Ideas for my ALP stuck in parking mode...

[AirMoore]

Well that narrowed it down pretty easily.

Unplugged "Head B" from "F2" and drove ~15 minutes.
No issues.
ALP fired up, instantly said "Warning: Sensor check failed" then went into "Defense Mode" 1:05 into it's bootup (including the 60 second boot time)
Worked flawlessly the entire ~15 minute ride

Turned everything off. Unplugged "Head A" from "F1" and plugged in "Head B" into "F2"
"Error 2" "Warning Sensor check failed"
Then it took ~1:40 to boot into "Defense Mode" and the second it did: "Error 2" - "Error 2" "K-Band" - "Error 2"
I got ~6 errors in 5 minutes of Driving


Stopped, and turned everything off

Unplugged "Head B" from "F2" and plugged "Head A" into "F2". (This was to make sure the "F2" port wasn't the issue)
Normal Start up sequence, and drove ~10minutes without a single issue.


Got back to my place, turned everything off and put "Head B" back into "F2"
Took 1:28(ish) to go into "Defense Mode" and 2 minutes later "Poliscan" alert.


So I now know it's either that head or that wire. Now I just need to find time to swap over the cable from "Head A" to "Head B" and try things. That might take some time


Thank you both for your input. Looks like I'll have to run with the 1-head for awhile until I have time to troubleshoot the exact cause.

[radargeek]

Nice troubleshooting. I had a feeling it was the faulty head causing it.

BTW, the self test runs regardless of whether you have the first warm-up disabled or not. The first warm-up just puts it in parking mode for 60 seconds so you can show a cop "hey it's parking sensors" by turning it on and letting them shoot/try it.

If you have the parking sensors/beeps enabled this is also a good way to test out heads,by seeing if they respond to obstacles as they should

But you're right, it would be nice if the ALP told you which head (on which port) was causing the error.

[BestRadarDetectors]

Nice troubleshooting. I had a feeling it was the faulty head causing it.

BTW, the self test runs regardless of whether you have the first warm-up disabled or not. The first warm-up just puts it in parking mode for 60 seconds so you can show a cop "hey it's parking sensors" by turning it on and letting them shoot/try it.

If you have the parking sensors/beeps enabled this is also a good way to test out heads,by seeing if they respond to obstacles as they should

But you're right, it would be nice if the ALP told you which head (on which port) was causing the error.

It does depending on the failure, Normally it will tell you which port has the error when the self check determines the problem. The issue here is the head is not ignoring the self check commands so it knows the head is attached and connected but its hanging up and causing the self check to stall causing it to stay in parking mode. The ALP unlike other systems will not start up and let you run it if there is an issue so if the self-check hangs or can not determine the error it will not put you into defense mode and give you a false sense of security. When the error is determined and we can get the bad head or cable back engineering will try to duplicate it and then add an additional routine to identity the failure if someone else in the future has the same problem.

[AirMoore]

It does depending on the failure, Normally it will tell you which port has the error when the self check determines the problem. The issue here is the head is not ignoring the self check commands so it knows the head is attached and connected but its hanging up and causing the self check to stall causing it to stay in parking mode. The ALP unlike other systems will not start up and let you run it if there is an issue so if the self-check hangs or can not determine the error it will not put you into defense mode and give you a false sense of security. When the error is determined and we can get the bad head or cable back engineering will try to duplicate it and then add an additional routine to identity the failure if someone else in the future has the same problem.

Sounds good, I can't really take my install apart right now, as I am not home (and likely won't be until the Holidays)... but I'll spot shoot the wiring v. head the moment I can.

Thanks for you help, and TBH, as I said before I am really leaning towards a wire causing the issue.

[RedRocket]

Thanks for you help, and TBH, as I said before I am really leaning towards a wire causing the issue.

If you had Mechanics in the engine compartment doing work I'd be suspect of a cable or a connector being crushed/damaged, too.

[AirMoore]

If you had Mechanics in the engine compartment doing work I'd be suspect of a cable or a connector being crushed/damaged, too.

I guess I should clarify a bit more so people don't think the motor work is the cause of it.

The problem almost assuredly stems from me checking the wires when my Sti-R was dying on the ALP (and subsequent installation of the 9500ci on the ALP). I knew something was messed up (with the radar unit), so I checked and reran my wiring countless times to make sure nothing was wrong. This including moving and rerouting of the wiring for the heads as well on some occasions.

Around this time, I started getting numerous poliscan alerts and then the random "error 2" alerts... it was only then that my head gasket went.


Furthermore, due to the small size of my car (Honda Civic) I had enough wire run the heads inside the quarter panels, and down into the front bumper, so it would have been virtually impossible to incidentally mess up the wiring for the ALP no matter what one did in the engine compartment.

So I am almost assured now that by pulling the wires through or messing with the re-wiring of the heads, I may have chafed or pinched something during the process of trying to fix my Sti-R+ issues.


At any rate, I'm just happy I was able to narrow the issue down with the help of BRD&rg. I don't mind running one head for awhile, as long as I can get the 9500CI use out of it, and I'll just run as if I have no laser protection (even though one head should provide some). Point is, the unit works flawlessly at least as a 9500CI right now, except better than a 9500ci because the ALP gives the option of K-band segmenting (which I love... though it's not for everyone).