Car D.I.Y.

[fossyant]

Son arrived home with a car on a trailer yesterday. It belonged to a mate but the car, an Audi A3 S Line is knackered. He had a thought of doing it up and selling for a grand.

Let's say I was not pleased. Where are you keeping it then ? He didn't know. So much for doing a mate a favour and taking the car from his back yard.

I said aren't you better scrapping it for a couple of hundred. Anyway on further investigation the car has its own swimming pool and eco system. He decided to scrap it. I said the alloys and tyres look OK. So he got £200 to scrap it and kept the wheels which will clean up and sell for a fair few hundred with good tyres. Far more profit and less time.

 

[Fastpedaller]

Yes, and it works on our driveway (even when the dashcam is operating)!

Update...... After removing the input plug (Mini USB) from the dashcam we set off from home. The DAB radio worked fine for several miles. I then plugged in the input, the dashcam started recording and the radio immediately lost the station. So it points to the dashcam interfering. The same machine in our Daughter's identical model car hasn't had the same issue, however she is still using the original power source plugged into the 12V accessory outlet, so the supply wire to the dashcam isn't routed via the A-pillar. Her dashcam also has the sound recording turned off (unlike ours). After we returned home I turned off the sound recording of ours, so a further test will follow. We will crack this

 

[Fastpedaller]

Update...... After removing the input plug (Mini USB) from the dashcam we set off from home. The DAB radio worked fine for several miles. I then plugged in the input, the dashcam started recording and the radio immediately lost the station. So it points to the dashcam interfering. The same machine in our Daughter's identical model car hasn't had the same issue, however she is still using the original power source plugged into the 12V accessory outlet, so the supply wire to the dashcam isn't routed via the A-pillar. Her dashcam also has the sound recording turned off (unlike ours). After we returned home I turned off the sound recording of ours, so a further test will follow. We will crack this

Still no solution. Tomorrow I will disconnect the power source and use the original power source which plugs into the 12V accessory socket. If it won't pick up the station then there is a difference compared to Daughters (although Daughter lives 100 miles away, so signal may be different) as that doesn't lose any stations with the original cable. If the power source change results in the loss of stations, I'll then try switching the dashcam camera with the one in my car to see if that cures it. One benefit of buying 3 of the same dashcam..... they were only £10 each.
My one works fine, but then I don't have a radio in my car

 

[CXRAndy]

The reason it's cheap is, there is no RF shielding in the design. It will be emitting spurious radio signals larger than Emley Moors TV transmitter, swamping out the DAB receivers ability to receive

 

[Drago]

Andy is right. There'll be more RF pollution than Chris Rea's TURDIS when the nitrous kicks in.

 

[Fastpedaller]

The reason it's cheap is, there is no RF shielding in the design. It will be emitting spurious radio signals larger than Emley Moors TV transmitter, swamping out the DAB receivers ability to receive

Originally £70 (whether that's cheap, I'm unsure?). I tend to think the lack of instructions and website is support the reason for the £10 sale. IMHO Price alone isn't an indication of quality or lack of - there are many other factors for pricing such as 'brand' and 'warranty'.
Today I disconnected the hardwire power and used the accessory plug-in which came with it - this was marginally better than the hardwire, but could equally have just been a small signal variation. I then switched to the (same model) camera from my car, and it was just the same. The next trial was to remove the ferrite core located at the fuse box end and put it near the camera. Still no better. I can only conclude there may be a difference between the hardwire and the plug-in due to the hardwire routed up the A-pillar, but if there is it's only marginal. The only other experiment I could try (but probably won't) is to put several ferrite cores along the wire.
Wife is going to use another DAB station as her favourite .

 

[Drago]

But price will give a fair indicator of compliance, or otherwise, with things such as international spurious RF emissions standards.

 

[CXRAndy]

Originally £70 (whether that's cheap, I'm unsure?). I tend to think the lack of instructions and website is support the reason for the £10 sale. IMHO Price alone isn't an indication of quality or lack of - there are many other factors for pricing such as 'brand' and 'warranty'.
Today I disconnected the hardwire power and used the accessory plug-in which came with it - this was marginally better than the hardwire, but could equally have just been a small signal variation. I then switched to the (same model) camera from my car, and it was just the same. The next trial was to remove the ferrite core located at the fuse box end and put it near the camera. Still no better. I can only conclude there may be a difference between the hardwire and the plug-in due to the hardwire routed up the A-pillar, but if there is it's only marginal. The only other experiment I could try (but probably won't) is to put several ferrite cores along the wire.
Wife is going to use another DAB station as her favourite .

Its not necessarily causing interference via the 12V supply. It could be radiating from an oscillator which isn't screened. Try using a 2200 microFarad electrolytic capacitor across the supply, this will be pretty much conclusive of supply interference, it will smooth high frequency ripples

 

[dicko]

I’ve got an annoying yellow triangle with a ! In the centre. This always happens in the colder times of the year and always when driving home from Aldis after shopping. I have acquired an OBD diagnostic meter so I can delete it. Hopefully it’ll tell me what’s causing it too.

 

[Fastpedaller]

Its not necessarily causing interference via the 12V supply. It could be radiating from an oscillator which isn't screened. Try using a 2200 microFarad electrolytic capacitor across the supply, this will be pretty much conclusive of supply interference, it will smooth high frequency ripples

Thanks for the advice, but that would be me 'out of my depth'. If it works away from home we'll just move house I said she should put her favourite music on a USB stick and just play that, or switch to preset 3 which works but she doesn't like that one as much. Genuine first-World problem

 

[gbb]

I’ve got an annoying yellow triangle with a ! In the centre. This always happens in the colder times of the year and always when driving home from Aldis after shopping. I have acquired an OBD diagnostic meter so I can delete it. Hopefully it’ll tell me what’s causing it too.

Somethings amiss with one of the systems, its almost like a pre warning, a generic warning, one that's not covered by ABS or other specific EMLs
Red triangle with exclamation apparently you should stop straight away

I know my Mazda will chuck up a skid warning when it's wet...its often just some mist in front of the windscreen sensor by the rear view mirror, so it needn't be serious.

 

[CXRAndy]

Lane assist cameras can be awkward with spurious error messages for blocked vision

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Quick question;

Does anyone know of a longer (3 foot, or so??) aeriel to replace the roof-mounted 12" (or so) that's on the Corsa?
Ie; it's presently one of those screw-mounted semi-flexible aeriels

I've been having a whimsical thought, to make it more like a 'dodgem' with a longer 'whip' aeriel
CB antennas have a different mount

Mindst, you, they're of a specific length for the frequency?? (1/4 wave, 1/2 wave, etc...), so is a car FM aeriel configured in the same way?

 

[Fastpedaller]

Quick question;

Does anyone know of a longer (3 foot, or so??) aeriel to replace the roof-mounted 12" (or so) that's on the Corsa?
Ie; it's presently one of those screw-mounted semi-flexible aeriels

I've been having a whimsical thought, to make it more like a 'dodgem' with a longer 'whip' aeriel
CB antennas have a different mount

Mindst, you, they're of a specific length for the frequency?? (1/4 wave, 1/2 wave, etc...), so is a car FM aeriel configured in the same way?

I guess you may be trying to get a better signal? I know nothing about aerials, but it would be worth exploring if it's likely to achieve your aim if you haven't already.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

@Fastpedaller
No, just that 'dodgem' look, for the 'free Corsa'