Hi,
Some of you may remember I bought my 1997 Arena Red 993 a few weeks ago. So far so good! I got new tires for it and had some work done to minimize the oil leakage. I get smiles and "beautiful car" compliments every day!

I did a search on the forum, but came up empty as to my specific question...

I bought the car with a built in radar detector. I'm not sure if it's the K40, but if it is, it's not the same model they sell now. I found the manual on their website and it doesn't sound the same because they come with a remote now. If it had a remote, it doesn't anymore. I don't know if the detector was installed when he bought the car, but it isn't on the sticker as an option. I don't have a manual for it, so I'm hoping you guys can clue me in on how it works.

There is a **** near the car's light switch and ignition. You can turn it left or right. When you turn it on (left or right) it makes lots of little beeping noises and 2 blinking lights in the dashboard, but I am at a complete loss for what they mean.

Thank you for your help!
Jason

 

It sounds like it could be a K40 from 4-5 years ago or more (I have two). If so, the **** that you are turning should have 3 positions; "off", "highway" and "city". Off is in the middle, with the red line at 12 o'clock. Highway causes the light to show green and city shows yellow, but I don't recall which is to the left, and which to the right right. When you go from off (middle) to either Highway or City, the system cycles through the alerts, with different sounds for X, K, Ka and Laser(if you have the optional Laser protection) radar. You have two types of alerts. The small red lights, usually mounted on the dash right in front of the driver, give you a visual alert (for when you have The Doors blasting!). Usually, the left red light tells you the radar is ahead of you, while the right red light tells you it is to the rear. You also have audio speakers that give you the various audible alerts. Again, most installations have speakers under the left side of the dash for radar ahead, and speakers under the right side of the dash for radar behind alerts.

I have described what the "typical" K40 installation is where I get mine installed. The best thing for you to do is go to a K40 installer and they can quickly tell you what you have. They can also fairly quickly check to be certain that the system is operating correctly.

 

Check the DIY section @ www.p-car-com
It shows the how-to for installations.
Hope it helps.

 

Thanks a lot for the description! It sounds right on. I have a yellow and a green light come on when I turn it one way or the other. I didn't even know there was a difference between them. Which sounds should I be most concerned with? Sometimes the alerts are a little quicker or steadier, maybe one beep/light every 2 seconds, but I haven't been sure that radar is close by. Is it going to be "very obvious" when I'm getting close to radar? So far it's hard to tell.
Jason

 

Go to K40 website. There are manuals and installation downloads there. **** left is city mode for more filtering and you should see the green light turn yellow. You will also see the importance of the beeps and corresponding lights. Most installers use the right led for the rear=right=rear. You may also have a laser difuser in your grill. If not, go to an installer and have one added. I have had the older k40(the one you have) and the new Calibre in my C4S. It works as good as my V1 and is much harder to steal. It is a good system and the hard part is done. Where are your leds BTW?

 

I think I have the same alarm system built into Rufus. I kinda figured out how it works by driving up to one of those stationary radar speed gizmos on the side of the road... that told me which sound to pay attention to. When I had the recent body work done to rufus, the body shop had the front bumper on and off a few times. In the process, something got disconnected. Now all I get is a "beep" every 5 seconds or so, and no radar warning whatsoever. There was no detector in the rear, and being mounted so low, its range isn't very good. The last time the bodyshop had the bumper off, I asked them to see if the radar unit looked like it was hooked up OK. They said it was, but who really knows? Any other ideas?

 

Take it to a certied instalation shop. They can diagnose in seconds. I am not sure where the ideal place is for the front radar receiver. I have taken a front bumper off my 993 and it was not an easy job. Placement of the receiver in terms of height is not that important. The laser diffuser will give you a different beep and buy you a couple of seconds to try out your big reds and hopefully the laser will not get an accurate reading after being flooded with the diffuser. The new Calibre utilizes bluetooth technology and makes for an easier installation. The remote is the size of a matchbook and the warning can be a human/robot voice. Saved me 4 times last Saturday in central nh.
Steve

 

I bought a arena red C4S a few months ago, and after a bit of research (i know NOTHING about radar detectos) i discovered it was a K40...

 

I would pay attention to all of the various sounds. In my area, the smaller municipalities have older radar technologies, X and early K bands. The larger municipalities have newer Ka and Laser, while the State has all of the latest cop toys. They can all be important/deadly. The distance/strength of the signal is indicated by how frequent the alerts sound, no matter which type of signal you hear. When you are right on top of the radar, the signal will become steady. If you hear a steady beep every few seconds after starting the car, or after turning on the radar if it wasn't on when you started your car, it is an indication that something is wrong with the system and you are unprotected. Mine gives that indication infrequently at start-up, and a simple off-on sequence clears the fault.

All of this assumes that you have a K40 system of some vintage. I would get it to a K40 authorized installer to find out what you have, and then upgrade to front and rear with Laser defusers if you don't already have them.

 

Steve, the five second beep is indeed telling you some thing is disconneced or has failed. Lucky for me I found out the easy way when the rear unit just came disconnected and I just plugged it back in and the beeps went away. By the way in NC those signs are X band but the troopers use Ka band.

Something you all may not know....you can send your components back to K40 to have them upgraded to present day standards for a fairly reasonable charge. And they just send you out new units in replacement. I did that when I changed cars and I think it was around $300 for a totally new system.

 

That's great info... thanks!

I too bought my car with the k40 pre-installed. When I had some radio work done, the shop owner ran me through the basics of the system (it's all been stated already in this thread!). Mine only has two red LEDs, one on either side of the tach. I've checked and I do have the laser diffuser up front too.

My understanding from the radio guy is that the "tick-tick-tick" sounds with varying frequency are the noises to be most concerned with.