Re: Alarms etc.

[four.rings@mcione.com]

Steve Mills wrote:

>Igor-
>         I've seen that you are a believer in Prestige alarms, so although I missed
> the 89.95 special, I'm planning to order the APS 500+. What experience (if
> any) do you have with power window and door lock kits?

I installed a number of those.
 
1. Power window kits are of two major kinds:
a) Inexpensive ones, with a slip clutch drive. You hold the button
depressed until the glass reaches the top or bottom end of travel, hear
it slipping and release the button.
All_of_them failed within several months. The clutch starts to slip at a
lesser and lesser resistance level until it starts slipping all the time
and is unable to rise the glass any longer. Exacerbated by cold weather.
Total junk.

b) Expensive OEM style ones. No slip clutch, but rather a permanent
direct drive. You hold the button depressed until the glass reaches the
top or bottom end of travel. When it stops the current surges (overload)
and the in-series bi-metal overload relay interrupts the circuit. Those
are reliable.

2. Door lock kits are all the same and very reliable. I installed a
number of inexpensive JCWhitney kits (~$50 for a two-door, ~$70 for a
four-door when you catch them on sale) with zero failure rate.

-- 
Igor Kessel
'89 200TQ -- 18psi (TAP)
'98 A4TQ -- nothing to declare
Philadelphia, PA
USA