dan02gt

Hey guys I installed a Pioneer AVH-P3200BT in my 06 GT with the Shaker 500 using the PAC C2R-FRD1 adapter. The system works and sounds great with one problem, at really high volume levels the head unit will reboot like it's being turned off then back on.
I've done some troubleshooting and some research and this seems like a common problem with the Shaker 500 setup. I was thinking the head unit was drawing too much power for the factory wiring so I ran a 14ga wire from the battery to power the head unit and also a 14ga ground. Same issue! Thinking the ACC out on the PAC couldn't provide enough power to keep the head unit on, I installed a relay on the ACC following PACs instructions. Same issue! I did find out something though. When the head unit would reboot I could hear the relay clicking back on. This tells me it's not the head unit at all and the PAC is cutting the power to the ACC wire. Now I don't know if the Shaker door sub AMPs are pulling too much power from the factory wiring thus causing the voltage to the PAC to drop enough that it reboots or what.
I've read of this issue on other forums and it seems that running the ACC wire to the battery or another source solves the problem but you loose the features like running 10 minutes after the key is turned off so I don't want to do that.
So I'm thinking of powering the PAC off the 14ga power and ground that currently run the head unit or installing a small capacitor in line with the PAC to try to smooth any fluctuations in power that could cause it to reboot.

Any ideas? Any one else had this issue? What do you guys think?

BTW I have Kenwood 6x8's up front and Infinity 6x8's in the rear deck. The subs and amps are factory, and actually sound really good.

Iskwezm

I have gotten maybe 1 or 2 calls like this but out of over 3,000 parts sold, its mainly the Pioneers that do it. I have used a Kenwood and a Eclipse and neither one do that.I am working with the engineers right now trying to recreat the issue.

dan02gt

Thanks Iskwezm. I really like the PAC adapter it made the install really easy. All the people I have read about with the issue seem to have the Shaker 500. I'm really curious if the amps that drive the door subs are drawing enough power from the radio circuit that the voltage the PAC is getting is dropping too low and causing it to reboot.

Iskwezm

most people dont give that much information. I have the shaker 1000, so I still think its a compatibility issue with Pioneer current draw.

dan02gt

Iskwezn, I wish that was the case but here is a thread from the Kenwood forums. A couple of people with Kenwood head units and Shaker 500s and PAC C2R-FRD1s with the same problem. Specially the post by cliffhanger.

http://www.kenwoodforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=274

The Shaker 1000 has different amps wired to the car differently so I can see that being a significant difference with the electrical system. I went for a test drive today and had the system reset on me on a song with a lot of bass at 25 level I turned the subs off via the head unit and turned the volume up to 28 and guess what no reboot through the whole song.

I don't think the problem is with Pioneer or PAC at all I think is has something to do with how the factory sub amps are electrically connected to the car. The level and crossover options on the Pioneer allow me to cleanly push the stock subs way harder than the factory head unit did. So I think this may be a factor.

The odd thing is that the factory amps have a different fuse than the head unit so they don't use the same wires for power but they do go to the same fuse box. I have a oscilloscope and a high end voltmeter (B.S. in electronics and network engineer by trade) so may do some more in depth troubleshooting when i get the chance. If I can provide you guys any useful data please let me know.

Iskwezm

the amps wouldnt affect the radio power being cut off.Like you said the power for the radio is different then the power supply for the amps.I have a Kenwood 8017 and it has never shut off.I will look at the wire schematic tomorrow.The only difference in the Shaker 1000 is the additional amps in the trunk for the 10's. Have you tried that fix from the link you posted using a larger power and ground? We might have to reingineer the part.

dan02gt

The first thing I did was run a 14ga fused power wire from the battery to the head units yellow power wire. I also used 14ga wire for the head units ground. Correct me if I'm wrong on this but my understanding of the wiring is that the yellow wire is the wire that is used for powering the head unit and thus the one that has the highest current draw, and the red ACC wire just provides the power that tells the head unit to turn on and is much lower current.
I read a thread on the Pioneer AVIC forum (avic411.com) where someone was having the same issue and connected the red wire to the battery and the unit would not restart. So it seems the red wire is the issue here. Being that the red wire is low current I really don't understand what is going on, and I really don't want to rig it by connecting the red wire somewhere else. I want to keep my RAP functioning.
The PAC is connected to the yellow for it's power, correct? I checked the power to the yellow wire last night and found that at low volume it has 12.4 v and at high volume it has 12.0v. I wouldn't think this would be too low for the PAC. The unit didn't reboot during the test BTW, but it was a short test. Remember my head unit is currently getting it's main power from the battery not the yellow wire.
I also noticed one other thing I had the purple and green RCA's for the sub out connected. I know that only the green is used. I unplugged the purple for this last test. Since the purple is not used where does it go? Is it just a open circuit? Could it be a issue having it connected?
The issue seems related to the level of the subs not the highs that are running off the head unit. I had a reboot yesterday so I turned the subs off via the sub option on the head unit and then actually turned up the volume and had no more problems as long as the subs were off.
What I mean by reboot is that the unit acts like your turning the key switch off and then back on a few seconds latter. It picks back up exactly were it left off in the song and no time or setting are lost. Also if I'm running the unit with the key in the off position using the RAP feature it will not come back on. I have to recycle the key and it comes right back up. Driving the car it comes right back up on it's on.

I know I'm just rambling on but I hope there is some useful information here.

Iskwezm

I just spoke with our vp of r&d and the only thing we can do is get a car in (locally) to do some testing on and see what is happeing to the acc ouput. They yellow supplies the constant for memory.I have a older Kenwood 8017 and Eclipse AVN 6620 that do not do this. Im gonna try a Alpine and a Pioneer to recreate the issue.When you turn off the subs, there will be less of a current draw.

Can you measure your current draw in the red wire at rest and then under a load(what ever volume shuts it off).That guy from the Kenwood forum cliams the radio draws 15 amps, whish is enough to blow the fuse.So im wondering if he was correct in his assumption?

dan02gt

I'll check the voltage and current on both the red and yellow wire. I think on mine the yellow wire is the one that supplies both the memory and the current that runs the unit (internal amps and display and all), and the red wire just acts as like a amp remote wire and tells the unit when to turn on. I say this because the wire on the factory Pioneer wiring harness is 16ga for the yellow and 18ga for the red. Indicating the yellow draws the most current.
The PAC instructions also indicate a max of 1 amp on the red ACC wire not near the 10 amps this unit can draw. So I'm guess most of the load is on the yellow. I will check both in the next day or so and let your know what I find out. Thanks for all your help.

Iskwezm

thanks for your help also.If we have to re-engineer the part, i'll be sure to get you one for your trouble.