The power sounder is an alarm siren with integrated batteries and charger, its installed as a supplement to the main horn in the Vectra and other Vauxhall / Opel vehicles. As these vehicles become older there have been many reports of the power sounder internal batteries deteriorating / shorting out causing fires. It is therefore important to remove the power sounder as soon as possible on older vehicles which will alleviate this possible fire risk.
Removing the Power Sounder is straight forward and will not show as a fault code. The alarm will still operate by just sounding the main horn. The obvious drawback is the alarm will not sound if the main 12v car battery is disconnected or becomes flat.
The Power Sounder is located underneath the passenger side wheel arch liner near the bulk head. After removing the wheel, pull out the plastic clip at the bottom and undo the two nuts further up the liner. Pull that half of the liner loose from the wing.
You can now gain access to the Power Sounder. Unbolt it from the bracket and pull it from within the liner leaving the power cable connected. If the batteries in the unit are still good and charged, unplugging it will cause it to sound. At this point you have two choices after unplugging … kill it with an hammer or dunk it in a bucket of water.
Once removed, tape the plug with some electrical tape, tuck it back in the wing and refit the liner. It could be possible to re-solder new batteries onto the circuit board if you want to keep the Power Sounder safely operational, but I’ve never looked into this.
While we are on the subject of vehicle fires, I’m going to subtly leave a link for purchasing a fire extinguisher below! Removing the power sounder obviously lessens the risk of a car fire, but its a good idea to carry a car fire extinguisher with you at all times. This particular fire extinguisher is a 5-in-1 which fights five different types of fires including electrical and Petrol / Diesel therefore ideal for all vehicles.
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Hi Dave,
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07944763387