Head Unit Replacement Question

[Maugan_VX]

So since I got XM, and I can't stand the damn FM modulation audio quality, I decided to throw my ole Pioneer premier head unit into the VX.

So I've got my harness (that I made, I'm almost positive its wired correctly)
and plug it up to the harness in the vx and ... no dice.

no power at all.

So I'm like wtf, is the head unit fried? So I plug in just the main harness back into the stock HU and no power. Confounded at this point, I plug the CD changer harness back in and YAHTZEE! we have power.

Now, the vehicle end of the harness has been spliced back to factory wiring by those damn "solderless" splicers so I can't be sure that its back to 100% the way it was. Even better, theres not much room left on the wires in case I have to re-do the whole damn thing. So before I go diving in with a multi meter, I wants to know if I need to run a line in from the CD Changer harness to get the damn head unit to turn on.

Thanks - Just wanting to find out if theres something out of the ordinary going on before I dive head first into troubleshooting this whole thing.

[Maugan_VX]

Ok, I gots it working. Turns out the best buy supplied harness had the ground wire, the 12v cont, and 12v acc all messed up. EIther that or whoever rewired the mess screwed it all up when they put it back together.

[Maugan_VX]

Continuing my venture into making a thread where only I post,

My dash lights decided to stop working. I have a feeling its due to the "dimmer" feature on the headunit. Its blowing out every fuse I stick in there, even 20amps.
(rated at 15)

On a side note, linking the dash illumination and the tail lights on the same fuse is simply brilliant! (I realize it makes sense ergonomically, but practically, it sucks)

[Thejerseyfish]

Dude, honestly it sounds like your Wire Harness is messed up. I understand the thrill of making something, but for like 15 bucks you coulda bought one at best buy and it wouldn've worked fine. Your Head unit should work independently of the CD changer. The CD changer just plugs into the IP Bus on the Back of the radio. So chances are pretty good that if you're having power problems this is why. The pioneer is great head unit. I take it you have the one with the AUX in? I just picked up Sirius, (GO Howard), and have it hooked in thru the aux in. The cable was 30 bucks at B-buy. It also works great for hookin up an ipod as well or any other portable media device.

Randon

[Mikeys00vx]

My two cents......

I have Sirius hooked up....and I use a cassette tape adaptor in the stock cassette player to play through my speakers. Alot better quality than FM Modulation if you can stand the extra wire (easily hid) in my opinion.

Mikey

00 Foxfire 30k

[Tone]

Maugan has issues obviuosly - it was pretty funny when he was posting his mistakes and no one was commenting. He'll learn someday or on second thought, no he won't.

[mbeach]

Maugan has issues obviuosly - it was pretty funny when he was posting his mistakes and no one was commenting...

[Maugan_VX]

actually tone, all my problems were related to me trusting the harness in the vx to be correctly re-wired by the old owner.

The ground and the illumination wires were swapped, and only after I played around with the multi-meter did that become apparent. My harness was wired perfectly fine, and that was the problem.