How to disable driving capacity of Mercury Sable 1998/99 ? Mom has dementia / Alzheimer's

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FJ - 04 Nov 2006 03:25 GMT

'Looking for some advice from those more knowledgeable about cars than
I. I would like to disable the start up capacity of a Mercury Sable
1998/99 without the obvious move of disconnecting the battery.
Mom has dementia / Alzheimer's that is in a medium stage and I
consider that she should not be driving. Additionally her driving
license is expired and I had thought that that would have been enough.
There is no governmental agency who will step in. All that I have
contacted, including the police, say that it is a family matter. But
she sometimes goes down the block or around the block when my nurse /
caregiver is with her and it is not something for the caregiver to
address.
Taking the keys away from her ever vigilant grasp could create a major
emotional problem and I am all that she has in the world.
Thus I could be trying the next step of disabling the car, without
ripping the keys out of her hand.
Two police officers who I spoke to both (in addition to saying that it
is not a police problem until she is stopped) indicate that this car
has no distributor cap. Perhaps disconnecting a/the starter wire, if
it is easily accessible ?
I do not know the location of a number of the components, but I could
follow instructions.
Again, something that would keep the battery power so that she could
put the windows up and down and keep the pets in or out of the car,
but would make it unworkable for anyone to actually drive the car…

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Don Bruder - 04 Nov 2006 04:40 GMT

> 'Looking for some advice from those more knowledgeable about cars than
> I. I would like to disable the start up capacity of a Mercury Sable
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> put the windows up and down and keep the pets in or out of the car,
> but would make it unworkable for anyone to actually drive the car...

Eyeball the starter. You should see one big thick wire (probably red)
and a smaller wire (could be just about any color) coming from
"somewhere else". If I were you, I'd disconnect the small wire - That's
the "energize the solenoid" wire that actually makes things happen when
the key is turned. Verify that it does indeed "kill the car" before
considering the job done.

It *MAY* be connected with a "slip on" type connector. Disconnecting it
should give you symptoms of a dead starter solenoid - Everything else on
the car will work fine, but you'll get no click and no crank when the
key is turned. If you go that route, you might seriously consider the
concept of taping a note to the end of the wire in case a "good
samaritan" tries to diagnose the problem and fix it for her without
realizing that the vehicle is intentionally disabled.

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or the subject of the message doesn't contain the exact text "PopperAndShadow"
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Brent P - 04 Nov 2006 04:55 GMT

> Taking the keys away from her ever vigilant grasp could create a major
> emotional problem and I am all that she has in the world.
> Thus I could be trying the next step of disabling the car, without
> ripping the keys out of her hand.

Remove all the spark plug wires and take them home with you. It's not
going anywhere without those.

And it's not something that can be fixed without a trip to an autoparts
store for most people.

Disconnect the battery while you're under there.

My grandfather had some one cut him off and he ran into a curb. That was
how he saw it anyway... nobody else was there. flattened the tire of the
car. He parked it and started walking home and the cops saw him and
drove him the rest of the way. Not sure what happened, but whatever it
was it did no damage other than needing a new tire but he decided not to
drive after that point.

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Brent P - 04 Nov 2006 04:57 GMT

> Disconnect the battery while you're under there.

Opps guess I should have read the whole thing....

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MishaA - 04 Nov 2006 05:26 GMT

I don't think it is a fair thing to do to your mom, but if I had to go
this route, I would remove ECM fuse. It's much easier to do. Not sure
if your car has it, but most of them do.

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MishaA

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Scott Dorsey - 04 Nov 2006 15:54 GMT

>> Taking the keys away from her ever vigilant grasp could create a major
>> emotional problem and I am all that she has in the world.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>Remove all the spark plug wires and take them home with you. It's not
>going anywhere without those.

If you choose to do this, PLEASE mark which one goes where.
--scott

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"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

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=?x-user-defined?Q?=AB?= Paul =?x-user-defined?Q?=BB?= - 04 Nov 2006 05:18 GMT

Remove the ecu fuse.

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Bob M. - 04 Nov 2006 07:55 GMT

> 'Looking for some advice from those more knowledgeable about cars than
> I. I would like to disable the start up capacity of a Mercury Sable
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> license is expired and I had thought that that would have been enough.
> There is no governmental agency who will step in. All that I have

Go to a marina and see if they have anything for leaving batteries connected
for boats that are sitting out of the water for the season. These things are
industrial-strength switches of a sort that are wired in with one of the
battery wires.

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John S. - 04 Nov 2006 18:36 GMT

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Rodan - 04 Nov 2006 21:00 GMT

FJ wrote: Mercury Sable 1998/99

My mom has medium stage Alzheimer's and I think she should
not be driving, but she sometimes drives around the block when
my nurse caregiver is with her. She has no license.

Taking the keys away from her would create a major emotional
problem and I am all that she has in the world. Governmental
agencies I have contacted say that it is a family matter.

I want to (secretly) disable the car from starting. It could not
involve disconnecting the battery, so she could put the windows
up and down and take the pets in or out of the car, but she could
not actually drive it. Could I disconnect it at the starter wire?
_____________________________________________________

Tough spot to be in. Sorry I don't have the answer. Thoughts:

If she has the ability to drive around the block, then she has the
ability to see through your disconnection, and the same emotional
problem could arise.

If you are her legal guardian you have assumed some responsibility
for her actions, including liability for property damage or injuries to
others (including the caregiver) if she operates the car.

If you are not her legal guardian, taking taking her car or her keys
could be considered a criminal act. If she is a danger to herself
or others, someone must take her keys, and her car should be sold
to get it out of sight. If this is the case you must act now to
gain legal status before something bad happens.

If a car suddenly takes off at full throttle, jumps the curb and
slams into a dozen children at a lawn party, the driver is most
likely to be an elderly person who thought he/she was stepping
on the brake instead of the gas, and when the car accelerated,
stepped harder on the gas, thinking it was the brake.

Keep contacting more government and private agencies such as
HHS or the Alzheimer's foundation for more ideas.

No matter what you do, she may come to suspect your motives
or to hate you. This is not her - it is the Alzheimers. This is
where tough love comes in.

You may not be tough enough. Not everyone is. Get some help.

Good luck.

Rodan.

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John S. - 04 Nov 2006 18:44 GMT

Well, yes, it is a family matter.

> All that I have
> contacted, including the police, say that it is a family matter. But
> she sometimes goes down the block or around the block when my nurse /
> caregiver is with her and it is not something for the caregiver to
> address.

I don't know the situation, but she seems to be aware of the world if
not in complete control. I would think that she would figure out very
quickly that the car was disabled. Won't she be just as upset about
having the car unplugged as having the keys taken away?

> Two police officers who I spoke to both (in addition to saying that it
> is not a police problem until she is stopped) indicate that this car
> has no distributor cap. Perhaps disconnecting a/the starter wire, if
> it is easily accessible ?

You could have some sort of switch installed by a mechanic that would
interrupt the starter. I would suggest that it have a key lock to
prevent your mother from setting the switch.

> I do not know the location of a number of the components, but I could
> follow instructions.
> Again, something that would keep the battery power so that she could
> put the windows up and down and keep the pets in or out of the car,
> but would make it unworkable for anyone to actually drive the car...

Not a good idea actually to give her access to the car with power
windows and door locks actuated. She could lock the pets in a car and
forget they were there. She could also lock herself in as well and not
know how to get out. She would be better off if you totally disable
the car and take the keys away.

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bowgus - 05 Nov 2006 00:18 GMT

> 'Looking for some advice from those more knowledgeable about cars than
> I. I would like to disable the start up capacity of a Mercury Sable
> 1998/99 without the obvious move of disconnecting the battery.
> Mom has dementia / Alzheimer's that is in a medium stage and I
> consider that she should not be driving. Additionally her driving
> license is expired and I had thought that that would have been enough.

If her license is expired then how can she be (legally) insured? Or,
mom, without a licence you're driving without insurance ... and that's
just not smart. If what you say about the dementia is true, then
someone should have power(s) of attorney to protect your mom and her
assets. It's tough, I know, my mom suffered from dementia ... but
someone has to take responsibility. I suggest don't start playing
tricks on her, like disabling the starter.

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mandtprice@gmail.com - 06 Nov 2006 15:10 GMT

> 'Looking for some advice from those more knowledgeable about cars than
> I. I would like to disable the start up capacity of a Mercury Sable
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> caregiver is with her and it is not something for the caregiver to
> address.

You could pull the fuel pump relay. There should be a black plastic
box, roughly the same shape as a shoe box, but scaled down with a lid
that fits over the top with snaps on either side. Remove the lid and
there will be plastic cubes in the bottom half and a diagram on the
lid. Use the diagram to figure out which of the cubes is the switcher
for the fuel pump, remove it and take it with you.

If you can find the right relay this will give you a very nice solution
to the problem. All the accessories will still work as you wanted
because the battery will still be connected. The car won't start
because that relay is a switch that the computer uses to turn on the
fuel pump: no gas, no go. Reinstalling the relay to make the car
operational is also not too difficult because usually they are made to
only fit into the car in the correct direction; you can't put it in
backwards.

If you can't seem to find the right one or are unsure after poking
around for a while, stop by an auto parts store during a slow time and
one of there employees will usually be willing to walk out and to the
lot and point out which one it is.

Matthew

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