AVAS question

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frxdy

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2013
Messages
17
I've searched & read every post about the AVAS ....that noise the electronic I-miev makes below 22 MPH... and I can't find the answer to this one question: Where is it? Someone mentioned it's under the front bumper , passenger side. Nope, that's the horn. I can't tell by listening. Can anyone tell me where it actually is? What it looks like? How I get to it?

Thanks,

Fred


1350 happy miles so far.
 
I tried to follow the sound, too. The best I can tell, it's under the 12 volt battery. Wherever it's at, it's louder inside the car than out.

I've been thinking of putting a switch on it to shut it off since there is no fuse for it.
 
There is a device that looks like a speaker in the front right side of the i.
I am NOT suggesting this be done for safety reasons so do it at your own risk but.....
You would start by taking off the top/inner plastic liner in the right front wheel well under the car.
The speaker is located there facing the right tire.
There is a push on clip type wire connector that when removed will disable the sound. It's a bit tricky to get unclipped but it does come off.
Put electrical tape on the two mating connections to keep water and dirt out or add some wire and a switch.
QUIET

Our i is One year old today, 4718 gas free miles all supplied by a solar PV system.
 
Found it, did ya?

Now to do some routing and find a toggle switch. :mrgreen: :cool:

Congrats on your 1-year and zero emissions. I'm working on getting solar right now. It costs more than the car did, but it'll take care of the whole house and the car.
 
Alrighty! Thanks for the tips.... Maybe this weekend Ill dive in & see if I can get to it. If I modify it I'll put it on a switch.... I don't mind it if I'm in town, but most of the time no one hears it but ME. It's odd...perhaps ours is louder than some? I hear it from inside the car and and, and.... it's got to go!
 
Mine has never made the noise. The car was a dealer demo with about 350 miles on it when we bought it, so maybe the dealer disconnected it? Since I've never heard it, I don't miss it ;) - I've never thought about trying to hook it back up

I don't really see the need for it - Many small ICE powered cars are nearly as quiet these days . . . . and if you get run over in a parking lot playing with your cel phone, it's hardly the car's fault, is it? We don't drive on the sidewalks :lol:

Don
 
I've heard it described as a distant train whistle echoing through the mounatins.

I looked at mine today. It must be inside the wheel well on the inside of the tire. I was thinking behind the fog light bezel, but nothing's there. The sound is still pretty central, but definitely too quiet for anyone outside to hear. I flutter the brake pedal to make noise (mechanical thumping and vac. Pump make enough noise to get people's attention).

Maybe put the AVAS on an amp, keeping it off until we want it, and then blasting it for when you need it. Depending on the capabilities of the speaker, aux. Input for P.A. :cool:

Edit:
Is this it?
http://db.tt/9C6LvD0V
 
Thanks to Joev I found it! I removed the passenger side front tire. I figured out the "plastic rivets" and removed the plastic liners. One goes over and in front of the wheel. The other is behind the wheel, between the wheel and the trunk area. Only the one between the wheel and trunk needs to be removed to access the AVAS, but, I was happy that I removed the one that goes over the wheel as it allowed me to run a wire from the AVAS over and behind that liner and into the passenger compartment. I put a switch right next to the trunk release lever. Now I can turn it off for testing purposes. IF you wanted to take the risk of just unplugging it for noise control I don't suggest just unplugging it. The plug has an o-ring that keeps the connections clean & dry. I don't see how taping it would keep the weather out. I spliced into the wire between the plug & the AVAS. I soldered and used quality heat shrink to make a water tight splice. This way only the wires on the AVAS is changed, not the wiring harness. Total time: one hour 15 minutes.

I can't tell if that photo that PV1 posted is it or not. I kind of looks like it, but I don't know what direction it's taken from. Now that I know where it is I can see most by looking of directly from the trunk. Looking straight down about 10 inches from the battery you can see hoses, wires and the side of the AVAS.
 
The picture was taken below the tie rod, looking towards the front of the car. Notice half of the "2WD" printed on the plastic on the right of the picture (another holdover from the gas version). The black component (I presume is the AVAS) is just above the lower control arm.
 
PV1 said:
The picture was taken below the tie rod.......


That's it! Funny.... I had to go look from that exact direction, but, yes, you have found it. If you un-clip the wires for whatever reason, take your time. You'll find it requires a pin or similar to get in and under just right to allow it to come apart. It's tricky & took me a few tries to discover it's secrets. I don't think you can do it unless you remove the tire & the inside plastic splash guard.


Thanks again for the cyber help!
 
I'm starting to feel sorry for you guys. My UK model has a toggle switch to turn off the noise!
You're right about it being noisier on the inside...
 
The LEAF has a button to turn its sound off, but I've never heard a LEAF make the sound, even with the window down driving past a building (test drive).

The i-MiEV doesn't even have a fuse for it.
 
The AVAS ECU is located in the center console and runs two wires out to the speaker. frxdy and PV1: had you tried to simply feed that AVAS speaker with a normal audio amp output to see how it responds? Perhaps there's a way of intercepting the wires running from the AVAS ECU and putting a small amplifier inline to control the volume? Better yet, if the speaker responds to normal audio, then feed those two wires going to the speaker with your own custom noisemaker. Just a thought...
 
Thanks for locating the ECU. I'll have to take a look and find out. I've always wanted the EV1 chirp (supposedly the same is in the Volt).

Honestly, I haven't had time to mess with the AVAS, and I'll probably wait until after my 1-year check (wrench induced after sitting 8 months on the lot).
 
kps70 said:
I'm starting to feel sorry for you guys. My UK model has a toggle switch to turn off the noise!
You're right about it being noisier on the inside...
Would you mind tracing the wires to see where they go? The wires from the AVAS go into a main run that go under the dash, but disappear above the HVAC unit. Might be able to find it if I take the radio out. I did find a connector or two under the dash that aren't hooked to anything.
 
JoeS said:
... had you tried to simply feed that AVAS speaker with a normal audio amp output to see how it responds? Perhaps there's a way of intercepting the wires running from the AVAS ECU and putting a small amplifier inline to control the volume? Better yet, if the speaker responds to normal audio, then feed those two wires going to the speaker with your own custom noisemaker. Just a thought...
I just detached the whole AVAS unit and connected it to the wires going into the front door speaker as I was working on door insulation. Wow, that thing was playing music! So yes, if you how figure to wire it into your own customized sound input, you can make your car sound any way you want! Not sure about frequency range, particularly the bas.

On a general note, after jiggling with the AVAS connector, and after the input from frxdy, I figured that it can be disconnected from the trunk. No front wheel and splash shield removal required. I stood kind of backwards against the front bumper and sneaked my right hand down (you need to locate it with a flashlight first, as frxdy described), compressed the left end of the connector (press front-to-back) and pulled towards left (to the driver side). If you do it this way, I have no idea how to seal the connectors, not even mention adding wire for switch. The accesibility is very poor from the trunk. But hey, it is really quick!
 
This is a picture of the AVAS speaker with disconnected connector wrapped with a black insulation tape.
9613201420_13c758a042.jpg
 
Okay, next challenge is for someone to figure out how to rig a full surround sound speaker installation for the AVAS with speakers on all sides of the car. Tie the AVAS into the accelerator somehow so that the harder I press the go pedal the louder the sound gets. Hook up an SFX machine so that when I stomp on the pedal everyone hears the deafening roar of a Corvette engine tearing away from a dead stop!
 
Oh, oh, oh... And make it so that when I'm sitting at a stoplight, I can "throttle" the engine and intimidate everyone around me!
 
RobbW said:
. . . . when I stomp on the pedal everyone hears the deafening roar of a Corvette engine tearing away from a dead stop!
To heck with the Corvette engine sound - Lets have a Ferrari V-12 . . . . or, alternately, a Honda CBX :D

Don
 
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