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Pioneer head unit went bad, may need a new one


xtremerevolution

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I've read up on a few forums regarding my Pioneer head unit. I just reconnected the sound system in the Regal last night, and when I turned on the head unit, it was making some pretty bad popping noises and the general whine from the alternator. Apparently some microfuse burned out in the head unit, and its not replaceable. If anyone thinks I can fix it, its a Pioneer DEHP3900MP.

 

The symptoms are basically very loud popping noises across all 3 amps (you can see the woofer excursion on the front 5.25 comps and rear 6x9's) whenever you turn the car off, when you switch input modes (aux, sirius radio, fm radio, cd), when you change settings on the head unit (high pass filter, subwoofer phase, sub frequency) and when you turn the head unit on or off. I would only guess that doing this too much won't be good for the speakers. In addition, the sound is total crap and you can't hear most of the mids (voices). I'm fairly certain the speakers are fine.

 

The problems go away when I disconnect the RCA's from the amps, which is how I know the problem is coming from the head unit. Everything worked fine when I took the amps out. I didn't mess with the RCA's or head unit when I took them out, so something else must have happened.

 

Any ideas before I start asking for suggestions on a new one?

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No help?

 

I guess I'll be buying a new head unit then.

 

I'm thinking of dropping by a circuit city and having them install another one for free, since I really don't feel like waiting for one to come in the mail.

 

I'm also thinking of going with Pioneer again, but that's only because I've got a pioneer-only Sirius radio tuner and they haven't disconnected my service yet even though I haven't paid them for a few months.

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Pioneers are great, I wouldn't buy anything else... value is great in terms of features per dollar value. I wouldn't buy a real cheap one though.

 

Well I'm looking to spend about $150, $175 at most if its a great deal. The last one I bought was $129 and had free installation.

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How do you know it's a microfuse? If it's just a fuse, you can always solder a jumper across it. Probably not the best practice, but I've done that kind of thing in a pinch many times.

If the noises go away with the engine off, you could also try ground loop isolators as a band-aid fix.

 

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How do you know it's a microfuse?  If it's just a fuse, you can always solder a jumper across it.  Probably not the best practice, but I've done that kind of thing in a pinch many times.

If the noises go away with the engine off, you could also try ground loop isolators as a band-aid fix.

 

 

Yeah, oh well. I decided it was some microfuse based on the threads I read discussing these exact same problems with newer pioneer units. They spoke about grounding the RCA shields, but I opted not to in light of the fact that I made $1150 this past weekend in overtime. I decided to get a new one, and ordered it last night.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882117216

 

I was tempted to get the DEH P5000UB or DEH P6000UB, but decided that it was annoying having the aux input in the rear, and their only improvements were the screens.

 

That being said, I have a pretty nice DEH P39000MP (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/Source/CD-Players/DEH-P3900MP) that I'd love to sell someone for $20 or $30 if they want to ghetto-rig it to make it work.

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That being said, I have a pretty nice DEH 39000mp (http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/products/archive/DEH-3900MP/index.html) that I'd love to sell someone for $20 or $30 if they want to ghetto-rig it to make it work.

 

That doesn't have an IP-Bus connector on it, does it? I didn't see any mention of it in the specs you posted.

 

 

Is that the same thing as the satellite radio connector?

 

http://stereophonik.com/gutterslide/IP-BUS_Hack/

 

If that blue one is the one, then yes it has that connector.

 

Also, I discovered it was a P3900MP, not a 3900MP.

 

This is the specific model I'm have:

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/Source/CD-Players/DEH-P3900MP

 

"Optional (IP-Bus) Auxilary Input CD-RB10 or CD-RB20 required"

 

So yes, it definitely has the IP-Bus Aux input. I believe that's what I used to connect my Sirius radio tuner. Are there other custom things you can do with that connector?

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I have an RCA IP-Bus Aux connector that you hook RCA-to-* things to. I used it for an AUX input for my iPod/SiriXM/Laptop/Portable DVD player/penis for awhile.

 

I highly recommend any of the Pioneers that are out now.. I have the 5000UB and it is excellent.

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I have an RCA IP-Bus Aux connector that you hook RCA-to-* things to. I used it for an AUX input for my iPod/SiriXM/Laptop/Portable DVD player/penis for awhile.

 

I highly recommend any of the Pioneers that are out now.. I have the 5000UB and it is excellent.

 

I was looking at that one too, but didn't like how the aux input was in the rear. I'd rather have the option to replace my cable easily if I happen to damage it somehow, and I like being able to plug everything directly in the front of the unit. I can't wait to get this thing in the mail.

 

 

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I have an RCA IP-Bus Aux connector that you hook RCA-to-* things to. I used it for an AUX input for my iPod/SiriXM/Laptop/Portable DVD player/penis for awhile.

 

I highly recommend any of the Pioneers that are out now.. I have the 5000UB and it is excellent.

 

Me too. And I'm done with cds now, since I have all my music on my hard drive. :high5:

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