PLEASE HELP!! Distorted Sound!!

[WoodFordReserve]

I finished my install of the AVIC F700BT (with 2.0 update) in my 05 Ford F150 and all is well except it sounds distorted. I noticed even the beep sounds a little distorted. It seems to be coming out of all the speakers and I don't think the factory sub is working. The (factory) speakers sounded fine with the factory radio installed. I messed around with the EQ settings and tried to adjust the audio setting and nothing helped. It happens at all volume levels. Anyone have suggestions or things I should check?

[MrRichfield]

Do you have any factory or after-market amp (Bose, etc.) installed? My GM has a Bose factory amp, and installing the wrong interface module (such as the GMOS01 instead of the GMOS04) will distort the sound significantly.

[WoodFordReserve]

Thanks for the reply MrRitchfield. I am having no luck finding a solution for this.

I have a factory Sub that is under the back seat. I am not sure if it has an amp, but if it does, it's factory. I tried unplugging the sub harness and the sound quality is the same. When I turn off the sub from the settings and it doesn't change either. I am not real positive the sub is even working. All that I know is that the sound quality is bad. Voices sound tinny and there is distortion, even at low volume levels. Is it a possibility that I got a bad unit? Could it be a grounding problem? Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

WFR

[inches805]

It is doubtful it is a grounding problem if you used speaker outputs to power your speakers. If it was a bad ground the unit would probably not work. However, if you would like to test for a bad ground you can do a few things.

 

With the head unit on, unplug the antenna. If the radio turns off, you have a bad ground. Also, you can attach a new ground by simply connecting a wire to the chasis of the head unit and then connecting the other side to a known good ground (cigarette lighter housing, ground of battery, etc.). If this solves your problem, you have a bad ground.

 

I would check your speaker wiring first. I have seen installs where people had inadvertently wired their speakers in series. This caused the same problem you are describing (this can even happen if you used a wire harness). Check your speaker wires with a wiring schematic for your car.

 

Here is the wiring for your car:

 

Radio 12v lt. green/purple + radio harness

Radio Ground black and black/lt. green - radio harness

Radio Ignition pink/black or lt. green/yellow + radio harness

Radio Illumination lt. blue/red (dimmer) + radio harness

Factory Amp Turn-on dk. green/purple + radio harness

Notes: This is the subwoofer amplifier turn on lead. The subwoofer and amp are in the driver side rear corner of the cabin. The subwoofer speaker wires are brown/orange (+), and red/black (-) at the radio harness.

Power Antenna N/A

LF Speaker +/- orange/lt. grn - lt. blue/wht +,- radio harness

RF Speaker +/- white/lt. grn - dk. green/org +,- radio harness

LR Speaker +/- gray/lt. blue - tan/yellow +,- radio harness

RR Speaker +/- orange/red - brown/pink +,- radio harness

 

Good Luck!

[1loudls]

i would pull it out and only hook up power (yellow), ACC (red), and ground (black), and then hook up one speaker at a time and see if the distortion is still there, if so you may have a bad unit.

 

the only factory amp you should have is for the sub, did you use and audiophile harness? (it come with two plugs, one of which has RCA connectors on it) if so are the RCA's pluged in to the pioneer's sub out? and is the pioneer's blue/white system remote control wire connected to the smaller harness (with the RCA's) blue/white wire? (this turns ont the factory sub)

[WoodFordReserve]

 

I would check your speaker wiring first. I have seen installs where people had inadvertently wired their speakers in series. This caused the same problem you are describing (this can even happen if you used a wire harness). Check your speaker wires with a wiring schematic for your car.

 

THANK YOU everyone for the help. I used a wiring harness and wired it up to the appropriate color-matched wires. I will check my work again to see if I screwed up. I got to believe it is either the speaker wiring or the sub hook ups...

 

i would pull it out and only hook up power (yellow), ACC (red), and ground (black), and then hook up one speaker at a time and see if the distortion is still there, if so you may have a bad unit.

 

Sounds like a good test to try. I will let you know how it goes...

 

 

the only factory amp you should have is for the sub, did you use and audiophile harness? (it come with two plugs, one of which has RCA connectors on it) if so are the RCA's plugged in to the pioneer's sub out? and is the pioneer's blue/white system remote control wire connected to the smaller harness (with the RCA's) blue/white wire? (this turns on the factory sub)

 

I did get the Audiophile harness. I hooked up the Sub RCA's to this and the hooked the blue/white Pioneer wire to a Blue/White Wire on the smaller harness. I was a little confused because there were TWO, exactly the same blue/white wires on the smaller harness. Couldn't tell which one to hook up to so I tested both for continuity and used the one that didn't register. The other one read "1.89". I am wondering if this is the issue. I also wired a 1000 Ohm and a 1500 Ohm in series on the Blue/White wire so I wouldn't have the thump at startup. Maybe this is an issue? I was told this would work.

 

The sub doesn't seem to be working and the distortion seems to be more on the lower frequencies such as bass or lower voices. The distortion also seems to be more prevalent on the rear speakers.

 

Again, thanks for your help and please keep the suggestions coming.

 

Kind Regards,

WFR

[1loudls]

having the two resistors is probably too much resistance to turn on the amp, just try the 1500 ohm by its self

[WoodFordReserve]

having the two resistors is probably too much resistance to turn on the amp, just try the 1500 ohm by its self

 

Thanks again 1louds. I bet you are right. I just used the two in series because I did not have a 1450(saw that number on another post), and was told to use the 1000 + 1500. I am no electronics guru but I also questioned the math while installing it and forgot about it.

 

I also called Best Buy today and asked about the two blue/white wires coming from the sub harness. He suggested looking into using both of them but said to check the schematics to be sure. I have downloaded the harness schematics from an F-150 site and will take a look tonight. I bought the harness from Crutchfield so I may call them too.

 

I will let you know how everything turns out...

 

Thanks,

WFR