Author Topic: Strange radio versus cd player problem... (Read 5678 times)

Budgie · « **on:** Nov 9, 2004, 11:23AM »

Hi everyone...

I've put my stereo into my bluebird which has a power antenna. It worked perfectly with the stock radio that was in the car, went up and down like a happy little monster but with my MP3 deck it no longer does.

I'm positive I have wired the correct wire to the HU for 'power antenna' but it doesn't work. All fuses are fine...

Another weird thing it does. You turn on the car, CD player comes on, amp comes on everything works fine when playing MP3's or CD's. If you switch the HU source to radio, the anteanna stays down and the amp turns off... then I only get sound through the back speakers (not amped, they run off the HU). Reception is good evern with the antenna down! Switch the HU back to 'CD' and the amp turns back on and everything is normal again.

help!

Kranzy · « **Reply #1 on:** Nov 9, 2004, 11:28AM »

My first thing would be that there is a problem with your power antenna turn on lead. If your positive you have wired it right try changing it so the amps remote turn on is connected to the power antenna lead...if the amp still doesnt work when your radio is on my guess would be that there is a problem with the power antenna lead from your headunit.

NeVetS · « **Reply #2 on:** Nov 9, 2004, 11:47AM »

Bye Pass the antenna, i've installed a few units with the same problem. The First thing you should do is disconect one and then the other if you know what i mean. First see if the antenna works with out the amp ON wire conected and vice verser. If one works with out the other your head unit had issues. If one works bye pass it by connecting what ever one works to the cars ON + wire, then see if that works.

Ps what brand is your unit?

Budgie · « **Reply #3 on:** Nov 9, 2004, 11:57AM »

Its an Alpine deck Nevets.

NeVetS · « **Reply #4 on:** Nov 9, 2004, 12:30PM »

Try hooking both up to the same conection, Thats the way mine is set up never had any problems (only when you reverse under a tree and bend your antenna

) But i've never had any issues with Alpine units. If it was sony or kenwood or sometimes JVC it be a diff story. Just play around till it works fuses are there for a reason.

Budgie · « **Reply #5 on:** Nov 9, 2004, 12:34PM »

Sweet. Thanks steve. I'll have to take the freaking dash apart again, stupid power anteanna!

NeVetS · « **Reply #6 on:** Nov 9, 2004, 12:49PM »

Good luck mate. Your more than welcome to drive all the way over here and i'll help you. ha!

jayjay · « **Reply #7 on:** Nov 10, 2004, 04:54PM »

sounds like you have your amp remote turn on hooked up to your antenne aswell
maybe you dont have the right wires ,
if all else fail you could prolly use the ingnition wire to turn your antenne on

Budgie · « **Reply #8 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 01:34PM »

fucked if I know whats wrong with my antenna...

Just attacked it again today (exactly a year since I posted this thread... which is a little scary!)

I'm still totally stumped as to why it doesn't work. Starting to think there has been some stuffing around with its wiring back at the antenna end to get it to work with the old toyota headunit it had.

*shruggs* Looks like I'm taking it to a car audio place. Might take the antenna out first and confirm that it still goes up and down.

Jecks · « **Reply #9 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 01:37PM »

budgie... simple problem... u have the antenna wire hooed to your amp, and your amp wire hooked to your antenna... think about it... easy fix, just swap the 2

Kranzy · « **Reply #10 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 02:01PM »

If that was the case Jecks then the antenna would be up all the time if it was connected to the remote turn-on for the amps.

Jecks · « **Reply #11 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 02:11PM »

if you read his post... he says that his antenna DOES stay up all the time, and his amps cut out when the cd player is turned on...

Budgie · « **Reply #12 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 02:16PM »

Yep, its not that. That makes no differance.

The wire that heads back into the loom that I 'thought' was antenna is red with a black stripe... I pulled up the rear seats and there are three wires, two red with green stripes and one red with black. They had been cut, then these short black wire sections put in and then re-joined (with that heat-shrink stuff). Very weird. The wires don't change... well, maybe the red and green stripe ones have been swapped over, but fucked If I know what for, they aren't the speaker wires either...

Next step is to take the power antenna out and figure out how to get the bastard to extend with some form of connection. Then hopefully wire something straight from the ignition to make it go up and down.

Budgie · « **Reply #13 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 02:17PM »

Quote from: Jecks on Nov 9, 2005, 02:11PM

he says that his antenna DOES stay up all the time

Where do I say that... because it doesn't!

Jecks · « **Reply #14 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 02:26PM »

oops.... i read it '...antenna stays up...', but it says down.... my bad

...i just made myself look like an asshat

Budgie · « **Reply #15 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 02:26PM »

I've read power antennas will extend when they see 12v, then retract when the 12v is gone.

So IGN on, 12v heads to the antenna then when off the 12v is gone, antenna retracts.

Kranzy · « **Reply #16 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 02:29PM »

there are normally two wires that need 12v (on mine anyway) i had one that was 12v contiuous, remote turn on and also ground. So if you connect both wires to a 12v source and also the groud the antenna should go up...then remove turn on lead and it will retract.

Budgie · « **Reply #17 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 02:33PM »

Problem is, I have no freaking idea what it what on the antenna. There is a plug with two wires, which is the 'antenna motor' plug. Two orange wires, one with blue stripe.

Then there is a bigger loom like plug with I think 6-8 wires (can't remember, took the antenna out a while ago). According to the FSM for the aussie U12 pinny this is the connection to the 'power antenna timer'.

Are you taking about your Ti antenna Kranzy?

I will take the antenna out tommorow.

Kranzy · « **Reply #18 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 02:35PM »

No this is a shitty aftermarket antenna...there was just a shit antenna in the Ti when i got it.

Jecks · « **Reply #19 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 02:55PM »

kranzy, why did you take out your OEM Ti antenna unit??

Jono · « **Reply #20 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 03:06PM »

It doesn't sound like he ever had a Ti antenna, only shitty aftermarket antennas.

Jecks · « **Reply #21 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 03:12PM »

all Ti's had antenna's from the factory... but i guess your saying he bought it with the aftermarket one fitted... thats gotta suck...

Kranzy · « **Reply #22 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 04:02PM »

Nope i bought it with a busted atenna (not electric) and replaced it with a cheap electric one i bought from k-mart till i can afford a decent one. Im assuming the orignial one busted and was replaced by a standard pull up type antenna.

Jecks · « **Reply #23 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 04:59PM »

well im going wreckers trawling in a few weeks, if u want, ill keep an eye out for an OEM item...

Kranzy · « **Reply #24 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 05:04PM »

Are you talking to me or budgie jecks? If your talking to me and find a good condition one and its not to pricey ill be in melbourne in december when i can grab it off you. That would be tops.

Jecks · « **Reply #25 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 05:10PM »

yea i was talking to you kranzy...
..no probs, ill keep an eye out

as for budgies problem, id say just splice the switch wire that works to both the antenna and amp, if its your antenna then try an import wreckers...

rathies · « **Reply #26 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 06:03PM »

you've mixed your blue wires up mate. one is for the antenna and one is for the amp. the amp should constantly be on and the antenna should only come on when its on radio mode. which explains the amp turning off.

Kranzy · « **Reply #27 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 06:05PM »

Re-read the thread mate...his antenna doesnt work at all and the amp turns OFF when the radio is on. If the wires were around the wrong way then the antenna would be up all the time and the amp would be ON when the radio is on and off when the cd player is being used.

Budgie · « **Reply #28 on:** Nov 9, 2005, 08:29PM »

Yeah its just fucked... lol

I tried last year, swicthed the amp/antenna wires around from the headunit outputs. Can't remember what it did exactly, didn't work though!

Budgie · « **Reply #29 on:** Dec 11, 2005, 11:04AM »

FIXED!

Stupid wiring in the car, from before I had it (either done in Japan, or in AU after compliance). The ground lead was hooked to the anteanna signal lead on my headunit, and the ground lead was lying around and I had been trying to hook the antenna signal from the HU to it.

Hence it had been playing silly buggers with the antenna, amp and other things turning them on, off... up down, left right... whatever.

I had assumed this wiring was all right as the headunit had been working fine and was wired the same as the older toyota AU spec headunit it had when I bought it.

Anyway, radio on... CD player, antenna stays down. Switch to radio mode, antenna goes up. Switch back to CD mode antenna goes down

It so fucking huge tho, sticks up over 2ft above the roof-line of the car when fully extended!

Kranzy · « **Reply #30 on:** Dec 11, 2005, 11:56AM »

bout time you fixed that.

Xedus101 · « **Reply #31 on:** Dec 11, 2005, 10:05PM »

Now you get to worry about it when you drive under trees and other low things. Assuming it's like anything else on your car you wont want it to break because you'll have a hard time replacing it.

My stereo was a bit like that too. The acc power was wired straight to the fuse box instead of using the wire from the loom.

Budgie · « **Reply #32 on:** Dec 12, 2005, 10:06PM »

Still fucked.

Tonight I went to turn my parkers on, the fuse blew straight away.

Get back and disconnect the headunits wiring from the back of it. Put new fuse in, switch on parkers... they work fine. Plug radio back in, fuse blows.

There are three wires I'm still suss on. A red with green stripe, this one is what I think is constant power (pretty sure thats right). Red with black stripe, I thought it was ground... but I don't think so. There is also a blue wire, which I had wired to acc to switch the hu on.

Anyway, i'm fucking pissed off as I can't get it to work at all now...

Radio was working perfectly fine until I switched the parkers on and the fuse blew... was still working then, but once I took it out and disconnected the wiring and started to muck around, it was all over.

GRRRRRRRRRR

Kranzy · « **Reply #33 on:** Dec 12, 2005, 10:08PM »

Maybe one is an illumination wire and its shorting now that you've changed the wires from how you had it before?

Budgie · « **Reply #34 on:** Dec 12, 2005, 10:10PM »

Maybe, but where is my ground if the red with black stripe is illumination? Or maybe the blue wire is illumination?

Fucking jap shit.

I'm waiting on a wiring diagram for the stereo in the RNU12's from attesa-x. Meanwhile, half my interior is sitting in the passenger foot-well.

Kranzy · « **Reply #35 on:** Dec 12, 2005, 10:12PM »

if you have a test light you should be able to work out which is constant on...which is acc controlled and also which is illumination.

Maybe an idea would be to ground it yourself? find a nice spot under the dash and do it that way.

Might make it a little easier.

Jono · « **Reply #36 on:** Dec 12, 2005, 11:16PM »

From memory red/black is illumination and black is ground. $:-\$

Just ground a wire to one of the head unit bracket mounting screws and use that.

Is the blue wire on the car or the head unit? If it's on the hu it's your amp remote turn-on wire, if it's on the car I think it's either the acc or battery power.

As Kranzy said, get a test light or a multimeter and work it out for yourself.

Budgie · « **Reply #37 on:** Dec 13, 2005, 12:43PM »

Was a simple problem. Grounded it too the chassis properly. All good now.

Craazy · « **Reply #38 on:** Dec 15, 2005, 07:30PM »

nothing but dramas here, glad i havent gotten this with my car. id be the shittiest bastard ever if i did.....

oh well good to see you got it sorted budgie...