After having electric issues with my new zed and the alarm going off I decided to strip out the old system.

 

I've owned three Zeds now and I must say on each one the install of the alarms was shocking to say the least.

 

Do alarm installers really don't give a toss or something.

 

The alarm I just removed even had cables running under the carpet that terminated with bare wire connected

to absolutely nothing.

 

This alarm was installed over five years ago so maybe over time parts were non functioning and removed.

 

I've still to solder up the old cables in the ignition but as it started raining and I've no garage I had to give up

for tonight.

 

Another thing that gets me concerned is the emobilizer circuit as the gauge of wire in the alarm is always a third

of the size of the gauge of wire used as part of the ignition, could this not cause issues of overheating much like

how a heating element works by putting high voltage through a small gauge wire to heat it up?

I find that most aftermarket electrical products that are fitted to cars are this way. I've seen many Z32s with a complete mish-mash of tatty and untidy wiring. It's not hard to do a decent job of wiring stuff. A 'little' more time. When I fitted an S2 electric seat, I managed to cut out loom from a newer model and splice it in, soldered it correctly, used heat shrink and made it look factory - even though it was hidden away. When I ran new cables for my speakers, I made sure I routed the cables through existing cable entrys and holders. Having a bit of OCD with being neat and tidy kinda means I automatically give a damn. :)

i'm the same way and tend to wrap up my looms in cloth loom tape to make them look oem; also helps with disguising the alarm stuff.

Totally sympathise with you. The wiring in my Zed is shocking.

 

A previous owner had an "expert" run wiring for a sub to the boot, and a Nokia charger cable to the clove box.

Much of those were held together with tape or scotchlocks. It's a shambles.

I've managed to sort some, but there is still more to do.

 

I keep meaning to get around to tidying it all up, but I never seem to get enough time to do it. And to be honest, until my new garage is built I don't have the space to strip the dash etc out to sort it out.

"Do alarm installers really don't give a toss or something."

 

Ey? LMAO that's one of those double negative sentences. :p

"Do alarm installers really don't give a toss or something."

 

Ey? LMAO that's one of those double negative sentences. :p

 

LOL at the grammar police. Who called you....:ban::tongue:

 

But back on topic, I agree Lee; but I think it's a sad indictment to the fact that a lot of people just cannot be bothered to do their job properly nowadays mate:sad:

 

Richard:no:

Just makes a nice chance to be giving it out, rather than receiving it haha.

 

You are of corse correct though, I think it's because, let's face it there hardly professionals. Generally it's done at the same place they sell all the audio gear. Some mid twenties chav I twarks liek tat bruv. Generally.

Just makes a nice chance to be giving it out, rather than receiving it haha.

 

You are of corse correct though, I think it's because, let's face it there hardly professionals. Generally it's done at the same place they sell all the audio gear. Some mid twenties chav I twarks liek tat bruv. Generally.

 

Agreed......

 

.....And agreed Steve...:wink:

I've found the same over the years. You're told to use registered installers for insurance purposes and then thy bodge it. The last one I had fitted (Toad) was a joke, boot sensor not connected, an obvious love for scotch connectors and the main wire into the ignition feed was held together by black tape - absolutely no soldering anywhere :(

 

I've then seen the way the rednecks at Custom Exotics fit alarms and wiring, they solder everything and place all wiring into existing looms - not a scotch lock in sight!! lol. The problem is they seam expensive when people compare them to other alarm installers, but you get a completely different service and an alarm that you wouldn't know is fitted when you look at looms etc.

 

Vijay

I would rather fit it myself them get someone certified to sign the job off to get the certificate.

I do. All my installs are tidy and loomed up with Tesa cloth tape. I do my installs to a formula

1, find out were all the electrical pick up points are before starting the job.

2, figure out the locations of were your going to install the equipment and the cable routing.

3, run the wiring with existing car loom if possible and hide all unused wires in the loom doubled over were they can be identified and used in the future if required.

It's so easy to do but as I see all the time it seems to be beyond most people. It took me 2 days to remove the disaster of wiring that was in my car when I got it and I'm still finding wires that I can't identify!

Vijay's experience mirrored my own, when I had my black Supra...:sad:

 

I used the company recommended by my (then) insurers to install a Sigma unit. All seemed to go well, until about 6 months later when the damn thing started going off at random. I called the company only to find they had gone bust - so I took the car to an ICE and security specialist that I had previously used; and well known for their high standards.

 

To say I was shocked when they showed me the state of the wiring was an understatement. But those guys were really good - they basically re-wired the whole thing and gave it a thorough test, along with a new cat-1 certificate. And because they felt a bit sorry for me, they only charged me about £75 for an afternoon's work..... Needless to say, I continued using that company until recently, when the owner downsized his operation. He now just has a small shop selling ICE, but no longer installs.

 

Richard:cool:

That's a fair shout as I've had to get hold of the cert when the PO didn't provide it. So there's nothing stopping you getting it's certificated.

put it this way I managed to rip out the alarm in less than 10 minutes.

 

although that's not including the time to join back up the mess of the ignition harness.

 

also the fact I could distinguish the alarm looms from the stock helped a lot.

 

when stripping my black zed it took over 40 minutes to remove the toad alarm that I installed

as I done it professionally and all looms looked oem so I had to trace all cables to ensure I never

damaged and originals.

they only charged me about £75 for an afternoon's work..... Needless to say, I continued using that company until recently, when the owner downsized his operation. He now just has a small shop selling ICE, but no longer installs.

 

Richard:cool:

 

....and there you have it, in a retail business world where expectant low price has been exchanged for quality service, many alarm engineers will not be able to stay competative in the market.

So how do they continue? cut corners or to stop undertaking installations? sounds like your guy Richard took the better approach albeit at the expense of his business.

 

Jeff TT

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law_of_business_balance

"There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person's lawful prey."

Otherwise known as "buy cheap, buy twice".

BTW, it's not just so-called professionals but also well-meaning-but-lazy-or-slapdash-hobbyists as evidenced by the cr4p I took out of my zeds

before I went OCD on the loom and actually found out what was there and got the right adapters before hacking the loom and hoping.

I hate the wiring in my car. I wouldn't know where to start with it though but I'd love someone to sort it out. My old car was great...

 

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?165171-Who-the-Fook-wired-my-car&p=1682981&viewfull=1#post1682981

I hate the wiring in my car. I wouldn't know where to start with it though but I'd love someone to sort it out.

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?165171-Who-the-Fook-wired-my-car&p=1682981&viewfull=1#post1682981

That's where I started :) too worried to do anything, left it to professionals (inc someone who used to trade on here) and got that sort of mess. Only solution is to find the wiring diagram, take a deep breath, carefully take out anything that isn't Nissan (identify and label anything you still need so you can put it back properly) and wire it back up properly.

I am no electrician but with the aid of a mate who had the right stuff (and a meter) and a spare afternoon or two, we had the time and motivation to get it right. Time pressures lead to short cuts and bodges which then get worse the next time a "professional" gets in there.

I do. All my installs are tidy and loomed up with Tesa cloth tape. I do my installs to a formula

1, find out were all the electrical pick up points are before starting the job.

2, figure out the locations of were your going to install the equipment and the cable routing.

3, run the wiring with existing car loom if possible and hide all unused wires in the loom doubled over were they can be identified and used in the future if required.

It's so easy to do but as I see all the time it seems to be beyond most people. It took me 2 days to remove the disaster of wiring that was in my car when I got it and I'm still finding wires that I can't identify!

 

Yup - there are some really good, conscientious, dedicated professionals like yourself, out there too mate! Safe & Sound did the Toad installation in my current blue ZX (not for me though - PhilP, the previous owner had it fitted). And that looks a decent job...:thumbup:

 

....and there you have it, in a retail business world where expectant low price has been exchanged for quality service, many alarm engineers will not be able to stay competative in the market.

So how do they continue? cut corners or to stop undertaking installations? sounds like your guy Richard took the better approach albeit at the expense of his business.

 

Jeff TT

 

...And you're dead right there Jeff! He closed down the installation part of his business for that reason - one of his ex-fitters now runs an ICE installation business from his former unit. He just keeps a small shop in the centre of town to keep himself busy ticking over, but without the hassle.....!

 

Richard:cool:

Another pet hate of mine is where they put the alarm module behind a kick panel where it doesn't actually fit - but they force things back together until the panel comes loose again - just cos it's easier for them :(

I dunno why people bother doing stuff if they aren't gonna do it right