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The forum is intended as a place where users can share humorous and/or learning experiences relating to auto sound.
Here is an example:
Back in 1988, I had just accepted a job with Rockford Fosgate. After accepting the position, one of my first tasks was to prepare the Terminator (my show car) for exhibition at the CES show in Las Vegas. Since time was short, I elisted the "help" of several of my new employees.
One of our first tasks was to replace the existing batteries, alternators, and power cabling with new products manufactured by Rockford. I assigned this duty to one of my "helpers" and continued working on other things. That Saturday, I took the Terminator "cruising". As you know, all of the instrumentation for the vehicle is computerized. As fate would have it, every time I crossed an intersection, all of the video display terminals and other instruments on the dash would blank out momentarily. Then, the entire system would re-boot. I didn't have a clue as to what was happening but I felt that it had to be related to the changes we had made to the electrical system.
The next day, an exhaustive investigation revealed that the person who "helped" run the new power cable had conveniently routed the cable over the exhaust manifold. Obviously, the high temperature had melted through the cable's insulating jacket. Thus, whenever the car hit a bump, the cable would short to ground and kill the electrical system momentarily.
------------------ "Keep it Loud and Make me Proud!"
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Well Wayne I must fess up, my first *goof* was a learning experience I will never forget, and it's also the reason I became a very cautious installer, and learned that "the customer has every right to be wrong, and it's my duty to defend his right to be wrong". I was given the customer's car to install a sound system, which consisted of component speakers. The customer insisted to have the tweeters mounted on the rear pillar of his Porsche 944, and the mid-driver in the door. As much as I tried to dissuade him from doing so, he didn't want to cut, or perforate the dash or door, and was too "frugal" to allow a custom job. Having surface mounted the tweeter on the driver's side, I proceeded to the passanger side, checked the level of the gas filler cap, and proceeded to drill a hole for my mounting screw, when suddenly....sssssssssss I heard pressure escaping. Checked again for the gas tank (I smelled gas), and everything looked ok. So I called the Porsche dealer and explained what happenned, and as I was explaining, the service manager informed me that I had pierced the "GAS EXPANSION TANK", which continues on all 944's to half way in the roof. The service manager explained it was in case the tank was overfilled and if the car was rolled. Needless to say, I learned my lesson the hard way on that encounter.
------------------ E.C. Wuz here
Posts: 1057 | From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 'eh | Registered: May 1999
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The first install I did was for a friend, it was in a Subaru Legacy Wagon. Anyone who knows a thing or two about these cars knows that there are speaker panels behind the rear seats that house 6.5 speakers. Well my friend bought MMats pro seies highs and wanted them installed, but they were to deep for the front door and we decided to put them in the back. Well since they are separates we neede a hole in the back for the tweeter, so we cut one. Low and behold when we put the tweeter in and put the seat back, the tweeter was hidden behind the seat! DOH! We cut the panel in the wrong spot, so we took it out and put it out in the open. but thats not the end, while making the boxes for the subs we forgot to put the carpeting on first before putting the box together, 'nother DOH! And while we were testing with hooking up the amp we blew like 5 fuses and made quite a show of sparks. Then when he was screwing the woofers to the boxes the screwdrive slipped and made a mark on the cone of the woofer, that was an almost DOH as the screwdriver didnt make a hole. but we finally got it right! and it doesnt sound half bad
------------------ *********************************** The BOOMING TRUCKING RANGER! Coming soon to a comp near YOU! (formerly known as Mikee)
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I put in a replacement 12" in a very old cabinet from my dad.... Too bad the original 1960's speaker had been a 11" or so... two embedded screws were in the right mountingholes, two were sticking through the surround... Did I ever feel stupid... In my defense : the speaker was mounted inside the enclosure, and had to be put in through the bottom. Since it was a cheapo PA speaker with papercone+papersurround, nailpolish solved the problem.
What I learned : measure before you act. Not just once, but at least twice.
R-P I also blew $60 worth of transistors by forgetting a tiny speck of solder on a 200W poweramp. And I feed my 120W carsub a 40Vdc voltage, etc. etc. I only do something this stupid once every 5 years though...
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Once when i was installing a amp for some mid's and high in my freinds car he was wacthing me so he could learn how to do it him self later well i went into the house to get something and when i came out he is standing next to the trunk with the speaker wire in hand and tells wacth what happens when i touch the +and - wire's togeter before i could stop he touched them togeter and the amp and radio was on then he say's look the amp shuts off when i do that. to this day i still laugh at him and dont let him near any of my stuff.
------------------ THE ONE THE ONLY BADBOY
Posts: 304 | From: Hawaii USA | Registered: Oct 2000
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