matt1710

Interesting idea re the HUs. As far as I understand the technology, it's the nature of the spectrum which does the "damage". It's a similar spectrum used by the US military - they "shoot" it from a parabola dish and can aim it over a couple of hundred meters - I talked to a guy here who experienced it in Iraq and he said it was absolutely debilitating. Obviously more powerful than what I have - but the price is in the hundreds of thousands. The Japanese whalers use them against Sea Shepherd. I very much doubt that the HUs or the Jaycar screamers do anything other than broadcast twin static tones loudly - which whilst a deterrent, probably won't force anyone to exit. However, as you say, they're not $1300 either! Most of the applications for the sound barriers are in static commercial/industrial installations where they're protecting hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stock/property - so the $1,300 figure is a drop in the bucket. Just though it might have appeal to some vehicle nuts too.

Don't have the patent docs at hand however will contact the manufacturer to see if they can send me the info.

Could well be - however if you could prevent it being whipped in the first place - it might be better than being able to trace it - and then finding it wrecked. Maybe GPS and a sound barrier is the solution if you've got plenty of cash and a very expensive car?!

The Micro (protects 35sqm at 122db) is probably around the $1,100 mark (supplied and installed) and the Intenso (protects 70sqm at 127db - ie more than twice as loud) is probably around the $1,300 mark. Would all but guarantee that it couldn't be stolen by a person inside the car - but not so effective if towed away. Price would depend on the installer too.

Cheers Smurff - might have to take you up on that one! Will have a look at it tomorrow to see how hard it looks - I'm not experienced with cars, but am pretty handy. Not sure when the plugs were last done - will look it up. AFM - is that an air flow meter?

Hi Would appreciate some feedback about this as am unsure if it'd work given the way cars are stolen. My company imports from Sweden, a device known as a sound barrier. It's Swedish military technology and is essentially a device that produces such a hideously unbearable sound that you cannot tolerate it for more than a few seconds. It's 125dB (about the same as a jet engine at 5m) but that's not the worst part of it - the actual sound spectrum it produces is. It's specifically designed to disrupt the human brain by virtue of a complex (and patented) sound spectrum that the brain simply can't deal with. It does get installed in cars, but generally as protection for either the cargo (eg technician's vans, courier vans) or the driver (taxis). However, it could easily work against a thief - they simply couldn't stay in the car to do whatever they do. It has it's own battery which it draws current from when sounding so isolating the car's battery would do nothing. So - my question is : would it have an application against the theft of sought after cars like Subarus? Or are they more often stolen by being towed? Happy to supply more info to anyone who is interested. The website is : www.sonicsecurity.co.nz Matt PS - I'm unable to supply direct to end users - however can supply to car security installers etc.

Hi Smurff You helped me out with the CD stacker cable a while back - still going fine! Hope your car is coming along well. Thanks for your input here too - hopefully it is as simple as the plugs. Am fearful that it's something expensive and complicated in the engine. I haven't looked at the location of the plugs - are they easy to get at? I have a spark plug wrench (that I've used on the lawnmower!) - is it a simple job of removing them, and replacing them? Or are there other issues to pay attention to before/after the replacement? Matt

Hi I'd like someone to recommend a turbo expert, hopefully close to me - I live in Sandringham. Well - I'm fairly sure that the shuddering and stuttering is related to the turbo!? I've searched the forum for similar problems to mine but haven't turned anything up, hence this post. I have a late 2000 GTB-E Tune Legacy with twin turbos - I run it on BP 98. Recently, and it's especially noticeable when cold, the engine stutters very badly between about 2000 - 3000rpm - seems to be worst at about 3500. It always seems to do it within a couple of minutes of driving. It stutters so badly it feels as if I'm prodding the accelerator very rapidly - it causes very detectable shudders to go through the entire car. The car also feels very flat, and then suddenly the power comes on and it accelerates quite strongly. Generally, once it has warmed up the problem disappears however sometimes reappears even when warm - although not as badly as when cold. I've always had the feeling that the turbos weren't running 100% - maybe it's time to take it to a dedicated turbo expert? Matt

Ah - might remove the seat then. Assume there are 4 largish bolts and that's about it - plus some cables to be unplugged perhaps?

When I bought the new HU, I also got a replacement amp and stacker. So I can just swap the amps - if I can get it out. I assume that means removing the seat - or can it just be slid forwards far enough to get at the screws holding it in??

Hey Smurff - the cable seems to work!! Tested in without routing it and seemed fine, so installed stacker in boot and just routed cable under passenger seat, under rear carpet and through into boot via split in folding seat back. Will let it run for a while and if it's stable, will route it properly. Thanks so much for splicing it for me. Not I might have to swap the amps - unless mine stops doing the delay thing. So bizarre that - waits 10 mins before it produces any sound - and then sometimes produces sounds from the start. Have checked amp-cable connections - they seem fine.

Got it sorted - both dash bulbs were blown. Bit tricky getting the dash out to replace them though. Thanks everyone.

The slow burn I did the other day (4x) works well - most of the time. Pressed CDs always work. Thanks for the helpful advice.

Yeah, am certainly not going to route it until I know it works!

Hi - thanks for the advice. I'll give it a try some day soon when I get time! Thanks heaps to Smurff for the cable and advice too!!

JUst read another thread on a similar topic which suggested that water in the rear brake lights might be playing a role in funny dash light behaviour. I have had serious water in the brake lights issues that I was unable to resolve (despite many attempts!) and finally resorted to drilling 1.5mm holes in the lights - now it's MUCH better. But - could this be causing the dash indicator lights (currently just handbrake on light, and headlights on light) to go??

Might try a super slow burn then. I have a special CD lens cleaner disc with copper brushes that I've used a few times - didn't seem to help.

No, just burning in audio format. Have tried different 'between song' gap, different CDs, different burners...still seems random as to whether it will play or not. Sometimes it starts playing, then a few tracks in - often between tracks - stops. Almost as if the HU can't decipher the data that tells it where to start playing. Sometimes it'll play a disc, and then 30 minutes later (after restarting the car, for example) it won't read it. It's bizarre. I would replace it however would rather keep the same appearance in the dash. Hopefully the stacker will be 'kinder' towards burnt CDs... Also, buying a new HU requires re-wiring the whole car to bypass the amp - so I'm told. Sounds like a mission to me!

Great -am out there (Howick) tomorrow - should be free around 1030. Would that suit? What is your address? If you don't want to put it on here, please text it to me on : 021 027 36523 Cheers Matt

Oh yeah? Where would one start? Have had a look around on the net for guides but haven't found one yet?

Have already checked both sets of fuses - maybe I'll have another look though. As to the 'check bulbs' advice - I assume you mean the bulbs hidden in behind the speeddo/rev counter? If so, how does one get at those?!?! I just replaced the HU and that was a mission, so can't imagine what getting at the bulbs behind the dash is like.

Strange eh! Hopefully, if i get the stacker wired up, it'll be better than the HU which is not flash. I've noticed problems with the unit on cold mornings too. Currently, the HU is randomly failing to provide any audio (even if showing that it's tuned to a pre-set station) for about the first 10 mins of driving, then all of a sudden it audio comes out. Maybe an amp - HU connection problem?? Maybe I'll slow down the burn speed - I've already tried giving it more gap between songs (up to 5s) however that doesn't seem to help. It's almost like it doesn't even recognize that there's a cd in there, as when I push eject, it often does nothing - until I push it a few times. Plays commercial cds no problem though.

Yip, that's it. Cheers Smurff! Matt

If I get this cable sorted, I imagine I'm in for a mission trying to run it from HU to boot. Have never done it before and would imagine it's quite tricky to do a good job without breaking stuff? I assume it runs down the side of the car and then crossing into the centre console area under the driver's carpet? Maybe the stacker is slim enough to fit under the passenger seat - although I doubt it.

That'd be great. My camera is in being repaired otherwise I would have taken one.