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Double Din Stereo Problem

G

grentuu

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Location
Bolton
Car
Accord SE Executive
Hi

I have just had my Double Din Chinese Head unit replaced as the radio module had stopped working. I have fitted the new one and everything worked fine.

That is until the next day when I got in to the car and there was no power to the unit. Resetting it did nothing. I had to take the unit out, disconnect the power and then reconnect and it came back on.

Three days later it did the same again. Again I disconnected/reconnected and it worked fine for a few more days.

I have checked the connection and both parts are clean.

I know power is still getting to the unit even when the power appears not to be there as if I am driving at night and turn the car lights on the buttons illuminate.

However I had it on this afternoon while cleaning the car and it suddenly stopped. I finished cleaning the car and noticed the battery light looked a little dim. You've guessed it...battery is flat.

Anyone have any ideas what is going on?
 
My first thought was an earthing problem? Ive had similar symptoms in the past and thats what it turned out to be

As for the battery it could be a high drain headunit if its a double din coupled with the cold weather?

also as you have an exec like mine, have you retained your bose sub and amp?
 
6th Gen Exec said:
My first thought was an earthing problem? Ive had similar symptoms in the past and thats what it turned out to be

As for the battery it could be a high drain headunit if its a double din coupled with the cold weather?

also as you have an exec like mine, have you retained your bose sub and amp?
Click to expand...

Kept the bose sub/amp but they are not connected.

Bit of an update. I left the battery charging while the stereo was out and no problem, it charged up. Rather than mess about putting the double din back in I though I would try a single din JVC unit I had. Plugged it in it worked no problem. As it was dark I turned the car lights on. Immediately the stereo shut down and the battery was flat again.

I wish I studied auto electrics instead of teaching lol
 
Glad you've diagnosed it to be the battery :)

Whats the sound quality like without the sub/amp? Did you just use a standard iso convertor lead?
 
6th Gen Exec said:
Glad you've diagnosed it to be the battery :)

Whats the sound quality like without the sub/amp? Did you just use a standard iso convertor lead?
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The sound is 'ok' but really needs the 'beef' an amp would give it. Plus it still has the original speakers which could do with updating.

Its not the battery. I have just had it charging for 30 mins of a charger with both the stereo and the harness disconnected. Charged up, started and took it for a drive. Stops/starts no problem.

So by my laymans knowledge there is a short / bad earth somewhere in either the harness or convertor as it has happened on 2 different stereos.

Unless there is an expert who can point me in an other direction???

Edit: On reflection with my laymans knowledge...and the tip from Andrew... could it be the battery? If either stereo is pulling too much and the battery is on the way out?
 
Buy yourself a cheap multi-meter from somewhere and measure the current when everything is switched off. A cheap multi-meter will usually measure up to 10 amps DC, which should be plenty for this procedure.

With everything turned off, disconnect the lead from negative battery terminal, then put the multi-meter between the battery negative and the lead you disconnected. Obviously there should be no current, if there is, then you need to start disconnecting things to find out what is drawing the current.
 
freddofrog said:
Buy yourself a cheap multi-meter from somewhere and measure the current when everything is switched off. A cheap multi-meter will usually measure up to 10 amps DC, which should be plenty for this procedure.

With everything turned off, disconnect the lead from negative battery terminal, then put the multi-meter between the battery negative and the lead you disconnected. Obviously there should be no current, if there is, then you need to start disconnecting things to find out what is drawing the current.
Click to expand...

Thanks Brian. I have a cheap meter just clue how to use it (give me a computer and I will fix.repair in no time 0 electrics on cars are double dutch to me) I'll give that a try in the morning. Which setting should the meter be on?
 
grentuu said:
Thanks Brian. I have a cheap meter just clue how to use it (give me a computer and I will fix.repair in no time 0 electrics on cars are double dutch to me) I'll give that a try in the morning. Which setting should the meter be on?
Click to expand...
Depends on the meter, they usually have a different socket for current/high-current and a setting on the dial.
10 amps is the most I've seen on a DMM, so don't try starting the car :eek:
If you ever needed to measure more than 10 amps then you'd need a clamp meter
 
freddofrog said:
Depends on the meter, they usually have a different socket for current/high-current and a setting on the dial.
10 amps is the most I've seen on a DMM, so don't try starting the car :eek:
If you ever needed to measure more than 10 amps then you'd need a clamp meter
Click to expand...

A straight forward across the terminals with no load gave a reading of 12.97. This seems ever so slightly high. is this okay?
 
I suspect that you might be reading Volts there :eek:

take a pic of the meter and I'll tell you what to do ;)
 
freddofrog said:
I suspect that you might be reading Volts there :eek:

take a pic of the meter and I'll tell you what to do ;)
Click to expand...

Don't have a camera around. The meter is a Fluke 10

http://www.me.umn.edu/courses/me2011/arduino/technotes/FlukeManual.pdf
 
Oh dear, it measures Volts and Ohms, but not Amps.

There are ways to measure Amps with a Voltmeter, but I think you'd get lost in the explanation. Basically you need an external resistor of about 1 Ohm that you could connect between the negative battery terminal and the battery lead, and then measure the volts across that, but if the Volts across it were more than about 2 Volts then the resistor would get hot and/or catch fire.
 
freddofrog said:
Oh dear, it measures Volts and Ohms, but not Amps.

There are ways to measure Amps with a Voltmeter, but I think you'd get lost in the explanation. Basically you need an external resistor of about 1 Ohm that you could connect between the negative battery terminal and the battery lead, and then measure the volts across that, but if the Volts across it were more than about 2 Volts then the resistor would get hot and/or catch fire.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all your help Brian. I am gonna have one more look then phone for an electrican lol.

What has puzzled me is the battery appears okay, it's holding charge and the alternator is charging. The wiring appears to test okay and it just hit me there is one other piece of equipment I had forgotten... and it has caused problems in the past. The electric aerial. Just to take it out of the loop I am going to disconnect the power and see what happens.

If that doesn't work then autoelectrician it is.

Thanks again.
 
grentuu said:
Thanks for all your help Brian. I am gonna have one more look then phone for an electrican lol.

What has puzzled me is the battery appears okay, it's holding charge and the alternator is charging. The wiring appears to test okay and it just hit me there is one other piece of equipment I had forgotten... and it has caused problems in the past. The electric aerial. Just to take it out of the loop I am going to disconnect the power and see what happens.

If that doesn't work then autoelectrician it is.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
No problem Rob :)
Could be the aerial, finger crossed ;)
 
freddofrog said:
No problem Rob :)
Could be the aerial, finger crossed ;)
Click to expand...

Early days as it's only been a couple of hours but it looks like I'm stuck with a manual aerial until I can afford a new one. Head unit working fine, battery not draining.

I'll give it a couple of days to see if the problem raises its head again. If not start saving for a new aerial.

Cheers!
 
Does the stereo switch off when the car is started? How is it wired in using iso connectors?

Apologies if you've already mentioned it. As brian said it's best to check for a parasitic battery drain, when my alternator failed and drained the battery the first thing to shut down was the stereo.

Presuming you have a healthy alternator and wiring is ok, you either have a weak battery that may hold a static charge but under load dips too low or a parasitic draw running the battery down.

test battery under load for about 15sec using stereo/lights and see if it dips too low> say around 10v or under is definately time to replace.
 
Salim said:
test battery under load for about 15sec using stereo/lights and see if it dips too low> say around 10v or under is definately time to replace.
Click to expand...
yeah that's a good way to test a battery, just put your DVM across the battery terminals with the engine off, then turn on the headlights etc and see if the volts start to drop
 
Well.... it isn't the aerial.

Got up this morning, car started as usual with no problem but stereo was dead.

Managed to find the manual which states the stereo will only operate if a full 12V is available. (its a stereo/dvd player/GPS all in one unit running Windows CE6)

My thinking is the battery is below par and is holding enough to start but it isn't 12v. To test this I drove for about 15 minutes to let the alternator whack it back up and then stop the engine. Place paperclip in the stereo reset button and then start the car again.

Bingo... the stereo boots.

So to my non techie mind that says the battery is beginning to struggle, that coupled with the cold weather........ ( come to this conclusion because if something was really draining the battery I would have problems starting, something which has never ever been an issue)

However before I go out and spend a chunk on a new battery... Could I be missing something?
 
I balieve, this "Double Din Chinese Head unit replaced" was your first mistake ;)
the other thing I would check is power leads. Now your stereo operates by two power leads. one memory - red lead and one +12V - from ignition switch. Check the yellow lead for power when your stereo does not work. It may be ignition switch related problem.
 
Linas said:
I balieve, this "Double Din Chinese Head unit replaced" was your first mistake ;)
the other thing I would check is power leads. Now your stereo operates by two power leads. one memory - red lead and one +12V - from ignition switch. Check the yellow lead for power when your stereo does not work. It may be ignition switch related problem.
Click to expand...


Brian / Sal

I didn't have time yesterday to check the battery yesterday. Did it this morning after the car had been standing on the drive since 6pm last night. Put the meter across the battery before starting this morning and it registered 12.6v. Then turned the lights on and it dropped to 12.1 and remained there. And because the battery was over 12v the stereo worked this morning.

The only thing different about yesterday was the car had a decent drive out to Ormskirk yesterday plus it isn't as cold today

Go figure?

Lol@ Rob. Part of me agrees but I wanted an all singing all dancing unit and this thing does it all and it does appear its the car not the unit. The wife loves watching movies, I love the satnav/bluetooth as well as sd card/usb/iphone connectivity. The missus wants me to get the Digital TV tuner for it, but I want an amp and box first. Plus the fact it was a third of the price lol
 
From those readings you must have had something that was draining the battery, maybe was the aerial now that it's now disconnected.

I wouldn't like to say whether the battery is ok, but if you take it out and look, there is usually a month & year of manufacture on the battery. If it is old then regular long charging does it good.
 
The only way now to be sure would be to measure the amps draw over the battery while the car is in a normal off state, I'e no doors open or anything that would cause a drain and give you a false reading not to mention blowing a fuse in your meter. If that comes back ok, most likely is time for a new battery anyway I would guess.

Does the stereo only turn on with the key, switched live?
 
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