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Tracking down a radio power issue

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    Tracking down a radio power issue

    I have an aftermarket headunit that is brand new. It's my second aftermarket headunit as the car had one when I bought it. I installed the new one thinking that the first one may have had an issue with a bad solder point or internal short. It has acted identically on both units, so it is a car wiring issue I believe.

    The issue: Intermittently the radio just powers off. Sometimes it won't happen for two months. Then other times (like now) it happens several times a day. It does often seem to be in motion and caused by hitting a bump in the road. Occasionally it will happen while I'm just idling at a stop light. A few times it will be working when I shut off the car, and then off when I get back in or vise versa.

    What I've done: I've replaced the headunit. Headunit came with a new wiring harness obviously, so when putting that in I soldered and shrink wrapped the wire joints to the car wiring. I've looked around and jiggled things to see if I could trigger the issue.

    So, I'm at the point of having to dig deeper, and wondering if anyone has an idea of where to dig first because I'm not really excited about going deep into the dash if the issue is somewhere else, etc.. Any thoughts?
    Current - 1991 E30 325i Auto Vert, 2013 F30 335i M-sport, 2014 F25 X3 M-sport
    Past - 1986 E30 325es, 1988 E30 M3, 1991 E34 535i 5sp, 1991 E31 850i 6sp, 1992 E36 325i, 1995 E36 M3, 2000 E46 323i, 2009 E60 535i, 2011 E90 335d

    #2
    might as well replace the fuses , I want to say 12 and 21 are radio related(could be wrong)?

    Comment


      #3
      Make sure the ground is correct. I've seen a lot of people use the ground for the interior lights as a ground. A ground wire will be brown, and if you look up into the dash, there will be a few "spots" there it's attached to teh body work. Don't trust a previous install. You need to confirm it physically.
      Originally posted by Matt-B
      hey does anyone know anyone who gets upset and makes electronics?

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by george graves View Post
        Make sure the ground is correct. I've seen a lot of people use the ground for the interior lights as a ground. A ground wire will be brown, and if you look up into the dash, there will be a few "spots" there it's attached to teh body work. Don't trust a previous install. You need to confirm it physically.
        Thanks! I do keep thinking that it seems like a ground issue the way it turns off. So that kind of reinforces my feeling. The core wiring is from before I owned the car and it's done it since I bought it to some extent.
        Current - 1991 E30 325i Auto Vert, 2013 F30 335i M-sport, 2014 F25 X3 M-sport
        Past - 1986 E30 325es, 1988 E30 M3, 1991 E34 535i 5sp, 1991 E31 850i 6sp, 1992 E36 325i, 1995 E36 M3, 2000 E46 323i, 2009 E60 535i, 2011 E90 335d

        Comment


          #5
          IT's a pain the the butt, you have to get your head up into that space, and look with a flashlight, upside down and backwards. But when you see a bunch of brow wires all going to a single lug, you'll see it. If not try to undo what the OP did to the radio harness. A good ground wire will be there as well.
          Originally posted by Matt-B
          hey does anyone know anyone who gets upset and makes electronics?

          Comment


            #6
            For posterity, I thought I'd return and state my solution to the issue.

            It came down to the ground. Or more to the point, the radio was improperly grounded and I took it for granted that someone had done it right the first time. The radio was using the common grounds for the speakers tied together. I undid this and attached to the proper radio ground. Problem solved!
            Current - 1991 E30 325i Auto Vert, 2013 F30 335i M-sport, 2014 F25 X3 M-sport
            Past - 1986 E30 325es, 1988 E30 M3, 1991 E34 535i 5sp, 1991 E31 850i 6sp, 1992 E36 325i, 1995 E36 M3, 2000 E46 323i, 2009 E60 535i, 2011 E90 335d

            Comment

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