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Confused by radar detector (formerly: do I have an aftermarket alarm)

Old 03-28-2010, 10:56 AM
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vaujot
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Default Confused by radar detector (formerly: do I have an aftermarket alarm)

Hello all,
I have a 95 993 that was originally sold in the US.
The car has an alarm system with a sensor left of the lightswitch and two red LEDs in the dashboard left and right of the tach. The system's giving me trouble, lately. Car starts and runs fine but the alarm system is making odd beeping noises and accompanied by the red LEDs blinking. In the sensor left of the lighswitch, a green light has come on. The alarm itself does not go off, though, and the immobilizer is not stopping me from driving.
This system is neither mentioned in the car's owner manual nor in Adrian Streather's book.
When asking what the cause might be on the German forums, they suggested that I have an aftermarket alarm. One poster mentioned that his reimported 993 came with the same system that he had removed.
Can anyone tell me if this is indeed an aftermarket system and if so, who the manufacturer might be, where I would find information on the system or, even better, how to fix this bug?
Cheers, Valerian

Last edited by vaujot; 03-28-2010 at 02:54 PM. Reason: question resolved
Old 03-28-2010, 11:03 AM
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CalvinC4S
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Score, you have a K40 radar
Old 03-28-2010, 01:18 PM
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TheBen
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Yep, K40. I have the same thing in mine. There should be a switch to turn it off and a volume control for the sound.
Old 03-28-2010, 02:52 PM
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vaujot
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When I saw Calvin's comment, I was slightly anoyed and thought he was pulling my leg. Turns out, he was right. And thanks to Bens comments, I was able to locate the switch and turn the thing off.
These devices are sooo illegal over here in Germany so I need to get rid of the thing next time the car's at the shop.
Kudos to whoever did the installation: everything looked like it came from the Porsche factory.
Thanks guys!
Old 03-28-2010, 02:55 PM
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Garth S
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Double yep .... K40 in mine too: take a good light and peer inside all the front nose cover openings. If you spot a black box the size of a pack of smokes that has a wire harness ......

If it is not turned off, you may be greeted by a series of chirps and buzzes each time the car is started: that is clue #2.

Clue #3 happens if you run through a radar trap ....
Old 03-28-2010, 03:07 PM
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Clue #2 is what set me off. Quite irritating when you aren't aware that you have this and turn it on by mistake.
Clue #3 was a constant companion on my drive through Frankfurt Friday night. Makes me question the usefulness of the system because clearly, we do not have that many radar traps in our town. Again, rather irritating when you don't know what's going on. As I wrote above, I thought there's something wrong with the alarm/immobilizer and was worrying that the engine would shut off at the wrong moment.
Best, Valerian
Old 03-28-2010, 03:11 PM
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CalvinC4S
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Leave it, just know how to shut it off if your getting pulled over.

Wish you where closer, I would help you remove it and toss it in my trash
Old 03-28-2010, 09:05 PM
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TheBen
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Does anybody have the instructions for the K40 out of curiosity?
Old 03-28-2010, 09:36 PM
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Tonydec
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I believe I downloaded mine. Not a whole lot really, it's just nice to know which light is for the rear and front antenas.
Old 03-28-2010, 09:49 PM
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2Many Cars
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Here you go:

http://www.k40.com/manu_main.html

Scroll down to the K40 manual toward the right
Old 03-29-2010, 01:04 AM
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Makes me question the usefulness of the system because clearly, we do not have that many radar traps in our town.
The motion detectors for automatic door openers often operate on the same frequency as traffic radar so in dense, urban areas detectors can be pretty useless.


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