I was just installing my friends new low-end pioneer cd deck, and had a question. All of my conneections are good, but the damn thing won't light up. She said her old unit would not remember stations, which leads me to believe that the constant 12V lead going to her cars harness is bad, but her old unit still played.....would a newer pioneer deck NOT play under these same circumstances?

Also, where is a good place to get a constant power feed for the unit?

 

bumpity bump bump

 

OK...41 views and no responses...this sucks....perhaps I will re-word my query..

IS IT POSSIBLE that an older system used switched 12V for it's main source and the constant simply like a "battery" to save settings, and now the constant 12V is the sole power source of the unit, and the 12V switched acts like a turn-on lead simply allowing function?

 

What up Jared.

Well, this is what I would do. Do you have a voltmeter?
You need to see if there is still 12 volts going to that constant wire. I don't really think it would be this though, because her old deck probably wouldn't even have turned on if there was not constant connection. I'm not 100% on this so maybe StreetEffectz or Eld can comment.

What you could also do is just connect the ACC/igintion wire ( the one that is only Hot when teh car is on) and connect to both the constant and power wire for a second, just to see if the deck will turn on then.

The fact that user said her deck couldn't remember radio stations could be a result of a bad constant, bad deck, or user error.
Ask her if the deck use to remember the position in the CDs after she turned the ignition off. If it's a bad constant, everytime she turned the deck on, it would be like she was turning it on for the first time. So when she listened to a CD and then turned the car off, then back on it would always start at the beginning of track one. I'm guessing she may not have known how to properly set the presets and the constant is fine. Just I guess though.

I'm thinking the deck itself could be messed up. Did she buy it new or is it used?
Good luck!

 

check the fuses.

 

first question is what kind of car is it?

 

94 honda civic....but that shouldn't really matter

and the fuses are fine.

 

If you don't know what's causing it, and a pro asks you what kind of car it is... assume that he knows more than you do. Since you're dealing from ignorance anyway... what harm could it do?

You state the connections are good - have you tested any of them with a test light or a voltmeter?

Try putting ACC + on the remote turn on wire. Can't hurt anything, but might work. If the unit has a blown trace inside feeding up the RTO lead can be a workaround...

 

I believe there's also another fuse by the front passenger foot rest area. Should be radio and clock. Both needs to be good for it to work. I had a problem like this in my friend's civic.

 

Maybe you're using the lead for the dimmer instead of the constant 12V lead? If my memory serves me correctly one is typically orange and the other yellow in most Japanese cars. You can check this by turning on the lights.

 

fuse is under the hood for accessories.