First of all let me say this is a great forum with tons and tons of information for newbs like me. Recently I installed an F90BT into my 07 Civic Si. Great stereo, everything works as advertised, but I have a couple of problems with it. Done plenty of searching/reading/etc. but none seem to answer my questions and I was hoping some of you may answer this...

1. The Si has a factory amp and subwoofer so we hooked it up using a harness that would integrate with the stock components. Everything seems to work fine, except:

a. There is a slight hissing noise on all AV sources. When the stereo is completely turned down, there noise is still there. It gets louder only when I push buttons. You can hear the hissing get louder for a second and then back down. This is especially annoying when I am trying to drive w/out any sound and just want to relax with the engine noise. My resolve to this, is I am going to open the unit back up, splice the speaker wires on the harness and connect RCA cables to them. I'm going to route RCA ground loop isolators through the RCA cables and connect to the RCA outs on the headunit. I'm hoping this solves the problem and if it doesn't, does anyone else have any suggestions, etc.?

b. The bluetooth volume is extremely loud. I have it set to the lowest volume on the unit with the master volume and phone volume both at their lowest and when I am making a call, people sound like they are screaming and it hurts my ears. I've had to ask people to speak softly away from their speakerphone, but I know this is not normal. I've tried to find settings on my iPhone 3g to lower the bluetooth phone volume settings as some have suggesting it may be the culprit, to no luck.

2. When connecting the iPhone, the headunit recognizes it, charges it, etc. but I seem to be missing the volume. I've tried to change the volume on the headunit and on the iPhone, but it does not seem to work. I'm guessing there may be something wrong with the wiring for this, so I will try to go back and rerun through the wiring. Anyone else have this problem?

Any of your help is highly appreciated. Overall I'm very happy with the unit and look forward to applying some mods to it. Can't wait for someone to try to figure out how to get rid of the warning screen. Love the PAC-SWI-PS interface. Still haven't figured out how to use the VR, but will give it a shot someday.

The hissing is not a connection issues rather it is a software issue, it has to do with how the software is interacting with the hardware and thus creates the hissing sound. As a matter of fact if you listen when you change the sources you might notice that it gets loader for a few seconds then goes back to the normal volume, the only time the unit does not hiss is when you are in FM and that is because Pioneer does not allow you to chance the SLA setting for FM. I have the same issue with my setup in my Honda Element and since you cannot turn down the gain the factory amp there is little you can do. Putting a ground loop isolator will not take the hissing away so save your money and be very careful not to unplug the RCA and ground as Pioneer uses Pico Fuses and blow easy then it will leave you with an even more annoying engine whine. This is the only choice you have... each source has it's own SLA setting in the sound setting, you can turn down the SLA to -4db and it should help. The down side is that the volume of the radio will be reduced dramatically, even with my amps I don't have the volume I had before, but I rather not hear the hiss then have volume.

+1 the low volume static is annoying but part of life with the F-series

and for the Ipod, you are using the Ipod cable with usb AND composite video, right?

because the usb cable alone will not deliver sound into the unit

Does everybody get the hissing sound? I have it too.!

Im in the process of switching the harness and looking for a better ground spot. Hope that helps!

a new ground spot wont help, its how the system was designed, every one i have ever installed and put on display has had this issue, even in a benchtest with a clean power supply.

First of all let me say this is a great forum with tons and tons of information for newbs like me. Recently I installed an F90BT into my 07 Civic Si. Great stereo, everything works as advertised, but I have a couple of problems with it. Done plenty of searching/reading/etc. but none seem to answer my questions and I was hoping some of you may answer this...

 

1. The Si has a factory amp and subwoofer so we hooked it up using a harness that would integrate with the stock components. Everything seems to work fine, except:

 

a. There is a slight hissing noise on all AV sources. When the stereo is completely turned down, there noise is still there. It gets louder only when I push buttons. You can hear the hissing get louder for a second and then back down. This is especially annoying when I am trying to drive w/out any sound and just want to relax with the engine noise. My resolve to this, is I am going to open the unit back up, splice the speaker wires on the harness and connect RCA cables to them. I'm going to route RCA ground loop isolators through the RCA cables and connect to the RCA outs on the headunit. I'm hoping this solves the problem and if it doesn't, does anyone else have any suggestions, etc.?

 

I have a f90 installed in my Mugen Si and No issues like this at all (except when i run leetlauncher). my f90 runs fine for me

My F90BT does the exact same thing.

I finally got tired of all the issues the F-Series have. I used to have a Avic D3 before it was stolen. I loved that unit because IT WORKED.

I just purchased a Kenwood DNX7120 for $725.

6.95" screen

Uses Garmin navigation

Maps can be updated using the SD card slot and Garmin mapsource software.

You can even load topo maps in addition to the city select maps.

I have the hissing as well. It does get louder with button presses. It's quite annoying and the sort of thing which has made me ban entire brands of HU in the past... With my amp gains set correctly, it was quite noticeable. I noticed that the hiss seemed to be constant regardless of volume setting. To reduce it, I lowered the gains on my amps and use more volume on the HU to compensate. It's not perfect and there is still hiss, but it's better.

Tim

I don't buy the 'this is just an F90 issue that you have to live with' argument. I have an F90 but no hiss as you describe. My F90 does feed a factory amp, but I don't drive a Honda. Assuming the hiss is ASE, as others suggest, reducing the source SLA should help. However, I doubt it cures your problem.

If you're absolutely sure this is ASE and not a ground loop, the best solution is to either bypass the amp completely or use RCA outs to feed an aftermarket amp.

the static is always there even when your just using the internal amp, are your telling me that when your volume is at 1 or zero, your unit is dead silent, and you have no backgroung noise or static?

I'm interested in this thread since I was plainning on an F-series (900bt, 90bt or 700bt) for either my or my wifes next honda.

If there's gonna be hissing issues, forget it.

I don't buy the 'this is just an F90 issue that you have to live with' argument. I have an F90 but no hiss as you describe. My F90 does feed a factory amp, but I don't drive a Honda. Assuming the hiss is ASE, as others suggest, reducing the source SLA should help. However, I doubt it cures your problem.

 

If you're absolutely sure this is ASE and not a ground loop, the best solution is to either bypass the amp completely or use RCA outs to feed an aftermarket amp.

I don't know if it is all F90s, I can only say that my unit does hiss. It's not a ground loop engine whine it is the head-unit. I have RCA from the pre-amps to the amps. I have been able to turn down the gains on the amps to about 2.5(which is almost off) and set the SLA to -4 and it is almost completely gone and is much more bearable. It's a shame because I am not using the power that my system is capable of.

I'm interested in this thread since I was plainning on an F-series (900bt, 90bt or 700bt) for either my or my wifes next honda.

 

If there's gonna be hissing issues, forget it.

go somewhere where they have them on display, and take a listen and see for yourself