spodg Posted September 25, 2009 Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 I have Pioneer AVIC-D3 bought off ebay. The unit came with RCA outputs being dead. Other than that, the unit works great. I tried to plug in my sub to the Sub-woofer output RCA connector, The sub is dead silent. Front Output and Rear Output RCA's are dead too. Camera input works great. Is there a way to fix the unit? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spodg Posted September 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 So um... Nobody knows? Comon, guys. I searched all over the forum and found some messages related to my problem. So basically there's a fuse inside the D3, that probably went out in my head unit. The complicated fix is to disassemble the whole unit, locate and replace fuses. The simple fix is to connect RCA shields (outer wires of all RCA's) to the ground. Just like on that picture: BUT IT IS DANGEROUS, BECAUSE IT CAN FRY THE UNIT at some point. People also describe some generator whine in their speakers, I don't have any whine. The sound is clear and sharp, but not coming out of RCA's. So how do I get the output out of Subwoofer RCA? I need your help guys! Now, as for bypass. I have brake lead error message popup. I got thru all steps on this site except last one. I don't get it, why do I need to ground Black wire on harness? Isn't it already a ground? Anyways, what might be the case? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spodg Posted September 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 OK. I solved the bypass problem. Grounding black wire is important. So I don't have "brake lead" problem anymore! Yay! I also noticed that doing so also grounded my RCA shields as well. Is that normal? Now the only thing left to do is to repair my Subwoofer pre-out. What I did to make Sub work. 1. I don't have amp. This should eliminate part of issues. 2. Tested wires leading to sub speaker. Attached RCA male connector to sub wires, plugged it to iPod via adapter, and I DO hear sound in my trunk. So Sub speaker works and wiring is okay! 3. Plugged my Sub RCA to red Subwoofer output on RCA harness of AVIC D3. 4. Turned on Subwoofer settings in AV Menu. It is in ON position, but I still don't hear sound from the trunk. Please, I need your input on where to start with that. Any suggestions on repair service? Or maybe I can do it myself? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spodg Posted September 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 STILL UP! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bikerider Posted October 17, 2009 Report Share Posted October 17, 2009 The RCA's alone won't drive a speaker. You need to plug them into an amplifier and then let the amplifier drive the speaker. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aleks192 Posted October 17, 2009 Report Share Posted October 17, 2009 my 4 channel inputs off my RCA's are no longer registering voltage, so I assume my preamp is toast too.....I want to look for this fuse, so where would it be at if anyone knows?? I'll just be dissassembling it tonite a work so.... My subwoofer still works, its just my 4 channels that dont Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spodg Posted October 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 I plugged in my computer to subwoofer wiring in car, plays nicely even without amplifier! So RCA will drive a speaker. Opposite, I plugged in RCA from AVIC into other external computer's speakers, which are amplified, and got NO sound. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pioneeravicd3 Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 RCA outputs are low level signals generated by a preamp, therefor it is not possible to power a speaker from an RCA output without an amp. When you connected the speaker wire to your sub and then added RCA connector on the other end and plugged it into your ipod via an adapter you basically bypass the D3's internal preamp and the volume will be very very low and will eventually fry both the D3 and the connected ipod which is now acting as a preamp and passing the signal out its speaker level output. When using RCA outputs of D3 or any other stereo (home or car) the internal amplifier is bypassed and the signal is passed at the preamp as such an external amplifier is required. If you use the RCA out you don't use the speaker wire from the deck rather an RCA cable from deck to amp and speaker wire from amp to speaker. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pioneeravicd3 Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 spodg I'm confused, under the pic with ground wire looped around RCA connectors you state "BUT ITS DANGEROUS BECAUSE IT CAN FRY THE UNIT at some point". How would making a connection from ground to ground fry anything? In your post you said "the complicated fix is to disassemble the whole unit, locate and replace fuses. The simple fix is to connect RCA shields (outer wires of all RCA's) to the ground". This makes absolutely no sense. Fuses are only used inline on power wires (12v constant and 12v ignition) internally fuses are on the ps rail. Second the outer shield of an RCA is the ground plane for the connector. That wire around the RCA connectors does nothing because they are already soldered to ground internally. Based on your posts I would urge you to get a professional to install it for you lest your car go up in smoke. At least don't post info that you are not sure of. For example grounding black wire is important, actually black is the universal color for ground in all 12v dc systems. That black wire is the units ground and should be connected (fastened) to the same point (as all other grounds for each piece of equipment that is being installed) on the frame of the car, this is referred to as star grounding and all but eliminates alternator whine. Before the black wire was connected there was no ground so yes its normal that when connected the RCA's would also be grounded. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rival904 Posted November 7, 2009 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 spodg I'm confused, under the pic with ground wire looped around RCA connectors you state "BUT ITS DANGEROUS BECAUSE IT CAN FRY THE UNIT at some point". How would making a connection from ground to ground fry anything? In your post you said "the complicated fix is to disassemble the whole unit, locate and replace fuses. The simple fix is to connect RCA shields (outer wires of all RCA's) to the ground". This makes absolutely no sense. Fuses are only used inline on power wires (12v constant and 12v ignition) internally fuses are on the ps rail. Second the outer shield of an RCA is the ground plane for the connector. That wire around the RCA connectors does nothing because they are already soldered to ground internally. Based on your posts I would urge you to get a professional to install it for you lest your car go up in smoke. At least don't post info that you are not sure of. For example grounding black wire is important, actually black is the universal color for ground in all 12v dc systems. That black wire is the units ground and should be connected (fastened) to the same point (as all other grounds for each piece of equipment that is being installed) on the frame of the car, this is referred to as star grounding and all but eliminates alternator whine. Before the black wire was connected there was no ground so yes its normal that when connected the RCA's would also be grounded. Umm, actually Pioneer units have whats called a "pico" fuse on the ground of the RCA's. if it blows its known to cause engine whine, its common cause of blowing is unplugging RCA's with the headunit powered on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spodg Posted November 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 Thanks everyone with replies! I checked voltage on RCA outputs with AC volt meter, and guess what? There is output and its proportional to Volume set. So my RCA outputs are not dead. But speaker still not playing. Which leads me to a thought that amp is needed. Seems like you right, RCA output incapable of driving the speaker of stock sub. What confused me is that stock head unit driven sub alright, but I think its because there is internal amp in head unit itself. Now, with that said, any suggestions for little compact amplifier to drive 6x9 speaker as output and have Sub-RCA connector as input? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.