AVIC F90BT bricked

[kush]

Long time reader, first time poster. First off, thanks to the Nico forums and all the helpful folks, especially the install tutorial folks - saved me ~$350 on the install of my HU alone .

To my problem, while on a random drive yesterday, my stereo conked out. Not the typical reboot that the AVIC seems to pull every now and again, but plain dead. Stop/start the car didn't result in a reboot. At the time system was (very subjective of course!) not playing all that loud, about average levels for my daily use, dial @ 40/42 max, slight sub alterations in HU setup (exact settings +/- I forget but at most +2 sub level for example, 80hz x-over).

Stats on system: Pio/Premier AVIC F90BT HU, STOCK speakers (never got the proper ebay door adapters), Infinity aftermarket F/R not installed. Amp ground hard to explain w/out pics, but it's an existing bolt in the area right behind the fold in the passenger side rear (ground installed by stereo shop, first amp self-install effort failed , I laid all wiring from engine bay on back, shop simply redid location for ground point and diff 80A up in the engine bay). Amp is an Alpine MRP-M500 (4 ga power), running @ 2 ohms, w/ a single Alpine 10" Type-R (1042?). Amp power cable run through existing grommet on driver's side, other related HU wires run down passenger side.

- Checked engine and cabin fuse banks, all obvious stereo fuses intact. 80-amp fuse powering amplifier intact (4 ga wiring), can't pull the amp fuses w/out a proper fuse puller or something (too tight!), but they don't "look" blown. Didn't pull/check ALL engine/cabin fuses, but nothing looks bad....

- 10A mini fuse @ back of HU is TOAST. I've wasted 4 fuses now w/ troubleshooting (replacements=Radio Shack 10A red minis @ 3 for $2). Having battery disconnected (or not) doesn't matter, or power plug @ back of unit connected or not, as soon as battery power is applied to unit, the fuse pops.

-Short of PULLING all the wiring in the car, I can't find any bad wiring. All accessible and visible wires in good shape, no frayed insulation, hard angles, popped T-taps, etc. All connections seem in place and intact, ie: HU ground, pbrake wires, etc.

-Power to amp is there (Radio Shack DMM used), although amp obviously doesn't turn on since no signal from HU, volts @ battery w/ engine off=~12.26v or so, engine running=~13.65, more/less the same as I recall when I originally installed the system.

-Bought the goods ~8-9 months ago, but only installed & in use about 6 months. Blew a sub about a month or less in, but I don't attribute it to a bad amp/sub or install, I think I just cranked it too high without a proper break-in period.

I've seen some reference to a fuse INSIDE the AVIC units that may/may not be prone to blowing (user replaceable w/ right tools/know how)...in regards to RCA wires being ungrounded or improperly grounded..but from what i can tell it's an issue that affects units that power up, but don't put out audio...Doubt this applies in my case, but can't check anyway w/ fuse popping with any kind of power to the HU.

Being that I'm still running STOCK F/R speakers, could I possibly have killed/tripped a circuit in the HU amp (HU=4ohm right, and AFAIK stock speakers=2ohm)? I get that it's possible but the system has been rock solid really for the 6 months I've used it, save for occasional AVIC hissy fit reboots, dropping the USB key/not recognizing all files on key w/out HU reboot...Nothing that led me to believe that the HU amp was being stressed. I would think the amp would just likely overheat, then make the HU shut down, NOT popping fuses with any kind of power signal..

Is there really anything else I can 'shoot before I say the HU needs repair?

NOTE: I did buy from a legit Pioneer dealer (CAR TOYS), so I should have a *valid* 2-year warranty right? (2 years on Premier brand, 3 years w/ authorized Pioneer dealer install). Anybody here had to deal with Pioneer's RMA process before, and was it quick/easy? 7-10 days [plus transit time] after receiving unit should be ok, and their shipping center/repair is in Long Beach, me: Santa Monica/West LA... But my problem there is: I'm moving up to southern Oregon by this time next month at the latest. Lagging on their part would screw me up, or at the least force me to endure a stock HU (I do have one of those Scosche LOCs though) for the drive up. Pioneer warranty page, is their process really that easy (and disconnected; compared to past RMA experience w/ various PC parts companies)? No RMA number *beforehand*, just send in a bare dead unit, proof of purchase, contacts and description of problem(s)? And I assume you just get a white box HU only in return (ie: no full retail unit)?

..Sorry for the length and jumping around. Just tried to think of what I could, hopefully I covered anything that might help here.

I also do have a slight issue w/ my ebrake light going off for no reason (verified fully released & down), usually in canyon driving - thinking maybe less than optimal ebrake tap for the nav unit [or could the ebrake need a slight adjustment perhaps]?....Or anyone heard of any more than normal Altima bad ebrake sensor problems? I'll probably just post a new thread later on, but thought I'd put it out there in case it is related... Although this has been happening for at least a few months now, far before any issues w/ the HU that I have right now.

[LongBeachCoupe]

Welcome to the club!
Im not an AV guru but im sure apple/robert will chime in with some help!

[Eikon]

You said you pop that same fuse every time you turn on the power? Sounds like you've got an electrical issue then... Could be a problem with something inside the unit I suppose....>??
How well did you attach the ground wire from the system to the chassis? Did you properly grind away any paint on the area? Could it be that after a few months of use, your ground wire has come loose in some fashion? If you continue to pop that fuse, perhaps it's due to a bad ground?

I'm certainly no electrical expert myself, just trying to think of a possible solution.. hope it helps. Hope a real expert will pop in on this thread soon to give you some better advice.

[AppleBonker]

I'm pretty beat right now, but I'll take a closer look tomorrow and try to give you any help I can come up with.

[kush]

Thanks for the input. I am leaning more towards the unit itself being bricked as everything else downstream seems to be in good shape (exception, not sure of the orig HU point), as it was when installed.

...I just went out to look at the state of the wiring again. I figure a few pics might help, note: not mine, just yanked from other tutorials for illustration (my digicam was stolen recently).
1. shows where i have the pbrake bypass and the spot i've had the HU grounded to all along. Orig. HU ground worked, but possibly bad choice? Painted metal on painted metal, maybe not proper ground....

2. shows current amp ground point that car stereo guy put in.


3. saw that my original HU ground prob not a good choice, chose this area right behind HU - looks like point is connected to brace for dash (figure its got to be a good ground since it looks like a structural piece)... And no, it did no good. Killed another fuse, no life from the HU.


Too bad I can't take pics of my setup as is, but let's just say Heroin's a bad drug, mmmkay kids... Silly smack heads \got maybe $20 @ the pawn shop for that one, thankfully I didn't have the card IN the cam at the time at least...

So I'm still left with basically these ideas:
1) bad HU ground, while enough to work fine all this time, maybe reached it's breaking point and took out the unit with it (or at least a circuit in the unit, ie: amp)
2) running stock F/R (2ohm?) on a HU expecting 4/8ohm. But again, no performance problems all along, no signs speakers or HU were being stressed to the breaking point. Only problem was listening to a sub @ 500W, and not getting proper mids/highs to balance it out some .

It's really frustrating, I would think if I had an electrical problem with the car itself, exacerbated by faulty wiring perhaps, that something else would be blown somewhere, ie: the stereo/power mirror fuse.. I suppose I could try swapping in the stock HU, tap into the speakers for the LOC to work, and see if the sub install fires up. At least that way, I'd think I'd know if the sub/amp/any of the wiring could be suspect here. I'd be left with very little ICE (16GB USB key FTW!), but at least I'd have a distraction from driving 'til I nail the HU issues out.

[rjdmmfl1]

I haven't been in here in a while... I just read this... here is my impression

ANYTIME you turn/power a decive on, and the fuse blows upon power up, there is a short circuit somewhere. If you wanted to find out whether or not its the actual headunit... just run a power/ground bench test!

1. remove your radio, and take it over to your car battery (or an 12V source) replace your 10A fuse/fuses on the headunit itself with a brand new one. Then, attach a power wire nd ground wire to the positive and negtive battery terminals. Attach the new "test" ground wire from the battery to the black/negative gorund wire on the stereo harness. Then, attach the new "test" power wire from the battery to the power/REd/ACC and constant/yellow/BAT wire on the stereo harness. If the fuse pops, then you know that you havean internal short in your stereo, and it needs to be taken apart and fixed, preferably sent back to PIONEER. (OR, if you bought the unit from a local store, nd they installed it, and its still under warranty, then take it back to them and have them replace it. )

2. If the fuse does not pop, then indeed you have a short somewhere else along the power line of the unit. Sometimes, this occurs if you spliuce into the power wire on the vehicle main harness and add things like floorboard lights, internal LEDs/strobes, etc. If there is a short in any of the products that you have splied to the main power wire, then one of the fuses in that path will likely short out (usually the one closest to the short, or the one with the lowest fuse rating)

Ok, that's my .03.... best of luck

[kush]

Thank for for the suggestion, I'll give it a try tomorrow. My electrical "expertise" (big stretch there) really only extends to computers. Car electronics are beyond me really, especially with all the computer controlled devices, although many of the concepts are the same...

On a side note, I got the stock HU back in and after a bit of swapping of leads, I have finally gotten the sub/amp to fire up (via speaker inputs, my FAI3-A seems to be a bunk unit)! So, barring some electrical issue that I haven't found yet, it does look like it will be the something in the HU crapped out.

And, no, it didn't come from a local store, it was from Cartoys.com (yay for the one part that I got from a 'legit' dealer!). But Pioneer's repair center is Long Beach, perfect for me, next day even w/ UPS ground, or I could even drive it down frankly if they accept walk-ins.. As long as it gets back to me in ~2-3 weeks if I send it out early this week (barring it testing fine as per your suggestion) that is.

Thanks again, I don't think I'll check this thread any more, except maybe to update the unit's status (or to rant or rave about Pioneer's RMA process ).

[Makaveli24]

Pioneer is really good about their RMA's. I ended up shorting out my AVIC-D3 when I first got it and just sent it to them and they fixed it no questions asked.