Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: Lizzie_Zoom on 10 September 2014, 12:27:16
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Replaced my power sounder this morning as the car is 11 years old and I don't want this infamous piece of equipment to destroy it.
Funny thing was though that, although I did not turn the ignition on/off or did anything else, when I disconnected the unit it made no sound.
The new one gave a satisfying "beep" when connected and the alarm interior warning light is confirming all is well when the alarm is engaged.
I have a feeling that the old power sounder was not functioning as it never went off at any stage in the past.
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Best place for it is the bin.....or got the internals and refit if insurance is your worry (not that it will have ANY impact)
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Best place for it is the bin.....or got the internals and refit if insurance is your worry (not that it will have ANY impact)
Thanks Mark. I was tempted not to fit a new unit, but I want my Omega, as I have with all of my cars, to remain in original specification as much as possible so nothing will be replaced with non-standard or non-Vx units or left off altogether. :y :y
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The issue here though is that there is a fundamental design fault associated with this which can result in total loss of the car and no known MTBF :y
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May I ask you how much a new power sounder cost, Lizzie?
I have one. You only needed to ask. :-* :-* :-* ::) ::) ::)
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May I ask you how much a new power sounder cost, Lizzie?
I have one. You only needed to ask. :-* :-* :-* ::) ::) ::)
With full T/C £66 all in. :y
£88 full retail ;)
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May I ask you how much a new power sounder cost, Lizzie?
I have one. You only needed to ask. :-* :-* :-* ::) ::) ::)
With full T/C £66 all in. :y
£88 full retail ;)
:o :o :o :o Bloody hell Lizzie, I know you are a wealthy lady, but you must have money to 'burn'. ;)
Oooppps..... Sorry, a poor choice of words when talking about the infamous power sounder. :y ;D
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May I ask you how much a new power sounder cost, Lizzie?
I have one. You only needed to ask. :-* :-* :-* ::) ::) ::)
With full T/C £66 all in. :y
£88 full retail ;)
:o :o :o :o Bloody hell Lizzie, I know you are a wealthy lady, but you must have money to 'burn'. ;)
Oooppps..... Sorry, a poor choice of words when talking about the infamous power sounder. :y ;D
;D ;D ;D ;D No, thanks Opti, but my car deserves the best and that is a brand new P/S. The price is immaterial when I intend to keep what is a hardly run in Omega as long as possible. I just couldn't run it with a part that the designers originally thought was necessary, and the insurance company will expect. £66 vs. replacing my Omega is a no-brainer.
Do not forget that instead of buying a new 4x4 car or a second hand Bentley I went for the best option; an Omega 3.2! :D :D :D ;)
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May I ask you how much a new power sounder cost, Lizzie?
I have one. You only needed to ask. :-* :-* :-* ::) ::) ::)
With full T/C £66 all in. :y
£88 full retail ;)
:o :o :o :o Bloody hell Lizzie, I know you are a wealthy lady, but you must have money to 'burn'. ;)
Oooppps..... Sorry, a poor choice of words when talking about the infamous power sounder. :y ;D
;D ;D ;D ;D No, thanks Opti, but my car deserves the best and that is a brand new P/S. The price is immaterial when I intend to keep what is a hardly run in Omega as long as possible. I just couldn't run it with a part that the designers originally thought was necessary, and the insurance company will expect. £66 vs. replacing my Omega is a no-brainer.
Do not forget that instead of buying a new 4x4 car or a second hand Bentley I went for the best option; an Omega 3.2! :D :D :D ;)
It is a lovely example of the marque and not presented in 'common as muck' star silver. :y :y
Ruebens Red........Do I have that right, Lizzie?
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a brand new P/S.
New to you, but when was it manufactured :-\
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May I ask you how much a new power sounder cost, Lizzie?
I have one. You only needed to ask. :-* :-* :-* ::) ::) ::)
With full T/C £66 all in. :y
£88 full retail ;)
:o :o :o :o Bloody hell Lizzie, I know you are a wealthy lady, but you must have money to 'burn'. ;)
Oooppps..... Sorry, a poor choice of words when talking about the infamous power sounder. :y ;D
;D ;D ;D ;D No, thanks Opti, but my car deserves the best and that is a brand new P/S. The price is immaterial when I intend to keep what is a hardly run in Omega as long as possible. I just couldn't run it with a part that the designers originally thought was necessary, and the insurance company will expect. £66 vs. replacing my Omega is a no-brainer.
Do not forget that instead of buying a new 4x4 car or a second hand Bentley I went for the best option; an Omega 3.2! :D :D :D ;)
It is a lovely example of the marque and not presented in 'common as muck' star silver. :y :y
Ruebens Red........Do I have that right, Lizzie?
Yep Opti, and thanks it is a lovely colour. :D :D :y
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a brand new P/S.
New to you, but when was it manufactured :-\
No idea, but it was straight from the central Vx parts system. ;)
As it is brand new, never used, I cannot see that being a problem. It is the old units on your Omega that after thousands of re-charges become suspect. :)
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Well its not actually, its battery failure and this can occur at anytime (all be it more likely when old), the problem would be if its been stored for some time and the internal batteries are mega flat they may already be damaged.
As a minimum, I would be fitting a 20-30A fuse to the unfused to supply to it
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Well its not actually, its battery failure and this can occur at anytime (all be it more likely when old), the problem would be if its been stored for some time and the internal batteries are mega flat they may already be damaged.
As a minimum, I would be fitting a 20-30A fuse to the unfused to supply to it
Do you think that would be small enough to prevent a faulty power sounder from 'letting the smoke out'?
(I bought a new power sounder last year but I haven't fitted it yet because the fire risk outweighs any benefit IMO)
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Cut the old one open Lizzie. Ortopsy time. :)
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Cut the old one open Lizzie. Ortopsy time. :)
:y
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Cut the old one open Lizzie. Ortopsy time. :)
It's already in the bin Chris and was taken away by the dustmen late yesterday! Good riddance eh! :D :D :D ;)
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Cut the old one open Lizzie. Ortopsy time. :)
Is this the Reading spelling, Mr Gixer?.... ::) ::) ::) ;)
Lizzie, save your beautiful red Omega by burning your power sounder. :y :-* :-* :-* :-*
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Well its not actually, its battery failure and this can occur at anytime (all be it more likely when old), the problem would be if its been stored for some time and the internal batteries are mega flat they may already be damaged.
As a minimum, I would be fitting a 20-30A fuse to the unfused to supply to it
Do you think that would be small enough to prevent a faulty power sounder from 'letting the smoke out'?
(I bought a new power sounder last year but I haven't fitted it yet because the fire risk outweighs any benefit IMO)
I suspect so, what we really need to do is monitor the operating current of one as it sounds and then scale the fuse to match based in di/dt
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Well its not actually, its battery failure and this can occur at anytime (all be it more likely when old), the problem would be if its been stored for some time and the internal batteries are mega flat they may already be damaged.
As a minimum, I would be fitting a 20-30A fuse to the unfused to supply to it
If I remember correctly I believe AndyB replaced his and it didn't last very long at all. :-\
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I have one in full working order which I removed from my MV6.
After reading this thread it is now for sale. How much should I charge?
£30 to include delivery anywhere in the UK. :y
First come ......First served. :y
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Are you allowed to post combustible material through the post :-\
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Are you allowed to post combustible material through the post :-\
I believe that mistress Lizzie wants to protect her beloved omega and not cremate it. That is certainly her intention.
Reality, however......... ;)
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I have one in full working order which I removed from my MV6.
After reading this thread it is now for sale. How much should I charge?
£30 to include delivery anywhere in the UK. :y
First come ......First served. :y
I too have one , removed only last month :y Looks bran new £25 inc delivery ;)
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As a minimum, I would be fitting a 20-30A fuse to the unfused to supply to it
Need to look closer at some point - I had intended to inspect mine before it went bang in a different way - but surely its just a trickle charge feed, and the sounder powers itself purely from its batteries?
I'd always suspected it was a poor charge circuit, incapable of detecting failed cells (or even fully charged cells) that was the underlying cause?
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As a minimum, I would be fitting a 20-30A fuse to the unfused to supply to it
Need to look closer at some point - I had intended to inspect mine before it went bang in a different way - but surely its just a trickle charge feed, and the sounder powers itself purely from its batteries?
I'd always suspected it was a poor charge circuit, incapable of detecting failed cells (or even fully charged cells) that was the underlying cause?
It does get trickle charged, but the sounder is powered from the permanent 12v feed and the internal battery takes over if that's not present. So, unfused 12v feed goes straight in, through a diode to the sounder circuit which comprises a MOSFET feeding the primary of a transformer, the secondary of which feeds the piezo siren. When I caught mine acting up, gunk from the battery had leaked over the MOSFET.
My suspicions are that gunk between supply and the MOSFET's gate cause it to start to conduct, the transformer burns out and, at some point, the wiring gets hot enough that the +12V feed and ground fuse together and short out and the loom from sounder, under the dash and back to the battery starts burning.
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As a minimum, I would be fitting a 20-30A fuse to the unfused to supply to it
Need to look closer at some point - I had intended to inspect mine before it went bang in a different way - but surely its just a trickle charge feed, and the sounder powers itself purely from its batteries?
I'd always suspected it was a poor charge circuit, incapable of detecting failed cells (or even fully charged cells) that was the underlying cause?
It does get trickle charged, but the sounder is powered from the permanent 12v feed and the internal battery takes over if that's not present. So, unfused 12v feed goes straight in, through a diode to the sounder circuit which comprises a MOSFET feeding the primary of a transformer, the secondary of which feeds the piezo siren. When I caught mine acting up, gunk from the battery had leaked over the MOSFET.
My suspicions are that gunk between supply and the MOSFET's gate cause it to start to conduct, the transformer burns out and, at some point, the wiring gets hot enough that the +12V feed and ground fuse together and short out and the loom from sounder, under the dash and back to the battery starts burning.
A 20Amp fuse probably would prevent the harness being damaged and/or starting a fire. the question is whether there is enough combustible material in the body of the firestarter power sounder to carry on burning once ignited and set the rest of the car alight.
The photos we have seen of the aftermath of a powersounder fire all show the seat of the fire being at the base of the windscreen - and no apparent evidence of the loom having started a fire under the bonnet :-\
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I very much doubt the power sounder takes more than an amp or so when sounding, although I have one I could measure, as a matter of fact. A fuse that small will certainly protect the vehicle wiring and probably let go before the sounder has taken enough energy to start a fire.
That leaves the energy in the internal rechargeable battery. That could be protected by addition of an internal fuse, of course. I reckon that by the time the battery has leaked all over the place, its' capacity will be low enough that it's not a problem.
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Replaced my power sounder this morning as the car is 11 years old and I don't want this infamous piece of equipment to destroy it.
Funny thing was though that, although I did not turn the ignition on/off or did anything else, when I disconnected the unit it made no sound.
The new one gave a satisfying "beep" when connected and the alarm interior warning light is confirming all is well when the alarm is engaged.
I have a feeling that the old power sounder was not functioning as it never went off at any stage in the past.
Mine certainly didn't come quietly as I ripped it's still beating heart from the car. Quite the opposite in fact. ;D ;D ;D
I still have the 'horn' alarm connected. :y
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Replaced my power sounder this morning as the car is 11 years old and I don't want this infamous piece of equipment to destroy it.
Funny thing was though that, although I did not turn the ignition on/off or did anything else, when I disconnected the unit it made no sound.
The new one gave a satisfying "beep" when connected and the alarm interior warning light is confirming all is well when the alarm is engaged.
I have a feeling that the old power sounder was not functioning as it never went off at any stage in the past.
Mine certainly didn't come quietly as I ripped it's still beating heart from the car. Quite the opposite in fact. ;D ;D ;D
I still have the 'horn' alarm connected. :y
Yes, I know everyone else seems to have had a P/S that screams it's head off as it is being removed. That is what makes me think mine was as dead as a Dodo! Power is obviously getting through as the new one "beeped" as I connect it up. ;)
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Replaced my power sounder this morning as the car is 11 years old and I don't want this infamous piece of equipment to destroy it.
Funny thing was though that, although I did not turn the ignition on/off or did anything else, when I disconnected the unit it made no sound.
The new one gave a satisfying "beep" when connected and the alarm interior warning light is confirming all is well when the alarm is engaged.
I have a feeling that the old power sounder was not functioning as it never went off at any stage in the past.
Mine certainly didn't come quietly as I ripped it's still beating heart from the car. Quite the opposite in fact. ;D ;D ;D
I still have the 'horn' alarm connected. :y
Yes, I know everyone else seems to have had a P/S that screams it's head off as it is being removed. That is what makes me think mine was as dead as a Dodo! Power is obviously getting through as the new one "beeped" as I connect it up. ;)
Not so Lizzie wizzy , mine came off quiet also ... looked bran new also :-\
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Just removed mine, and it was quiet too. The plug had a little grot around it, but otherwise seemed OK.
From the date code on it(10/09/99) it was original.
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Replaced my power sounder this morning as the car is 11 years old and I don't want this infamous piece of equipment to destroy it.
Funny thing was though that, although I did not turn the ignition on/off or did anything else, when I disconnected the unit it made no sound.
The new one gave a satisfying "beep" when connected and the alarm interior warning light is confirming all is well when the alarm is engaged.
I have a feeling that the old power sounder was not functioning as it never went off at any stage in the past.
Mine certainly didn't come quietly as I ripped it's still beating heart from the car. Quite the opposite in fact. ;D ;D ;D
I still have the 'horn' alarm connected. :y
Yes, I know everyone else seems to have had a P/S that screams it's head off as it is being removed. That is what makes me think mine was as dead as a Dodo! Power is obviously getting through as the new one "beeped" as I connect it up. ;)
Not so Lizzie wizzy , mine came off quiet also ... looked bran new also :-\
....and I was just about to send you £30, Mr Emd. ;D ;D ;D
Now I know it's dud I'll treat myself to a large case of beer instead. ;)
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Replaced my power sounder this morning as the car is 11 years old and I don't want this infamous piece of equipment to destroy it.
Funny thing was though that, although I did not turn the ignition on/off or did anything else, when I disconnected the unit it made no sound.
The new one gave a satisfying "beep" when connected and the alarm interior warning light is confirming all is well when the alarm is engaged.
I have a feeling that the old power sounder was not functioning as it never went off at any stage in the past.
Mine certainly didn't come quietly as I ripped it's still beating heart from the car. Quite the opposite in fact. ;D ;D ;D
I still have the 'horn' alarm connected. :y
Yes, I know everyone else seems to have had a P/S that screams it's head off as it is being removed. That is what makes me think mine was as dead as a Dodo! Power is obviously getting through as the new one "beeped" as I connect it up. ;)
Not so Lizzie wizzy , mine came off quiet also ... looked bran new also :-\
....and I was just about to send you £30, Mr Emd. ;D ;D ;D
Now I know it's dud I'll treat myself to a large case of beer instead. ;)
Its perfect mr opti just needs a new battery and circuit board ::) :-\
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Replaced my power sounder this morning as the car is 11 years old and I don't want this infamous piece of equipment to destroy it.
Funny thing was though that, although I did not turn the ignition on/off or did anything else, when I disconnected the unit it made no sound.
The new one gave a satisfying "beep" when connected and the alarm interior warning light is confirming all is well when the alarm is engaged.
I have a feeling that the old power sounder was not functioning as it never went off at any stage in the past.
Mine certainly didn't come quietly as I ripped it's still beating heart from the car. Quite the opposite in fact. ;D ;D ;D
I still have the 'horn' alarm connected. :y
Yes, I know everyone else seems to have had a P/S that screams it's head off as it is being removed. That is what makes me think mine was as dead as a Dodo! Power is obviously getting through as the new one "beeped" as I connect it up. ;)
Not so Lizzie wizzy , mine came off quiet also ... looked bran new also :-\
....and I was just about to send you £30, Mr Emd. ;D ;D ;D
Now I know it's dud I'll treat myself to a large case of beer instead. ;)
Its perfect mr opti just needs a new battery and circuit board ::) :-\
Do I need to add petrol to make it it catch fire, or will it do that of it's own accord? :D :D ;)
Seriously though, I may put my old P/S on Ebay and see if anyone bites. 99p start price. :y
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Replaced my power sounder this morning as the car is 11 years old and I don't want this infamous piece of equipment to destroy it.
Funny thing was though that, although I did not turn the ignition on/off or did anything else, when I disconnected the unit it made no sound.
The new one gave a satisfying "beep" when connected and the alarm interior warning light is confirming all is well when the alarm is engaged.
I have a feeling that the old power sounder was not functioning as it never went off at any stage in the past.
Mine certainly didn't come quietly as I ripped it's still beating heart from the car. Quite the opposite in fact. ;D ;D ;D
I still have the 'horn' alarm connected. :y
Yes, I know everyone else seems to have had a P/S that screams it's head off as it is being removed. That is what makes me think mine was as dead as a Dodo! Power is obviously getting through as the new one "beeped" as I connect it up. ;)
Not so Lizzie wizzy , mine came off quiet also ... looked bran new also :-\
....and I was just about to send you £30, Mr Emd. ;D ;D ;D
Now I know it's dud I'll treat myself to a large case of beer instead. ;)
Its perfect mr opti just needs a new battery and circuit board ::) :-\
Do I need to add petrol to make it it catch fire, or will it do that of it's own accord? :D :D ;)
Its never caught fire in 16 years so its stood the test of time :) I could throw it over the wall to you one night , just make sure nothing flammable is on its drop zone :-X Reminds me , must move it from the current storage unit :-X
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Replaced my power sounder this morning as the car is 11 years old and I don't want this infamous piece of equipment to destroy it.
Funny thing was though that, although I did not turn the ignition on/off or did anything else, when I disconnected the unit it made no sound.
The new one gave a satisfying "beep" when connected and the alarm interior warning light is confirming all is well when the alarm is engaged.
I have a feeling that the old power sounder was not functioning as it never went off at any stage in the past.
Mine certainly didn't come quietly as I ripped it's still beating heart from the car. Quite the opposite in fact. ;D ;D ;D
I still have the 'horn' alarm connected. :y
Yes, I know everyone else seems to have had a P/S that screams it's head off as it is being removed. That is what makes me think mine was as dead as a Dodo! Power is obviously getting through as the new one "beeped" as I connect it up. ;)
Not so Lizzie wizzy , mine came off quiet also ... looked bran new also :-\
That is interesting Emd :y :y :y :y
Is the P/S "problem" being made too much on this Forum (with all due respects to those that have had car fires)? No noise from old units; old units still intact, with no signs of over-heating/damage, and all these units coming off of all different ages of Omega.
I must say I have owned various ages of Omega over the last 16 years and not one suffered any problems with the P/S. Are we all being over cautious?
Right, tin hat on, fire away...................................! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;)
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Just to add fuel to the fire ;D ;D ;D ;D
Last three posts :y
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=115419.msg1512402#msg1512402
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Just to add fuel to the fire ;D ;D ;D ;D
Last three posts :y
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=115419.msg1512402#msg1512402
Indeed :(
As an Insurance Assesor myself, I can confirm that we all read these forums, learn the tricks that you guys get up to and we also report back to our employers who collate a lot of this stuff togather. You are right, we do not get much time to inspect a vehicle, hence the checklists for what we call "the bleedin obvious" and I can assure you that one of the pre-filled details that comes through is the declaration by the insured as to the security status of the vehicle. Many have been declared as Thatcham category 1, and on the checklist for us (on the Omega) are things like bonnet switch disconnection and is the power sounder present. If not, then we report back, and take it from me, the insurance companies take a very dim view of false declarations.
Why do you think I keep banging on about it on here?
:o :o :(
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both the power sounders on the Vectra are know more....aimed at the bin 2 days after picking it up...now Vectra could be aimed....lol
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Indeed :(
As an Insurance Assesor myself, I can confirm that we all read these forums, learn the tricks that you guys get up to and we also report back to our employers who collate a lot of this stuff togather. You are right, we do not get much time to inspect a vehicle, hence the checklists for what we call "the bleedin obvious" and I can assure you that one of the pre-filled details that comes through is the declaration by the insured as to the security status of the vehicle. Many have been declared as Thatcham category 1, and on the checklist for us (on the Omega) are things like bonnet switch disconnection and is the power sounder present. If not, then we report back, and take it from me, the insurance companies take a very dim view of false declarations.
Why do you think I keep banging on about it on here?
:o :o :(
:o Indeed.
In my view that makes it worse. That would imply that the insurers are aware of why power sounders are being removed but are saving it for their 'get out clause'. >:(