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I should be tucked into my parent's guestroom in Idaho at this very moment. Instead it's after 2:00 a.m. and I just finished rewiring my stereo system and I've lost track of how many times I've done this in the last week or so.
So, I had everything working, put the interior back in place went to bed, this was Monday, got up yesterday went to drive my car and no power to my amps. I replaced the wire from the battery to the splitter for the two amps, the only thing I hadn't upgraded and still nothing. Checked all the fuses, connections could not figure out what the problem was. The only thing that made sense was something went wrong with the stereo. I decided to buy another one, I need one for the 90 anyway and it was time to bring in some professional help. I readily admit I know just enough to be dangerous.
I went to Magnolia reluctantly (I didn't like the way they installed a system in my corvette years ago) but I knew where they were. I spent almost $400 on a Pioneer and had to drive from Southcenter to Tacoma because that was the only store that had the stereo in stock and could install it today. After waiting for two hours I get my car back to find out they have only connected the front speakers. He didn't like the way one of my 6 x 9's sounded and apparently I didn't use heavy enough wire for the power connections.
I was told my system was too powerful for the 8 gauge wire I had used and I didn't have high enough amp fuses. The explanation he gave me made sense. I was also told to add up the amps of the fuses in the amps and to use a fuse comparable to the total in each amp. My 5 channel has 3 - 25 amp fuses and the 2 channel I am running my subs off of has 2 - 30 amp fuses which means I needed to use ideally a 75 amp fuse & a 60 amp fuse in the splitter and a 135 amp fuse in the main wire from the battery. It was also suggested I use 4 gauge wire from the battery to the splitter and then 8 gauge to each amp.
By now it's 8:30 and I am scrambling to get somewhere that sells 4 gauge wire. Thank God for 24 hour Walmarts. The closest I could find was 5 gauge wire, a 100 amp fuse for the power wire and a 100 & 50 amp fuses to the amps. I get home and spent 4 hours redoing the power wires. While I am doing this I get to thinking, why in the hell am I doing this? Didn't I just spend money to have someone else do this? We are talking they didn't even connect all the RCA cables to the back of the stereo, I had to pull it out to connect the subwoofers.
Wouldn't logic dictate that if I had the equipment in the car I would expect it to be connected to the stereo? If I only wanted to run the two front speakers, why in the hell would I have two amps, subwoofers and additional speakers? The quality of sound from my crossovers in the front is nice but not exactly what I had in mind during the last week and a half I have struggled trying to get the sound I wanted. Geeeeeeeez, the system I had in the car before I started messing with things sounded a hundred times better than just the front speakers.
Are my expectations too high when it comes to stereo installations by "professionals?" Is it common when you pay for a stereo which includes installation to expect everything everything in the car to be connected to it whether it works or not? The explanation I was given was it was not safe to connect everything with the wiring the way it was, but why was I not given the option of spending more money to have the wiring done the right way?
Okay, enough ranting, if you have read this far I must have said something valid, LOL.
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I dont think I will ever trust a 'professional' to install anything in any of my cars. Ever. Most of them dont give a shit if they break anything, because they wont have to pay for it, and if you drive away with the car without noticing, they may never see you again, so hey, why not?
Unfortuantely the quality of alot of chain store installers (not saying all of them) are not what they used to be like it was in the early to mid 90's. When it comes to good installers it is best to find one that has a good reputation and go from there just like with any mechanic or skilled laborer for that matter. Just my 2 cents.
I dont think I will ever trust a 'professional' to install anything in any of my cars. Ever. Most of them dont give a shit if they break anything, because they wont have to pay for it, and if you drive away with the car without noticing, they may never see you again, so hey, why not
I gota give a big AMENH to that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These guys are no better then the idiots at home depot, or compusa, or well you get the idea.
If you really need help doing it just ask im sure someone can talk you through it. (just might take a while) electrical is pretty easy. Its them damn motors that fuck me up.
Oh and as far as logic goes, if they don't charge you for it, they don't do it. Dimmers, I fucking wire, and they wanna charge you for it. IT'S ONE FUCKING WIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, I don't feel so bad now. I was only 24 hours late getting to my parents. My stereo still needs some fine tuning, it's a little more complicated than the one I had in there. I don't know if knowing just enough to be dangerous is a good thing or not. If nothing else inquiring minds do want to know so I dig for answers. The good thing is I can crank the stereo as loud as I can to adjust everything without annoying any neighbors up here in Nowheresville. Be my luck I would blow everything and find myself back at square one.
I'm really pissed because after all the time I spent running wires through flex tubing and out of sight, the moron ran the wire for the remote to the amps right down the middle and didn't even bother to put it under the console. So now when I turn the stereo off to answer my phone I get static. I will never use a "professional" who works in a chain every again. I will do it my damn self. Now that I know all about amps, fuses, wire gauge and I even bought an electrical tester, don't know how to use it but I'm sure in time I will figure it out.
I'm also going to actually sit in the 90 I bought tomorrow! Looks like I will be bringing her home soon and then I can see what a rotary looks like torn apart. Now what do I do with the extra part in the end? LOL
Thanks guys for letting me vent and rant and making me feel like I'm not crazy.
So, I'm in Spokane, I hit a bump in the road, the plastic mounting brackets broke, the stereo takes a dive into the center console and dies. I have had the stereo for a total of EIGHT days. There is no Magnolia in Spokane. I take the stereo to CarToys, they test it, no power, it is truly toast. This is a Pioneer stereo, mid-range and they have never seen anything like it. Pioneer is supposed to be known for their ability to take a few bumps.
I call Magnolia and they tell me by the time the paperwork is done and a service place found in Spokane, I will be home. In the meantime I am planning on driving to Missoula, MT, back to Idaho and then home next week. I am not going to do this driving without a stereo. I am getting beyond livid by now. I am trying to decide how to deal with the situation. Ultimately I bought the same exact stereo from CarToys, they installed and GET THIS - they guarantee their installations for life for nothing. I paid Magnolia an extra $40 for an extended two year warranty. The guys at CarToys were also impressed with my installation work. Guess I will be doing the installation in the 90 myself.
Anyone know someone who does exorcisms on car stereos??
Yea next time you need a stereo done right call ME!! Jeez kid sounds like you have bad luck. Granted MOST "professionals" are not providing with with the best quality work because they are more concerned about the olume that ets done. However, it does pay to know peoplpe as well. I would take my car to Magnolia in Everett and get the hook-up on quality work done for cheap, most of which was free. Although it wasn't supposed to be. Had some issues with alarms, call the guy, bring the car in, and he works 4 hours on my car fixing the alarm for free!! Damn I miss that guy working there. Stereos, I had Circuit citry install my 1st when I was 16, then realized how easy it was and nearly went to school for certification to install car audio and electronics until I found out how much the guys make. But ALL chain stores require National certification for anyone who works in the install dept. Not cert. no job. And don't get me started on the independant stores cuz those guys are even worse!! My friend's girl was having check engine lights pop on all the time and couldn't figure out why... Found out there was a fuel pressure issue and there had to be an air leak in the system... Well turns out the stereo store drove a screw into the floor to hold down a ground and the screw went right into the gas tank.... They wouldn't man-up for what they did, not to mention they talk out of their asses and don't know nearly enough to own a store, or work there for that matter, and charge stupid people 3 times the amount the merch is worth!!! Get your own merch for cheap and do it yourself!!! You will save coin and avoid any mystery problems!!
Good luck Skqqter. Hit me up if you need help with anything.
hey, sounds like the road trip from hell... how was the TII? still on for the 22nd? i gotta work thursday nite, so the earliest that i could be in cda would be noonish
(thread high jack)
you know i know they are a big chain but i have never gone wrong with car toys. i one in everett i have gone to them alot. good stuff good loans i will go there more in the future. but just my 2 cents. i wouldnt trust one of my friends cus everybody is an electrician. i just dont want my SHI* hard wired in
I'm not a fan of any place but Magnolia, but really it's all about customer service and nowhere provides consistency in treating everyone the same. Car Toys in Everett every person I've dealt with has been an arrogant asshole!
I have been to both CarToys & Magnolia. I bought the Eclipse I had in my RX7 at the Everett CarToys and they did an okay installation, they kind of annoyed me when they didn't hookup my antenna, a year ago that seemed like a big deal, not compared to now!
I bought a system for my corvette from Magnolia back in 1988, they pissed me off real good. They tried to tell me I needed custom made boxes to install speakers in the back, they wanted to charge me more to install the speakers than I paid for them. The speakers I bought fit where the old ones were, I didn't need custom made boxes. They also installed my amp right over my catylitic converter. I went on a roadtrip to California and the damn amp overheated and shut down about every 10 minutes. The did move it for me.
I have always heard Magnolia had a decent reputation but I haven't experienced it. Granted the guy who installed my new stereo was knowledgeable and told me what I needed to do, but I still think they should have at least offered to connect all my speakers and I would have gladly paid extra for it instead of staying up until 2:00 am doing it myself. But when the mounting piece broke and my stereo took a dive, it was only held in place with two screws, not four and being made out of plastic....
CarToys in Spokane treated me well. I guess it all depends on who you know or who you are. My problem is I know just enough to be dangerous and I like to do things myself. I ask questions and trust the people I get the answers from. But I don't always get all the information I need like using 4 gauge wire from the battery instead of 8 and what amp fuses I need to use. It's all a learning experience and not always an inexpensive one. Now I am trying to figure out the frequency stuff because of the crossover speakers I have and the stereo I now have has frequency adjustments as well as my amp. But - knock on wood - everything is working and is sounding nice.
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