, the alarm is going to off. A hood switch is redundant. If the top is up and they slash the top to open the door, the alarm will go off. Again, a hood swich is redundant.

 

alrite, thanks xviper that really sumed up what it does and i'll take your word on it

 

But thieves can pop the hood from outside the car, so a hood switch does have merit.

 

Yes, they can. There is a special tool that we have in the fire service have, that snags the hood release cable, but hitting the right spot even using such a tool is not a simple task. If I were a thief about to break into the hood of a convertible, do you think I'd waste my time trying to snag that cable? Not a chance. I'd slice that soft top before expending any neuronal energy and open the door to get the hood release.
Have a look at our release mechanism under the hood. You'll notice that it's somewhat hidden and shielded and not easily accessed. That's not the way I'd go if I were a bad guy.
Furthermore, besides the battery, what is there under the hood that a thief could quickly steal that's worth the effort? If I were a vandal, I wouldn't bother with opening up a remote release hood anyway. There are lots of other stuff I could destroy.

 

I hear a grenade mounted under the hood works well. Just mount it on the fire wall and hook a string from the pin to the hood. That should keep people from popping the hood.

 

Best bet get a 2 way paging unit such as a compustar, battery back up siren, proximity sensor and under the hood a mecury tilt switch. You should be alright on top of a hidden kill switch.

 

Also, I highly recommend that you add a backup battery if you are getting an aftermarket alarm. Most thieves just pop the hood and cut the power cable -- your alarm is then useless.

 

The hood switch is a normally open (when the hood is down) switch, but grounds the sensor wire when the hood is lifted. Even if you don't install the hood switch, the available connector, wrapped in blue tape under the trim near the driver's door, is a useful entry point into the Honda security system for attaching add-on sensors. I have a proximity sensor attached at this point. Look at some of the web sites for info about security systems and you can also figure out how to isolate several sensor inputs using diodes.

 

On a side note, I'm not sure how easy it is to defeat the hood switch from the outside on the S for the factory alarm.

I remember that some of the Hondas' OEM alarms from before had pretty weak hood switch setups (i.e. you would be able to snip the hood switch's wire from the outside).