My Experience entering the car stereo world

[4styler]

Hey there everyone,

This is my first post on this forum, and feel free to take this topic down moderators if you feel this doesn't fit or abide by the rules but I need to vent some steam and warn others...

Alright...

I work in Film & TV as a Media technician so I do have a general understanding of how generic stereos go together and how they work.

At the start of this year I decided to get my '96 Landcruiser fitted with 2x Alpine SPS400s, 2x Alpine SPS600s, 1x 12" MB Quart Sub 300w and a JL AMP G4500 500w. I purchased these parts through JB Hi-Fi and they also installed the system for $180 AUD.

Now I wanting to warn other consumers NOT TO GET JB TO INSTALL THE SYSTEM. I felt kinda bad getting these guys to install it for me, seeing they are a RETAIL OUTLET and proper car audio places were charging $300. Well, the cheapness REALLY shows and so does the reliability.

1. To begin with, the amp has been positioned behind the back panel UNDERNEATH A WINDOW in a car 14 years old, real smart,

2. This panel won't go back on properly because the lug nuts have been bent from them trying to bash it back on, so they decided to SCREW THE PANEL BACK IN

3. The panels in the passenger doors are leaking water on rainy days at the bottom, plus the left door panel is badly bent and the speaker won't go in straight

4. The Cutting of the chassis (to make room for the larger speakers, and amp placement) hasn't been shaved off, leaving a jagged edge.

5. The earth for the amplifier is on a PAINTED surface!

6. Bolts are missing from my car interior steps

But now here I get to the main ISSUE, here in Australia ATM it is winter and we are seeing some heavy rain letely, and as I previously mentioned the amp is placed underneath a window, and the 6's are being subjected to heavy amounts of rain, and as you could probably assume, the amp fried itself about a month ago, now last week I just got a replacement amp back from JL seeing JB won't replace the unit, and JB happily put it back in last week, well I just got home from rainy day at work, I am hearing some nasty ass crackles coming from the sub even before ANY sound is coming from the headunit (takes about 20 seconds for th USB to read). And I have had situations on other days where the 6's were crackling as well

So this is where I'm standing now, with a system that isn't working and a car that has lost quite a few dollars in value due to the SHITTIEST job I have ever seen . I agree I should have given the manager a mouthful, but I'm not like that, and I suspected that I would have an issue or two with my system anyways, but nothing of this nature. I want a good stereo and now I see why Car audio places charge such a rate.

So I am thinking of going back there, asking for a refund on my install and having a pro look at this, even if it costs me extra, otherwise I'm going POSTAL

What do you guys think?

(I'll put up some photos sometime soon...)

(Oh and one last thing, when I mentioned to the floor salesman that I tuned the amp to my preferred settings (It HAD TOO MUCH BASS to begin with) he said that I would be voiding warranty) How F#@$ed is that?

Edited August 31, 2010 by 4styler

[onelivinlarge]

this is why i came on here and asked LOTS of questions and did my own install

[huh?do-what?]

too many people think that if a system is playing, it is installed correctly. What a shame.

[Skullz]

Welcome, sorry for the crappy install they did on your ride.

It's really not that hard to install everything yourself and be proud of what you have accomplished, just takes time and patience and you'll be well rewarded for it.

EDIT: if you have problems with rain on your speakers get some of the baffles from here, you'll lose some bass from the speaker but better to have one working than not working.

http://www.crutchfield.com/shopsearch/baffle.html

Edited August 31, 2010 by Skullz

[LT.Smoke]

1st off welcome to the forum bro...X2 sorry to hear about the shitty install quality they did thats not right bro..You will find that most of the time taking your stuff to a trusted audio dealer/installer is the best route if you can't do it yourself because most of the shops ive dealt with warranty there work and usually do a good job on installs for the most part because they like to have a good reputation...That is not true for all shops though trust and believe that...Hope you come to like SMD and gain lots of valuable insight and info here bro

[huh?do-what?]

Welcome, sorry for the crappy install they did on your ride.

It's really not that hard to install everything yourself and be proud of what you have accomplished, just takes time and patience and you'll be well rewarded for it.

EDIT: if you have problems with rain on your speakers get some of the baffles from here, you'll lose some bass from the speaker but better to have one working than not working.

http://www.crutchfield.com/shopsearch/baffle.html

x2 on what he said. Cut the bottom out so sound can escape, but will still keep rain off of them.

[4styler]

Cheers guys, its great to see some people care,

I'm just trying to nut out now what could be causing this issue.

So what I've done is (going against my warranty!) taken the amp out from underneath the window and simply placed it on the floor, I then have poured a cup of water in the windowsill directly above where it was, and there is water dripping in next to it, NOT directly on it, but damn close. But the water is then falling onto the wheelarch and going down to the bottom behind my taillight, where I found a lovely 3 inch deep well of water

So I think it is safe to say that the amp probably needs to be moved. I'm just trying to figure out what to do exactly because IF I pulled the whole system out myself and moved it I am technically voiding warranty, and same story if I got a PRO from somewhere else to do it. (Oh its a one year warranty and this is the 5th month)

But you should see these installers, the first time I met them was when I picked up my keys from them they smell, are very fat, and downright ugly It just seems funny that stereotypical installers do exist and that their jobs are as good what they look like... SHIT

I've learnt my lesson and I'm looking forward to getting this job done properly, even if it costs me more....

[Paul M]

Sucks to hear. =/

I've had my friends bring me some of their cars that they got done at Best Buy/Future shop, and yeah... They were terrible. =/

[knowledge]

this is why i came on here and asked LOTS of questions and did my own install

agreed

[wfw5607]

thats a shame to here that someone messed up that install. I know how you feel i had a in dash installed at a local shop and they dropped something on the faceplate and where going to charge me to replace it so from their on i do it myself. This site will defiantly help you with any info you need to know whether you are a noob or a long time pro