Hard 8

That's WAY off topic. :D But I recall reading a looooong thread months ago, where a lot of people had that complaint. Try a search; maybe it contains some solutions.

timisw

Great job with the instructions! You saved me money as well! Great pics and instructions.

Any difficulty getting the side panel off or back on? I know how cheesy those plastic clips can be sometimes! I havent looked at it yet, but if you have any other tips with the panel, the rest shoudl be a breeze!

How do you like the shock sensor now that it is installed?

RX8 Pusher

Timisw,
The side panel just kind of pops on and off. Kind of hard to describe in a step by step set of instruction. Darn thing came off and went back on so easy that I am not sure I could tell you were I tugged or pushed…
I know that you posed the question about “how much do you like it” to B-Nez and I am sure he will favorably reply soonest, but I followed his lead and installed mine without trouble (much) and it’s functions work as advertised. I have left mine on “high” sensitivity and plan to adjust as needed. (Unlike the install pic, I placed my shock sensor IAW the provided instructions along the wire harness inline with the blower fan and can access mine to adjust the settings without removing the side panel.) At it’s current settings (highest) if you try to access the car by lifting up on the door handle and then let it go once you find out it is locked, then the alarm with go off…(my 5 year old found this out while trying to get his fruit drink out of the car). Additionally, if you tap on the front headlight covers the alarm will sound. Obviously, this high setting will be problematic during thunderstorms and I will fine tune this over the next couple of weeks.
There is a slight delay from the time of impact until the alarm goes off (approx 1 sec or long enough for you to think…”it is not going to HONK, HONK, HONK”…it works). One word of caution……read B-Nez’s and the provided instructions carefully, as the 24 pin connector is way up in the dash and do not get fooled by the connector that will be staring you square in the face during the install. While you will wish a hundred times it was the right one, and it even has a “brown” wire, etc…..it is missing the biggest clue being displayed by the correct connector, and that is a big yellow sticker indicating the keyless remote.
Thanks again to B-Nez for the initial info and pics….Regards

Smoker

Maybe the Mods can move this thread over and make this an official DIY thread

timisw

Thanks... going to order it on Tuesday. With these instructions its going to be an easy $75 that they dont get for an hours worth of work that really only takes 20 to 30 minutes!

rx8cited

RX8 Pusher,
How do your arm your alarm? .

Here's why I'm asking - I found that with my shock sensor set at maximum sensitivity, if I tried arming the alarm by pressing the door lock switch inside the car prior to exiting the car and closing the door, the alarm would not arm (hazard lights would not flash). I guess the sensor was outputting "shock present" due to the vibration of the car during/after closing the door, and the alarm logic does not like to see that when going from unarmed to armed state - so it does not arm.

Arming the alarm by pressing the lock switch on the fob after closing the doors worked fine - so I'm guessing that you use the fob.

Would you mind trying locking with the interior lock switch and let me know if the alarm arms or not please?

I realize this is a non-issue if the fob is used to lock/arm the car. I wish the alarm system was designed so it delayed momentarily after the door was closed so as to not get confused by the door closing vibration.

Here's a thought for you on keep your sensor at maximum sensitivity: When I installed my shock sensor, I decided to wire a bypass switch into the sensor circuit in case it went off during thunderstorms - but I don't have the sensor set to maximum sensitivity anymore because of the no-arm with interior door switch issue. At its current sensitivity setting, the alarm has not gone off during storms, so I have not used the bypass switch. The bypass switch allows the sensor output to be disconnected from the alarm system.

Depending on the frequency of thunderstorms, it my get tiresome to have to flip the bypass switch ..... so probably fine tuning your sensitivity setting as you mentioned is the better option :D.

Another forum member mentioned that their alarm had gone off serveral times and a neighbor got pissed and egged the car.

rx8cited

timisw

Quick Question...

If the Shock Sensor sets the alarm off, how long does the alarm go off for? Is there a setting or does it keep going off until EVERY neighbor is armed with an egg?

B-Nez

Sorry for the delay in my response - we just moved into our house and got the bulk of the unpacking done.

1) Installation: Do note that the units now shipping are a bit different as to have the diode kit. So my instructions may be off. I suppose they are still good to give you an idea of how simple it is and what to look out for and avoid. Someone posted updated instructions on here somewhere...I recommend searching for that.

2) How do I like it? Well, I had it on min. sens since it was an original unit that clicked and flashed while driving. I finally had the dealership install the diode kit, but now it won't trip the alarm no matter what I do. Someone suggested they may have reversed the diode and it's a simple fix. I haven't had time to mess with it due to the move, so for now it hasn't been functioning as far as I know.

rx8daniel

I need a little assistance. I believe I installed the first two taps incorrectly. I used the wires that go up to the middle connector towards the top (one would connect to the red of the sensor). I believe where I wanted to install the taps is the wires coming out of the bottom of the "14-pin connector" that seemed to really only have 5 wires coming out of it. It was terribly more difficult to install them where I did. My plan now is to buy more taps, install them to what I believe to be the correct wires before I plug the sensors into them. Actually I think I plugged the very first tap to yet another incorrect wire. It got very frustrating- I studied the instructions and the pics here before trying to mess with it. I gave up after at least an hour of messing with it. It sure looked simpler in the pics- but they can't show everything.

B-Nez

It sounds like you're not looking high enough into the footwell. Get your head up in there with a flashlight, you'll find it - it's a monster. At the top of the photo below is a bundle of 14 wires going to the connector. The connector with the lever-looking thingy on it is not the one. Look even higher and further back...it's closer to the firewall.

rx8cited

About 3 minutes from page 3-23 of the Owner's Manual.

Here's the egging story .

rx8cited

Moloko9

I put this unit in about 6 weeks ago. I've been having an awful time with False alarms. No vibrations or anything, I have it turned all the way down, and it will just go off by itself. It's happening daily at least.

Has anyone else had this happen or know of a possible cause?

rx8cited

0) What happens if your alarm is armed and you hit the windshield lightly with your palm?

1) Double check that the sensitivity control **** is turned all the way counterclockwise to minimum sensitivity. Arm the alarm and hit the windshield lightly with your palm.

2) If alarm did not go off, you're onto something. If that caused the alarm to go off, repeat step 1 with the **** all the way clockwise to maximum sensitivty.

3) If the alarm did not go off - hmmm - left is right and right is left? If it still went off, set **** back to counterclockwise position and recheck your sensor installation/wiring. If you find an error, go back to step 1. If no wiring/install error, maybe a bad sensor unit?

rx8cited

RX8 Pusher

Day 4, new upgraded shock sensor w/diode, max sensitivity, 3 storms and only 1 false alarm ……..no eggs!

RX8cited,
I tried the door lock test that you asked for. My alarm is acting like yours and will only arm with the use of the key fob. Manually locking the door will not arm the alarm. Fortunately, you pointed this out to me before I learned the lesson myself.

B-Nes,
Thanks again!

RX8Daniel,
I am sorry to hear that you are having problems. I can only suggest this approach (the way I did it): read the entire provided instruction booklet and prep all of your kit by placing the connectors on the diode and the additional clip on it as well, then refer to B-Nes’s excellent DYI instructions and compare the instructions with the colored pictures. Make some notes if you need to, then go to the car and identify the different wiring harnesses. (They are the high one’s not the easy to reach low ones…except for the grounding wire) Draw a picture of that if need be and then return to the color pictures and reference the instructions or make colored prints of the pictures and reference them at the car. The hardest wire for me to reach was the brown wire for the diode coming out of the key remote connector and there is a big yellow sticker identifying it. The drawing of the diode with the instructions is somewhat misleading, as that wire does not hang down but is stretched tightly into the wiring cable harness. Good luck and keep us posted.

rx8cited

Shock Sensor owners,

If anyone here has the pre-diode fix version of the Shock Sensor Installation System Wiring Diagram (it's one page from the shock sensor kit installation instruction booklet), and can scan / post it for me, I'd really appreciate that.

I'd want to see how it differs from the diagram I have which includes the diode fix.

Thanks,
rx8cited

PS: RX8 Pusher, thanks for posting your results to my requested test.

RX8 Pusher

RX8Daniel,
How is that shock sensor DIY coming along?

CRX Millennium

iTrader: (1)

I recently installed the upgraded kit and would like to say that the experience was both horrifying and painstaking. In order to spare you from my account of the installation filled with colorful languages, I just want to point out a few important areas for those brave (or foolish like me) enough who wish to tackle this supposedly "DIY" project.

For starters, the blue/red & black/yellow wires are found on the white 14pin connector, which sits to the right of 3 vertically placed connectors looking from passenger seat to the kick panel. The blue/red wire can be somewhat tricky since there's a similar colored one. Next, the diode preparation should be done exactly described as on the instruction, while only closing up one side of open tunnel on the red gizmo. The brown wire the diode connects to is found on the largest connector that sits in the center of 3 vertically placed connectors. The connector is the control module for keyless entry system, which is marked by Visteon yellow sticker. As other members pointed out, the brown wire is extremely taut and short that is surrounded by a bunch of wires further limiting your access. It took me forever to identify, cut (while saying prayers), and hook the diode to the brown wire using the gizmos on both ends in proper orientation (keyless entry module & vehicle harness going into firewall). I have slim fingers and still found the space to be a major problem as I tried numerous positions to make the connection, ie: lying on my back against the side of passenger seat & door rail. Lastly, the black (grounding) wire can be any of those found on the semi-transparent-white connector sitting closest to the door opening all the way to the right. I can scan the instruction but it's useless as far as I'm concerned.

Godspeed!

Positron

Thanks for the pics & posts about the shock sensor install. I did it today (actually my 15 year old son did it for me, I just supervised) and it went very smoothly. It took about 1/2 hour. I have the new sensor with the diode. With successes like this one, we are ready to move on to other mods!! :D

mm

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

For Mr. RX8cited, here is a (crappy) scan of the wiring of the 'first edition' sensor, that falses all the time.

Sorry about the quality, the paper is very thin, and I suck at cleaning up images!

S

rx8cited

Hi StealthTL,

Thank you, thank you! I guess patience does pay, eh?

Lemme' guess, you ended up at this thread after seeing my reply to apaul in the Canada Forum?

Thanks again - the image quality is good enough for my needs.

regards,
rx8cited

10kRPMS

Thanks great instructions, I had it installed and working in 20mins.

oraycle

I've tried following these instructions and failed miserably. I can't seem to find any of the described connectors. The only one I can find is the one with the black ground wires.

Does anyone know if they changed the locations of the wiring connectors in the 2006 models? Better yet, has anyone done this install on a 2006 RX-8?

RX8 Pusher

Oraycle.....not sure what the problem is, the instructions had mine working with minor problems. I have to admit I tried to connect to the wrong wires the first time due to my own lack of attention. Made a copy of the instruction the second time and had no issues when I decided to follow the instructions.

Cheers

oraycle

As I mentioned, I suspect the problem is something changed in the 2006 model. I'll try posting some pics so you guys can see what I'm talking about, but the right side of the passenger footwell only has 2 white wire connectors. One I've identified as the black ground wires. The other one right next to that is the one that has the misleading , but wrong wires. It looks different from the posted pictures (does not have the grey lever thing), but it is in the same locaiton. Looking up above those two connectors, I was expecting to find the described white connectors (either the 14 wire one or the 3 vertically placed ones), but there are NO other connectors up there.

As I mentioned, I'll post a pic later so you guys can see what I'm talking about. But if anyone has done this install in a 2006 and can confirm or refute that the wire connectors have moved, I'd appreciate it.

oraycle

Attached are the photos of the right footwell in my 2006 RX-8. The first photo shows the 1st large white connector that used to have a grey lever on it. Obviously, it has changed slightly from previous years. Next to that connector is the one with the black ground wires.

The second picture shows further up above the 1st large white connector (it partly appears at the bottom center of the photo).

The 3rd picture shows even further up above the 1st large white connector.

Reading the earlier posts, I was expecting to find a 2nd large white connector somewhere above the 1st one. And also 3 vertically placed smaller connectors. But as you can see from the photos, there are no other white connectors above the 1st large white one.