Lazy shock sensor
 

So I've got an alarm system on my 8. the dealership installed it and it's got your basic shock sensor on it. I asked them to turn it down a bit so that it wouldn't go off whenever the wind blows, but when i got it home, I discovered I could rock the car pretty significantly while the system is engaged and not have it go off. :eyetwitch

I crawled up under the dash, and poked at the sensor a bit. It had a potentiometer labeled "Min" to "max" It was set pretty close to minimum, so I turned the fucker all the way up and still I'm not getting the sensitivity I want out of it. the slightest tap on the sensor under the dash now lights up the little Red LED on it, but try as I might I cant get the thing to alarm by shaking the car. :squint:

Did the stealership wire my alarm incorrectly? Or should I try attaching the sensor to something other then part of the main wiring harness where it is currently ziptied? :banghead:

This was supposed to go in the main tech garage not DIY... Could a mod please move it?

could you pssibley take some pics and show what you did.. i would like to do the same thing.. thanks

there's an 'upgraded' shock sensor for our cars. which one do you have?

First off, it's not the black box with the pot on it that is the sensor itself. The sensor is a diode that is in the wiring and should be behind your side panel of your passenger side footwell. Take off the plastic piece on the inside right in front of the door and there you should find the wiring leading to the black box. Somewhere in that wiring(I think it's on the brown wire) should be a diode that will be wrapped in like clear plastic tubing and this is what senses the shock. I'll bet that that they just have that in there so damn tight or mounted it somehow that it can't sense any movement. Take a look and see. Now...this is for the older version, so it could be different on the new, but I don't think so. It's also important how the diode is piositioned(either Horz. or vertically) so I'll take a look at the instructions and report back.
BTW.............the procedure for setting it is dropping a tennis ball on the windsheild from three feet and that's approx. where it should go off. Any less than three feet and it shouldn't.

Actually..............now that I think about it..........if you have paid the dealer for the install, take it back to them and let them fix it. I believe I can send you then instructions so you can see what I was taking about above and that way you'd be a little better informed on what the whole circuit/situation looks like and would know if/when the dealer gives you some BS(if they do?).
PM your home E-mail and I'll send ya the instructions later today/tonight if you want them. In the future if you have a dealer install something aftermerket....make them give you the instructions and keep them, that's always a good idea.

Heres a picture of the module itself.

You say there is a brown wire with a diode on it? This wouldn't be the brown wire under my driver side door jam would it? The one they affixed to the wiring harness with a crappy wire tap?

I've only gotten the system to set itself off once, and that was when i was washing my car :Eyecrazy: The manual also said something about automagically locking the doors and I'm not sure that is working either (but I'm also compulsive about using the remote to lock it so who knows).

This system is made by KARR. In retrospect i should have gotten some better aftermarket system put in, but... effort, and the car already has an immobilizer.

i have the base line one

By baseline, I guess you mean the standard(or old) one? If so, with a 2004 you should be okay.

Whoa.................you never said it was KARR...........I'm not sure what I send you is going to apply. Also, it makes me wonder as yours is installed on the drivers side, and the one I have(and the instructions) puts it on the other side(the passenger).
I'll send the instructions anyway......but the may not apply!

Let me take a closer look at your pic and then I will comment on the diode and wiring. I'll also look, but if not in your sig.......what year do you have?





Dave

It's an 07 touring model. MT.

Are you saying that there is a factory shock sensor I could be using instead? :banghead:

Yes...................and not only that. But my instructions will probably do you no good. so you will have to forget all I said above. Do you have model number or anything on this so I can maybe look it up on the net and see what you are dealing with?

Just for grins.......here is the Mazda one......it's probably not made by Mazda, but any dealer should have known about it.

http://www.buymazdaparts.com/parts.c...de=RX8&catid=1

Does this look anything like you have besides it being black and the LED would appear it might be in the same position?
since you said yours is a KARR, did you by it elsewhere and take it to the dealer for installation or buy it from them?

I don't have a model# on hand, but I can probably find documentation on it when I get home in a few hours.

Is the shock sensor factory standard? when I first got my 8 I went looking for the shock sensor on the passenger side to adjust it, but never found anything that looked remotely like a shock sensor. Normally it's mounted behind that kick panel you cannot remove without taking the door jam out, correct?

I never found it in the stock location, so I gave up on caring about it until I found the KARR one when running the power line for my stereo upgrade.

The KARR system was installed by the dealer before I received it. There wouldn't be any reason to pull the stock sensor right?

It is a SHOCK SENSOR... not a rocking sensor.

The sensor should trigger from a shock to the car's body.

Normally you set a shock sensor by striking the A pillar with your open hand (to avoid dents or damage).

A good smack and it should trigger.

But if rocking the car tiggers it, it was installed and adjusted incorrectly.

It was installed incorrectly and I'd rather work on my stereo upgrade instead of the alarm, so I'm going to have the dealer fix it at my next service appointment. I'm also going to ask them why they didn't tell me i could have had an OEM shock sensor when I chat with the guys there. Should be good for a long uncomfortable pause. :lol:

If you have the advanced keyless entry system on your 2007, the shock sensor is incompatible with your car...I was looking at installing the shock sensor on my car before I saw that note somewhere...

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...cat=267&page=1