Test if AVIC is live: cig lighter?

[dani]

Hi all

I got a second hand Z110 (big leap of faith, I know) and want to see if it's alive or bricked before going through the actual install.

 

Would it turn on if I connect it to the cigarette lighter? (i know my way around with a voltmeter to make sure the polarity is right)

 

Should I connect the yellow, the red or both to the positive?

 

Thanks

 

Dani

[JasonH]

Hi all

I got a second hand Z110 (big leap of faith, I know) and want to see if it's alive or bricked before going through the actual install.

 

Would it turn on if I connect it to the cigarette lighter? (i know my way around with a voltmeter to make sure the polarity is right)

 

Should I connect the yellow, the red or both to the positive?

 

Thanks

 

Dani

Both

[RonS]

Yes, I'd carefully bench-check it before going through all the trouble of installing it. I even did with my new out-of-the-box unit. But in my case it was going to be over a month before I got my new car, and I didn't want to get out of the RMA/exchange time window.

 

Rather than making a cig-lighter adapter, I just used a car battery at my workbench (I happened to have one sitting there). BE VERY CAREFUL - a short could fry it, or worse yet - cause an explosion from battery gases. Just tying the red/yellow together as [+] and grounding the black to [-] is enough to get the unit to boot. So that will prove the thing isn't totally bricked. You will see the Splash screen. You should be able to play with various menu's too. I also connected the line-out to a small amp to verify the sound. Played some MP3s on CD. Some of the A/V sources will only work if you do the parking brake by-pass or figure out how to fake it. There is more involved than just grounding the light-green wire. Otherwise the bypass would be too easy. From looking at the installation instructions, the AVIC logic probably expects the polarity to change from + [no P-B] to - [P-B enabled] in a quick progression. Not worth trying to fake, cause if it doesn't work - you probably did it wrong. If it works, or is bypassed, you should be able to play videos and get into some other fun menus that would otherwise be grayed-out.

 

You can only test the GPS if you are outside, or have enough wire to run the GPS antenna there.

 

Again, be very careful. There are a lot of loose wires dangling around, and many could short the unit out, or at least damage some functions.

 

Good luck. Hope it works. Buy it on e-bay? A used HU might still have problems that would not show-up in simple tests. Making sure it is not bricked is just the first test.

[dani]

It works! I got the choose-language screens, warnings, the map, and menus with mostly greyed-out options.

Next is installing it...

 

Good luck. Hope it works. Buy it on e-bay? A used HU might still have problems that would not show-up in simple tests. Making sure it is not bricked is just the first test.

Care to expant a bit? I bought it second-hand but by the looks of the cables this unit was never installed anywhere.

 

Thanks

 

Dani

[RonS]

It works! I got the choose-language screens, warnings, the map, and menus with mostly greyed-out options.

Next is installing it...

 

 

Care to expant a bit? I bought it second-hand but by the looks of the cables this unit was never installed anywhere.

 

Thanks

 

Dani

Since it seems it has never been installed, and it isn't bricked, you are probably as safe as anyone. A gadget this complex can have other issues, such as audio quality, reliability, noise, sensitivity/signal loss. There are other problems besides DOA that these things get returned for. If you look thru the Troubleshot section, you will find lots of issues that required replacement.

 

BTW, just because the cables look good doesn't mean it wasn't installed. The ends can be trimmed, or the harnesses can be replaced with new. But if everything looked "factory fresh", chances are good it wasn't someone else's problem they were unloading.

 

Do you get any warantee? I bought mine thru a non-authorized seller at a good discount at the time (pre-Z120). The seller warrantee was the same as the factory, but if I had problems, I had no factory warrantee support. So far (6-months), no problems.

 

Are you installing it yourself? Depending on the vehicle, it's not that tough. I had help from someone experienced with both the car and the HU, and it still took us 6 hrs.

[dani]

It does look factory fresh. The story seems to be that someone got it a couple of months ago with the idea of using it himself, and eded up needing the cash so kijiji/craigslist did the rest.

 

Do I have warranty? I honestly don't know what Pioneer would say if I contact them. Let's hope I don't need to find out.

 

I'll have someone else install it. I'm familiar with electronics but not at all with car wiring.

 

Hopefully it will be in place this weekend. Can't wait!

 

Dani

[VBLUE42]

Warranty only covers the original owner so you likely have none. Unless you have the receipt and pass yourself off as the OO if you have to send it in.