Don't get anything installed by Strathfield!

[Fev]

hey stav wanna do my stereo when i get it together? will be
4-5x7-(probly rockfords from the US)
1 mono amp running a 400wrms rockford 8"
1 amp running the 4 speakers

how much? pm me plz

[ltd]

Originally Posted by Cleutin

why solder the wires to the plugs? the point of using the plugs is so you dont need to solder and allows for a cleaner install and removal when you upgrade gear or sell the car.

thats just common sense. EVERYTHING gets tested in an install. im rather insulted that you would infer that only "your mate" does

i dont care that he earns 100k + Benefits, i was earning 40k as a 1st year apprentice + benefits


Ive done a lot of installs for car yards. and ALL installs be they for a car yard or a "joe bloggs" gets treated with the utmost professionalism and care for the car. be it a $500k Ferrari or a $500 bomb. its someones pride and they ALL get treated as if it was my own car.



Get your facts right. WE DO NOT GET PAID BY THE JOB. we are paid by wage or salary depending on postion held - Installer, apprentice or Workshop Foreman. I could do 1 job a week or 100 jobs and i would still get paid the same.

You sound exactly like one of the multitudes of arrogant installers responsible for cracking ICC screens and trims, stuffing vehicle electronics and generally being the very reason this thread was created.
You say you are insulted by my comments about testing circuits; name one circuit you have hooked up to that you have tested during its duty cycle, as the value is not always constant under varying loads.

Tell me this too, if you are such an expert installer why don't you know the benefits of solder over clamps? Maybe you should take your insidious comments and capitulate them where the sun doesn't shine.
I don't profess to be an expert on the subject at hand, but I'm not a moron either. Others in this thread have highlighted various qualities in methods but you denigrate others for having a varying opinion to your own. As part of my job I had to learn to read the schematics of the electrical systems in a boeing 747, and I can tell you that there is not one clamp with electrical tape.

Furthermore I have seen first hand what some of you so called "installers" are capable of doing, including the moron who activated the airbags in a falcon because he picked the wrong earth. He then tried to stuff the bags back in so no one would notice, and he could leave before paying for the damage.
I also laugh at the installers who use 8mm wire for a 300 watt sub woofer, not realising that it is nothing but overkill.
But you stick to your ways, as you are obviously smarter than everyone else here.

[cs123]

Originally Posted by ltd

I also laugh at the installers who use 8mm wire for a 300 watt sub woofer, not realising that it is nothing but overkill.

Can you explain that one a bit. 8mm or 8mm squared?

Something drawing 300W from 12v is going to need 25 Amps. That's a lot of current. Because it's a sub it could well draw that momentarily when reproducing low frequencies. Isn't that why all the doof doof heads install massive power caps near their subs?

The very last thing I'd ever complain about was a installer over speccing the components like cables.

[samftr]

Isn't it painful explaining things to people who have no idea LOL... young grasshopper you will learn,
but first, wax on,
wax off....

[gngtho]

Ive never had any probs with customers and no i dont work for anyone but myself.

problem with most big buisinesses is they have a little moto stating the quicker you do it the more you can do the more cash comes in.

i believe thats crap good jobs take time.
but there are people out there that do good jobs fast but they have had the years of expiriance.

there are also the ones who have had the years o expiriance but are to confident and do bad jobs.

i say look around and yes you will get a shonky one day, until you find the one you are happy with.

ive never had any one come back to me and complain about my work, i take my time and do it right fist time.

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by stockoau

You are right, you are no expert. I have read some stupid posts on this site, but soldering copper makes it brittle? :

Smartar$e, I wonder why ICE ignitions, Crane ignitions and MSD ignitions, 3 of the best suppliers of ignition products all specifically say DO NOT solder any of their ignition wires because solder makes their wire brittle and fracture resulting in poor performance?

But you're obviously a much better authority on the subject!

[AWD Chaser]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Smartar$e, I wonder why ICE ignitions, Crane ignitions and MSD ignitions, 3 of the best suppliers of ignition products all specifically say DO NOT solder any of their ignition wires because solder makes their wire brittle and fracture resulting in poor performance?

But you're obviously a much better authority on the subject!

Perhaps because these specific ignition wires (high amperage), may be solid copper wires, as opposed to multistrand??? I dunno...

Anyways, if this keeps going the way it is, it's just gonna get locked...

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by Kia Chaser

Perhaps because these specific ignition wires (high amperage), may be solid copper wires, as opposed to multistrand??? I dunno...

Anyways, if this keeps going the way it is, it's just gonna get locked...

Try again....they're all multistrand, I have ICE ignitions gear in my car! Crane and MSD are all multi strand too.

I think I worked it out Einstein Stockoau probably got his gear installed by a plumber or some of the other jokers in this tread who are able to defy the laws of physics by heating and cooling metals and thus making them softer when in every other case (ie case hardening) this process makes a metals harder and more brittle.

Why would it get locked? This is a discussion forum isn't it? I'd also love to hear about some of the other miraculous feats Stockoau can perform.

[mustang70]

i have worked as an alarm/cruise control installer for 15 years,i would lose my contract if i did not solder EVERY connection i make, no plugs,no crimps. it is required for an australian standards alarms to comply, i have never seen a decent solder joint fail,seen plugs corrode, yes a good solder joint, no. i have never seen issues with solder making a wire brittle.perhaps it does, i've never seen a problem from it. i have seen plugs burn out from high amperage, i have never seen a solder joint do this.
would never consider not soldering, stereos are different to me, if they fail,your engine wont stop,you wont lose power to your steering and brakes.

the plugs used for stereos are for ease of refitment of factory unit when you sell the car.

btw lol at the installer using wire too thick.. he can wire my battery any day..

[huggiebear]

i have 2 good mates who work at strathfield, yes i got almost all my gear there (due to amount to spend and mates rates) but i have always done my own instilation doe to cost and most of the time it needs some sort or alteration to fit, i had to modify every part of my stereo to make it fit and i know how its done so now that i hear rattles in my parcel shelf i know how my 8" sub is the cause but not how its installed, and also being able to see the car you can use your mind to work out how things can fit. if you take it to an installer you never know what they do to make things fit. sure some of my parts might be dodgy but it all works.

i too believe in soldier every join. i used the factory loom adaptors you can buy from any audio shop and soldiered it to the loom that comes with the headunit.join colour to colour and plug it in and off ya go. easy as. altho i do have 12v experience from when i was building caravans i actually learnt most of my knoledge from hands on experience....

as everyone in my boat knows... when your young and have young kids in the family you cant afford an expensive car which means you buy older models and i can tell you from experience (17 cars and counting) old cars plugs break/snap/deteriorate and often you cant undo plugs without breaking them so i guess in the end it depends on what your using it for, if you want to remove something plugs are the way to go, but for perminent fitment i say soldier.


also back to the strathfield bit, my ex had her car audio setup in her car and her sister got the same headunit installed in her beetle, upon looking at these setups they were dodgy and downright dangerous, they had wires tapped into headlight looms and relays going to no where (who needs a relay for a stereo????) my ex's car they spliced into the factory wires but didnt leave room for removal so you have to almost break your arm to undo the loom, and also spliced into the speaker wires right before the plugs and ran extra wire to the speakers...

tho looking at the current installer at morayfield store i belive this guy can do some deasent jobs.


but there is nothing like a full custom home job

[Cleutin]

Originally Posted by mustang70

i have worked as an alarm/cruise control installer for 15 years,i would lose my contract if i did not solder EVERY connection i make, no plugs,no crimps. it is required for an australian standards alarms to comply, i have never seen a decent solder joint fail,seen plugs corrode, yes a good solder joint, no. i have never seen issues with solder making a wire brittle.perhaps it does, i've never seen a problem from it. i have seen plugs burn out from high amperage, i have never seen a solder joint do this.
would never consider not soldering, stereos are different to me, if they fail,your engine wont stop,you wont lose power to your steering and brakes.

the plugs used for stereos are for ease of refitment of factory unit when you sell the car.

btw lol at the installer using wire too thick.. he can wire my battery any day..

Spot on Mustang.

Alarms, Central Locking, Power Antenna etc all get soldered

(i never said they didnt)

CD/DVD players get pinned into the factory plug for ease of replacing factory units when the car is sold, also, we provide FREE removal and a lifetime guarantee on the work, so in 30 years time if something has gone wrong, it makes it quick and simple for the fitter to remove the item for benchtesting or replacement which means a happier customer.

powercable... minimum of 4 gauge, but i prefer 0 gauge, this allows for system expansion without having to upgrade wiring first.

[andrewr]

Originally Posted by Stefan

I think I worked it out Einstein Stockoau probably got his gear installed by a plumber or some of the other jokers in this tread who are able to defy the laws of physics by heating and cooling metals and thus making them softer when in every other case (ie case hardening) this process makes a metals harder and more brittle.

Copper is annealed (made softer) by heating it and allowing it to cool slowly back to room temp, as would happen with soldering.

Not all metals behave the same, you can't just generically say 'metals' behave in a certain way. I don't even think you can case harden copper so I don't get the point of mentioning it as it isn't relavent.

[samsy351]

Strathfield lost me as a customer about 14 years ago after a dodgy install and rude and arrogant customer service. I have not been back to buy any of their products since. There are plenty of other places that I will spend my money.

[last fairlane]

Hi there
Had a DVD player installed in my last Fairlane by Stratfield Rocklea QLD
and when it came time to remove it to sell the car I had a hell of a job getting it back out
couldnt find any screws or such so I reefed on it and found it had a piece of 3 ply screwed to the frame behind the dash and the double din 7 inch screen stuck to the wood with double sided tape and they charged me $100 for the install never again thankyou
PS they did solder the new wires to the Ford plug so going back to original was just plug and play
Thanks JOHN
still looking for a rear wing for BA Ghia in Mercury silver any one got one?

[Bermo]

If you want a good installer in Sydney you can't go past Marty at FHRX Studios.

He did the install in my XY and I can't stress the quality of his work.

http://www.fhrxstudios.com.au

He provides photos during the install so you know exactly how its going etc...
Here is a photo from my car.

[burkie_21]

Originally Posted by Cleutin

dont use an Auto Elec. yes they know car electrics, but they know all when it comes to Aftermarket installation, they chop plugs, strip wires, ive seen "twist n tape" jobs with no solder

mate i'm an auto elec and never cut plugs off to do aftermarket stuff. we made up plugs to suit the factory plugs and joined them that way. everything was soldered. i've fitted heaps of head units and stereo's and we never had one come back. yes we were one of the more expensive places in town but you paid for wat you got, no dodgy , it only comes back and bites you on the a$$
in my opinion take it to a reputable business whether an auto elec or a stereo place. if they got a good rep you will go home happy. no doubt you'll pay more but least you'll have the job done correctly.

[samftr]

I fitted one on sunday, soldered all the wires, heatshrunk tubing all the connectors, cable tied/taped down any wires and the whole setup looks factory
sounds a lot better tho.
gotta pay money for good install, you get what you pay for.

[vispix]

Strathfield = backyard job