hob4G

i had just installed a pioneer p860mp on my accord 98 and after it was running ok for a day i decided to hook up the amp, but there was a lot of noise, so i started playing with the amp and all of a sudden the head unit goes out and i smell something burning but its faint..so i figure its probably a burnt fuse but everytime i replace the 10a fuse, i hear the speaker crackle then it immediately burns out..is the head unit dead? the amp is now disconnected..but it still does that and i've gone through a pack of fuses already. or is there something else that might have burned out as well

iam7head

well, you know what they say about electronic

"once the white smoke is out, no more magic"

GuestHead

Either your hear unit has some serious problems, or there are loose wires somewhere. Take it out of the dash and check EVERY wire. If it isnt being used, make sure it has electrical tape on it. Also, check the connections with your speakers, as they could be botched as well. I recommend re-wiring your speakers with new speaker wire. This will ultimately give you better sound. If all that doesn't help, try taking it to your nearest car audio store for testing. Beware of places that ask for your address though... Where I'm from, that address is generally used to retrieve the product after it is installed in your vehicle, so it can be sold again. Not exactly fun to deal with, as the cops won't do anything. Ok, I'm done ranting now, good luck!

madd

like guesthead said check to make sure you dont have any wires grounded that arn't supposed to be grounded. chances are you have an output that is bad in your head unit (most likely some sort of transistor, although, it may use some sort of IC). probably won't be cheap to fix, and like most small electronics shops they'll just have to send it off =/ (we usually have to).

hob4G

hehe i checked all the wires they seem good..i think it was when i was playing the the amp i did blow something cause the head unit does have a faint smell..
good thing is that i just got it and gonan exchange it d=
i just don't understand how playing the the amp can blow my head unit because doesn't the amp power the speakers and signal goes from head unit to the amp..though just before it blew ..there was a very loud and clear sound coming from the speaker...can such a high frequency hurt a head unit?

hob4G

i was so proud too that i found the grommet and actaully put my power wire through that o well

madd

you're amp isn't hooked to your head unit in any form or fashion other than your RCA cables. what i bet happened is that a wire grounded itself out and burnt your your ouput out. there is no power going from the amp to the head unit so your amp couldn't have cause the problem. ummm if you have speaker wires hooked to your head unit and you let them touch while the unit was on then that could have blown the output. anyway, whenever you have something the keeps blowing fuses like that, then you have some decent damage done to whatever it is thats blowing them.

hob4G

so the head unit could still be in tact? or its most likely dead? right now i disconnected the power to the amp..but the amp is still grounded and the speaker cables are connected the the amp..could that ground be what is causing the short?

madd

no...your head unit is most likely DEAD. the only way your head unit is connected to your amp is via RCA cables, which carries the sound signal. thats all. now, if you STILL have some speakers connected to the harness on the back of your head unit and a speaker wire is grounded, then you could hurt something.

amp grounded == good
speaker grounded == bad

there could be other reasons, but that is the usual one.