Z130 doesn't always turn on/stay on

[Durrby]

I have a Avic-Z130BT in my 1999 Lexus SC400. Had it since 5/1/11. Shop installed along with new speakers, 2 subs, 3 amps, new battery/terminals/wiring up front and a 2nd battery in the trunk connected by a battery isolator.

 

Short Version:

Past 2 days when I go to start the car the unit will either not turn on or shuts off right after boot up.

 

Long Version:

A few weeks ago I had an issue where my front left component speakers sounded really low or at times no sound came from them. The idiot in me tried giving the trim next to the radio a light smack. Presto! speakers worked. After this kept happening I got fed up considering I dropped a nice chunk of change on all the equipment and getting everything professionally installed. I took the radio out and checked all the connections, nothing was loose and nothing seemed to be making contact with something it shouldn't. Something made me believe it was the radio.

 

This past thursday I was cleaning the back of my car and realized that the front left speakers were working problem free (but they still do go out at times too) but now there was no sound coming from the rear left speaker. You have to be kidding me. I started playing with the balance/fader settings and there was some static and then the speaker came back on. A few minutes later the rear left speaker went out again. Same thing, played with the vol and balance/fader settings and it came back on after some static. This happens on all sources tried, ipod, xm radio, regular radio.

 

Fast forward to yesterday and when I went to turn the car on to load a destination for quick access later in the day the unit didn't power on at 1st. I tried again and the unit came back on, I set my destination and turned the car off. Before I left an hour later the unit did not turn on, on first attempt. I tried again and it worked the whole 45min trip no issues. I get back in the car and the unit powers up then immediately shut off. Now i'm pissed. I went to get dinner and when I came out to go the unit powered up and shut off again. I hung around for a while bs'ing with some friends for about an hour trying to get the unit to come on every couple of minutes. No luck. I went to get gas and when I turned the car on the unit powered up and and worked the whole trip home.

 

Sorry for all the babbling but I just want to give the exact info on what's been happening. I plan on giving the shop I went to a call on monday to see what they think. They had to order the radio for me at the time but I doubt they stock this now.

 

I thought it might be the on-board fuse but if it blew wouldn't the unit just die and not come back on? Also when the unit comes on there appears to be no power loss to it. All radio presets and eq setting etc are still there. When the unit doesn't turn on neither do my amps but that's because the remote turn on comes from the avic right?

 

I'm a noob at car audio and don't know the first thing about wiring etc. Hopefully I can either get this shipped back for a new one or just pick up a new one and give the shop this one.

 

Luckily I have an old D3 I could use in the mean time if i need to send it in.

[RonS]

You've got a very complex installation. It sounds more like a short (or maybe more than one). If the HU is shutting down, it could be a loose power connection (there are two - one switched, one not), or the amp wiring could have a short that causes the HU to shut-down.

Another possibility for the HU to shutdown is overheating. You didn't say if you lived in a very hot locale, live Arizona (or Minnesota lately ). If the car is parked in the hot sun, the interior temp could be over 150F. That could cause erratic behavior.

 

Your best bet is to let the pros who sold and installed this to check it out. Without hands-on troubleshooting, any suggestions would be a guess. But I wouln't just assume it is the HU - or that just replacing it will fix the problem. And even if it did, that doesn't mean that it wasn't just a loose connection in the 1st place.

 

Oh, the D3 won't just drop-in. The wiring is different. So that complicates things for a temporary solution.

[Durrby]

Thanks for the fast reply! I hear you on letting them look at it. That's what I plan on doing. It's just it's sunday and I won't be able to make it there til next saturday because of my work hours. It sux driving with no radio

 

I do live in Florida so I understand the heat thing. But I just tried connecting the power supply to the D3 I have and it powered right up prompting me to put in the nav disc. I tried this a few times to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Worked every time. When I put it back in the z130, nothing. The on-board fuse on the 130 was fine so i'm confident the unit is bad. Thing is I have a music video dvd still in the dead unit. Sucks if I can't get it to power up to get it out before sending the unit in.

 

I see what you mean about the 2 units being different when I plugged the power in. Oh well i'll just have to wait and hope it will get resolved quickly.

 

I noticed i'm not the only person to have a z130 die on them

http://avic411.com/index.php?/topic/31975-my-avic-z130bt-died-on-me/

but unlike him my amps aren't getting turned on.

[rwilimo]

So this sounds very familiar to me as I just went through the same kind of sound problem with mine. I also have a fully amped system and started getting intermittent sound followed by varying levels of volume with static and alternator whine only from my right front speaker. I tested it and it was the radio, also banging the dash near the radio would cure it at times. I am now on my 3rd 130bt as the first had a iPod sound problem right out of the box and the replacement developed this problem after only a few months. I am a professional installer so I am quite sure about this. It seems Pioneers quality is really slipping, if this one fails, I am gonna have to explore other options as this is just ridiculous.

[Durrby]

So this sounds very familiar to me as I just went through the same kind of sound problem with mine. I also have a fully amped system and started getting intermittent sound followed by varying levels of volume with static and alternator whine only from my right front speaker. I tested it and it was the radio, also banging the dash near the radio would cure it at times. I am now on my 3rd 130bt as the first had a iPod sound problem right out of the box and the replacement developed this problem after only a few months. I am a professional installer so I am quite sure about this. It seems Pioneers quality is really slipping, if this one fails, I am gonna have to explore other options as this is just ridiculous.

Yeah it's probably not just us. I'm sure we'll see this more frequently. Just like the link I posted earlier a 3rd guy had one die on him.

 

Well last week I went back to where I had it installed. They tested it to make sure it didn't have power for sure. It didn't and I was handed a new z130

 

I still find it kinda funny that the unit had power issues just weeks after I performed the firmware update.

 

This unit seems like it has lagging issues where the 1st one didn't. Sometimes you press buttons and 10-15 seconds later it'll perform the command. Mostly happens when the unit 1st starts up.

[Durrby]

Well less than 3 weeks after I got my 2nd z130 it's starting to have issues. The other day, seconds after the unit booted up to the last funtion that was used, ipod, the unit rebooted then worked fine. Hopefully it was just another fluke but we'll see.

[Durrby]

Well 5 months after getting a 2nd z130 i'm having the same power issues. The unit with either not turn on or begins to load the boot screen then shuts off. Last night it kept turning on then shutting off while driving then eventually just stopped all together. This is getting really frustrating because I have to either wait weeks on end to send the unit back and have it tested by pioneer to get a new one or repaired or drive close to an hour each way to have the shop look at it. Either way at least it's still under warranty until May '12 or July '12 if they go by the 2nd unit.