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Getting my car alarm / remote start system installed right now....

aphex

aphex

Moderator<br>All Things Apple
Moderator
T-Minus +/- 2 hours till i can see how they broke my car...

J/K.... i hope...

I went with the Viper 560xv (i think)
Remote Start & Car Alarm

I was debating between the model with the LCD and the one with the standard remote and went for the standard remote since #1- i'll break the LCD and #2 - didn't seem worth $150 more to me.

Anyone else get these? Run into any problems?
 
Everything went ok, except this.

When we start the car via the Remote Start, the AMP sends a LOUD ASS low noise through the sub that doesnt stop until the car is turned off. Incredibly loud.
Starting the car the normal way, no problems.

WTF would cause this?

ALSO; They hooked up my headlights (HID's) to flash when the car is armed/disarmed/remote started, instead of my parking lights... Is this not a good idea?
 
Originally posted by: tami
go back to them and bitch 🙂
Click to expand...

They know it does it, they just ran out of time to fix it.

He wants to put in a switch so i can turn off the amp before i get out of the car, but there had to be a way to make this work w/o me having to switch off the amp everytime i get out of the car and back on when i get in.
 
Authorized dealer?

I had a Viper 160XV installed in my wife, and son's cars without a hitch. VERY professional job, but no remote button for me to program options myself. They said I'd have virtually a lifetime warranty if they left that off, and I let them handle all adustments. Not thrilled with that arrangement, but I guess I can live with it.

Who's the genius that installed the amp? Throw a relay in there to power it.
 
Originally posted by: Ornery
Authorized dealer?

I had a Viper 160XV installed in my wife, and son's cars without a hitch. VERY professional job, but no remote button for me to program options myself. They said I'd have virtually a lifetime warranty if they left that off, and I let them handle all adustments. Not thrilled with that arrangement, but I guess I can live with it.

Who's the genius that installed the amp? Throw a relay in there to power it.
Click to expand...

Yes, authorized dealer.

What's a relay do? Delayed turn on?

I had it installed at Sound Advice
 
He wants to put in a switch so i can turn off the amp before i get out of the car.

The relay can be the switch, and shut off automatically when the car is off. The question is, WTF it isn't already powered off when you leave the car.
 
Originally posted by: Ornery
He wants to put in a switch so i can turn off the amp before i get out of the car.

The relay can be the switch, and shut off automatically when the car is off. The question is, WTF it isn't already powered off when you leave the car.
Click to expand...

The amp is off when the car is not set to on, turning the key to Acc does not power the amp, only turning the key to on turns the amp on.
 
Makes no sense. What's the problem? Why do they want you to install a switch?

Edit: When the remote start is activated, it bypasses the ignition switch, and sends power to the starter, and the ignition. Either they're taking power from the wrong source, or your amp is powered from somewhere it shouldn't be.
 
Originally posted by: aphex
Everything went ok, except this.

When we start the car via the Remote Start, the AMP sends a LOUD ASS low noise through the sub that doesnt stop until the car is turned off. Incredibly loud.
Starting the car the normal way, no problems.

WTF would cause this?

ALSO; They hooked up my headlights (HID's) to flash when the car is armed/disarmed/remote started, instead of my parking lights... Is this not a good idea?
Click to expand...

Sounds like they grabbed the wrong relay for the lights. Definitely make them switch it to the parking lights.

As for the amp - that is really bizarre. However you need to be very firm that a work around for that is not acceptable - THEY need to figure out why it does it and make it right. If they can't, tell them to keep their remote starter and give you your money back. I've run into lots of oddball car audio problems, but this does not ring a bell - I would be wary here, as it may just be the amp that is the only thing OBVIOUSLY affected by whatever is wrong.

Back before I knew better, I had sound advice install a bunch of gear for me. I spent over a thousand dollars on the gear and installation, and was never really happy with it. To this day I wish I had demanded my money back rather than accept the semi-halfassed work they did (compared to the fantastic sales pitch I got on the showroom floor about everything they were going to do for me).
 
Originally posted by: Ornery
Makes no sense. What's the problem? Why do they want you to install a switch?

Edit: When the remote start is activated, it bypasses the ignition switch, and sends power to the starter, and the ignition. Either they're taking power from the wrong source, or your amp is powered from somewhere it shouldn't be.
Click to expand...

He mentioned something about that. They tapped in somewhere down near the right left kick panel. The car alarm guy said they tapped in the wrong place. He thought a switch would work, but how?

I know very little about car audio, but i can see the power wire for the amp on top of the battery.
 
The amp isn't powered directly from the battery, or it wouldn't shut off in the accessory position. They've got a tach signal or something plugged in where it shouldn't be. Why don't you power your amp's relay from the same circuit as the head unit? That would have power in the accessory position as well as the on position. If you hooked it up like that, they would have no excuse.
 
Originally posted by: Ornery
The amp isn't powered directly from the battery, or it wouldn't shut off in the accessory position. They've got a tach signal or something plugged in where it shouldn't be. Why don't you power your amp's relay from the same circuit as the head unit? That would have power in the accessory position as well as the on position. If you hooked it up like that, they would have no excuse.
Click to expand...

So it indeed sounds like its the Sound Installer's issue, not the Alarm?

I can swing by Sound Advice tomm (the alarm installer is closed till tuesday for the hurricane) and have them check it out.

In the alarm installers defence, the amp DID do this once before, well before i bought the alarm.
 
Also, am i able to switch the relay to the parking lights myself? Is it difficult to switch?
 
It would help to know how your amp is powered:

Remote Turn-on Wire
  • The remote turn on wire goes to the head unit. When the radio is on, it puts out 12 volts that turn the amplifier on. If you are using a factory radio that does not have a remote turn on (or power antenna wire) you can tap into, hook it up to the ignition, so that the amplifier does not remain on when you turn the car off.

    If you are using multiple devices (amplifiers, crossovers, equalizers, fans, etc), you might have to add a relay, since typical turn-on wires in a radio can't handle more that 300mA.
Even still, that part of the wiring shouldn't effect the sound. The RCA patch cables must be the culprit. Maybe they're running close to the tach signal wire or something.

Make those clowns fix the light connection.
 
I dont think the amp turns on w/ the head unit.

Even w/ the HU off, i can see the voltage readout on the amp.
 
Doesn't matter. That circuit won't effect the sound, only signal via the RCA patch cables. After giving it serious thought, that's my final answer!
 
Originally posted by: Ornery
Doesn't matter. That circuit won't effect the sound, only signal via the RCA patch cables. After giving it serious thought, that's my final answer!
Click to expand...

haha, thanks... i'll let you know what sound advice says 🙂
 
after the nightmare that was hardwiring my radar detector the way I want it... I get the eebie-jeebies just thinking about how complicated this is....
 
who installed the amp? I bet whoever did the install had the amp remote turn on hooked up to the Acc wire, instead of the head-unit.
 
Originally posted by: richardycc
who installed the amp? I bet whoever did the install had the amp remote turn on hooked up to the Acc wire, instead of the head-unit.
Click to expand...

That would cause the horrendous noise?

He said the Alarm was using the Acc wire.
 
Originally posted by: Ornery
The amp isn't powered directly from the battery, or it wouldn't shut off in the accessory position. They've got a tach signal or something plugged in where it shouldn't be. Why don't you power your amp's relay from the same circuit as the head unit? That would have power in the accessory position as well as the on position. If you hooked it up like that, they would have no excuse.
Click to expand...

Yes, it is. Car amplifiers have a built in turn-on relay, a large gauge wire connects directly to the battery, and then a turn-on lead goes +12v when the ignition is on.

Aphex, it sounds like you may have more than one problem. First of all, your amp should only be turning on/off with your head unit. That's cake to accomplish with an aftermarket HU, and usually pretty easy with a stock HU. The only excuse is if you have a stock HU and a non-power antenna - in this scenario it is possible that there is no output on the head unit to tap into.

The noise coming through your amp though is a potentially serious one - it COULD be something as simple as they nicked a wire, but could be something as bad as they have +12v going where -12v should be. Again, have them check that out carefully, and at the very least they should be able to give you a reliable explanation of WHY it would happen, even if they claim to not be able to fix it. The fact that it happens the whole time the car is on when started with the remote start is all the more disturbing.
 
The amplifier is NOT connected straight to the battery, there IS a relay in the circuit which may or may not be inside the amp. Otherwise, it would never shut off.

Powering the relay from the ignition's accessory circuit is acceptable: If you are using a factory radio that does not have a remote turn on (or power antenna wire) you can tap into, hook it up to the ignition, so that the amplifier does not remain on when you turn the car off.

The noise is either going into the RCA patch cables via inductive noise from the tach wire, or (much less likely) directly to the speaker via a short or crossed wire. Where that relay's powered from is irrelevant.
 
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