Installation Issues

Here’s a write up from one of my customers who had been having some issues with an alarm which had been installed elsewhere.

I felt that it may benefit some of you to share this horror story so that you can hopefully avoid finding yourself with a similar problem…

About 9 months ago I had a five star AVS S5 alarm installed by a major Wellington car soundz company with its own workshop. I arrived for my pre-booked appointment to be told they were too busy to do my installation that day and I needed to rebook. After the initial installation the car’s climate control, central locking and door ajar warning didn’t work properly. The first two issues were resolved on my third visit to the installer, but I was told door ajar warning could only be wired by “taking apart most of the car apart” and therefore had to be disabled. Apparently they were aware of this when I purchased the alarm, but chose not to mention until after it was installed. Later I discovered that alarm wiring had been laid in front of the driver’s side airbag, rendering the airbag useless in the event of a collision. Further, the alarm siren proved so quiet it was inaudible even if standing directly behind the car. I was very annoyed I had willingly paid top dollar for what I believed was going to be a the best alarm and installation available.

Rather than risk using the original installer again, I recently asked Julian to quote on installing a louder siren and a set of internal screamer sirens for the car. He came out to my home to inspect the car and took the time to understand my specific wants and needs. He explained that not only was the siren being muffled by its position under the hood, but it would be very easy for a thief to disable. He also noticed that only two of the alarm’s three immobilizers had been installed, and even these were not installed properly. Julian also explained the door ajar warning of the alarm could be easily fixed if the alarm was wired slightly differently.

On the day of the job Julian arrived on time and did the job with extraordinary attention to detail. He went the extra mile to rust proof holes drilled by the original installer and rectify weaknesses in the alarm’s installation I was not even aware of. To top it off his final bill was a third less than his already very reasonable quote! The alarm now works properly and is deafeningly loud when triggered.

I was impressed by Julian’s wide range of alarms from several brands; his frank discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of each system and lack of bias between them. He has extensive and innovative installation  knowledge and ideas to maximise effectiveness and security of the alarm. This is a makes a great change from most operators who only sell one system, then install it the same as everyone else for ease of installation and easy pickings for even the most incompetent car thief.

My only complaint is that I did not ask Obsessive to install an alarm in my car in the first place. I unreservedly recommend Julian and Obsessive Vehicle Security and I look forward to Julian installing all my future car alarms.

Quentin

Wellington

Thanks for putting in the time to write this up Quentin.

Putting right others work always sucks, it’s something I find frustrating and there are way too many companies who specialise in doing multiple activities without excelling in any one area! Anyway let me explain a couple of the fixes involved…

Diodes

Diode

The alarms door sense wire had been connected to the Dome fade wire on the car, as the light slowly fades out the alarm reads the doors as being open, this is why the door Ajar warning had been turned off.

To fix this I simply wired the door circuit up to each individual door and separated them by using a diode. A fairly quick and low cost solution which allows the alarm to read if the doors are open or shut in an instant. It is not uncommon to have to do this in modern vehicles.

Why have door Ajar Warning?

Simply to let you know that you have left a door open when setting the alarm, not only will leaving a door open turn off the door circuit on the alarm but it may also leave the interior light on resulting in a flat battery!

Muffled Siren?

Try putting your hand over your mouth and shouting. No really do it! Well this is exactly what you are doing buy placing a siren in a confined space with little room to breath. It’s quite simple when you think about it!

Immobilisers Cuts

Having both cuts on the ignition loom side by side can actually help a thief to hot-wire a car. NZSA regulations require the cuts to be a minimum of 30cm apart to make them harder to bypass. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve come across installs where these rules have been ignored in the name of a quick installation.