monkiboy Posted March 30, 2012 Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 hi - new here and learning quite a bit. i have been having an issue with my z120 lately. i've had it installed for about two years without fault or problem. every time i start the car, after a random amount of time, my unit will turn off and back on. usually during this process i will get a weird screen. sometimes white and black horizontal lines, white scatter screen (like on old tv channels you couldn't get) or a split color screen for ten or so seconds, audio is cut off, screen goes black while the buttons stay lit the entire time, and then it will restart and come back. sometimes it just restarts and there is no weird visual on the screen. i have not done anything electrical or otherwise that would affect my unit so i don't know what it may be. also, the odd screens i get don't make me think it is a short or the yellow, red, and ground from the harness conflicted. here's a video i took of an instance of it today. my depression of buttons did not cause any change in the video. it was taking much longer than normal to restart and was just hanging on the dark screen (which it does sometimes instead of an instant restart) so i turned the car off and on which always restarts the system perfectly. this is in idle so nothing is moving. sorry for the misalignment but i was trying to record as quickly as possible to catch it on video. any idea what it could be? thanks! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRHsC1JKj-A Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RonS Posted March 30, 2012 Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 How old is your battery? It seemed to hesitate a little when you were crankng. A bad cell in the battery can cause lots of wierd glitches in automobile electronics. I've even heard of windows going crazy and digital A/C controls acting up. If the battery and power wires are good, and the unit is not overheating, then it looks like your HU is malfunctioning. Time for a Z140. One more thing to ask. Do you have HID lights? If so, are they aftermarket? THey have also been known to cause odd behavior. I haven't followed those threads closely, so I'm not sure if that could cause this behavior. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
monkiboy Posted March 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 How old is your battery? It seemed to hesitate a little when you were crankng. A bad cell in the battery can cause lots of wierd glitches in automobile electronics. I've even heard of windows going crazy and digital A/C controls acting up. If the battery and power wires are good, and the unit is not overheating, then it looks like your HU is malfunctioning. Time for a Z140. One more thing to ask. Do you have HID lights? If so, are they aftermarket? THey have also been known to cause odd behavior. I haven't followed those threads closely, so I'm not sure if that could cause this behavior. ron, thank you for your helpful reply. my battery is about two years old but it is an optima redtop and in proper shape. the hesitation is normal for this car and has more to due with the fuel and power delivery setup. i think your diagnosis of a malfunctioning HU might be accurate because of all the weird screen anomalies. are there locations that would be this or is there a way to go through pioneer for repair if outside the 1 year warranty? i do have HID lights, and some are aftermarket. i read a few threads about interference. i've had my system running for about two years with the same ballasts and lighting setup, though. because of this, i do not believe it to have to do with my HID setup. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VBLUE42 Posted March 30, 2012 Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 Unplug the HIDs and see if the problem goes away. That way you will know for sure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
monkiboy Posted March 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 Unplug the HIDs and see if the problem goes away. That way you will know for sure. ok, removed the HID units completely and it actually got worse. now when i turn the car on, it won't play at all. odd screen displays, and black screen with lit pad, no function, though. here's the video of it now. edit: about an hour later, i went out started the car and the radio was working well for about a one hour drive, then it restarted to the black screen. any ideas? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RonS Posted March 30, 2012 Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 I guess the next step is to remove the HU. Before sending it off to a service center, I'd bench test it by hooking it up to a 12V source and turning it on and off a bunch of times. See it it fails. If you can't repeat the problem in a bench test, the repair center may not be able to identify and fix the problem either. Where did you buy it and how did you pay for it? If you used a Platinum credit card, you may have doubled the warranty coverage to 2 yrs. That would be great news. However, I'm not sure how/if that would apply if you didn't buy through an authorized dealer. 2 x 0 = 0. To find a service center, check the Pioneer USA web site. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TxFire Posted March 31, 2012 Report Share Posted March 31, 2012 I am having similar issues as if the last couple of days with my x920BT. It now runs normally for approximately 10-15 min and then starts the wieredness and then goes blank with no funtions . Any thoughts? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hstechfl Posted April 6, 2012 Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 Same problem here, but with X930bt. Buttons light up, but only black white lines on screen. I'm wondering if it has something to do with the xm tuner, which lost all channels before this happened. Anyone else have the xm tuner? Tried to reupdate and boot into service mode, nothing. Unit 4 months old, bricked Quote Link to post Share on other sites
monkiboy Posted April 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 i dont have the xm tuner on mine so i doubt that is your problem. unfortunately, none of the advice here helped diagnose the actual problem. i sent mine in to pioneer for repair/replacement. i'll let you know what they say if you don't find your own solution in the interim. supposed to have it back within 10 days...we shall see. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TxFire Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 No XM on mine either. Mine is at Pioneer also. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
monkiboy Posted April 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 tx*, let me know how your unit works out, what the problem they state is, and final resolution. i'm hoping they resolve whatever it is soon! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TxFire Posted April 12, 2012 Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 Received a replacement refurbished x920 yesterday. No explanation of problem but better still NO CHARGE! Im happy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
monkiboy Posted April 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 txfire, that was fast! when did they receive your unit? mine is till at their place of business but not covered by warranty. i assume yours was determined to be covered and listed as such on your online ticket or during submission process? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TxFire Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 I believe it was received on 4/5. It was past the standard one year warranty. It stated on the receipt that it was replaced at their discretion. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
monkiboy Posted April 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 so when you set up the RMA, did they make you pay to receive your RMA number or did it pull up as past warranty and oyu paid and then they refunded you? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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