Problem with my stereo

**fantomas** · 08-03-2005, 02:15 AM

-well did you ever figure out what the problem was with your head unit?

-with the amp, shorting the remote and power lines will turn the amp on whether the car is on or not.

-check with a volt meter how the power is going between the + cable and the ground cable

**digifreak** · 08-03-2005, 02:57 AM

It's at 12.7v between the power cable and the ground cable at the amp. As far as the headunit goes, I checked the accessory and the power lines in the back of the HU before the inline fuses. The accessory line gave me 0v, and the power line gave me 12v. The HU can't be turned on though, not even by pressing the power button on it.

I took readings on the accessory line with the key turned to accessory, and with the engine running, both were 0v. The amp didn't turn on when I shorted the power wire to the remote. Does it look like a problem with the accessory line itself? Or did she just manage to fry every piece of audio equipment in my truck at once?

Thanks again

**fantomas** · 08-03-2005, 03:07 AM

from what you said there, it sounds like she fried everything.

the amp should turn on regardless of the acc line if you shorted it with the power line.
my next suggestion is to get behind the headunit, take out the wiring harness and carfully check the switched power (red line) going ot the head unit. the yellow line is constant power and that seems to be ok.

something to keep in mind is that the relay in the headunit that controls the (usually blue) acc line, has a very low current tolerance, and sometimes the relays on the amps require mroe than the HU can give, thus blowing the relay in the HU. this shouldn't kill the headunit altogether, but it'll burn out the relay, requiring you to find a new power source.

if you care to, hook the computer back up in the car and see if it works. if not, then try it with a normal psu in the house.

let me know what happens

**WhiteRabbit** · 08-03-2005, 10:30 AM

you can test your radio just like the amp. Since acc reads zero, we know that is the #1 thing to look at. But you said you checked your car ACC fuse already, that it was fine. (did you know if you have a pioneer, there is a fuse on the radio itself?)

so what you can do, is bridge ACC and constant together. you might want to disconnect your radio ACC from the rest of the car, but it doesnt really matter. once they are bridged, check to see if the radio will turn on (car can be on or off.)
edit: if the radio doesnt turn on with a measured 12 volts to both acc and constant and a working ground, and there are no fuses on the unit, your radio is dead.

another thing to check would be ACC voltage with the car on and the radio disconnected. Sometimes accessories like the radio do something funny in the unit and prevent acc from bumping up to 12 volts.

finally, you might try tracing the source of ACC for your radio. for example, in my car the accessory 12 volt jack is switched, and commonly used for remote turn on applications. If I had my radio connected to that rather than the raido harness, the accessory fuse could be blown, and if I didnt check that fuse, I could see the radio fuse was fine and wonder why the heck I was reading 0 volts at the radio!

**digifreak** · 08-03-2005, 09:00 PM

Well, I learned 2 very valuable bits of information today. First is that you're supposed to pull the fuse from the socket when you test it. Yes, I'm retarded. Second is that you should be sure to check fuses that you don't even think have anything to do with your stereo, for instance; fuses to the POWER MIRRORS. Damn I'm retarded. You know what though, I don't care, I have music again, and that's all that matters to me. I'm so frickin' happy right now, yes, it's a good day.

I really appreciate the time you guys spent trying to help me out, I really do. I feel like such an *** though, if I could give you guys the time back you spent pondering my problem, I would, in a heartbeat.

Thanks again *bows*

**fantomas** · 08-03-2005, 09:08 PM

lol, no problem. its good practice for me to try and trouble shoot for when i install my carputer into the new car in a few weeks. just glad you didn't have to take it into the shop to have them...replace a fuse.