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Pioneer DEH-4500BT not working right

Car stereo head units, EQ, and DSP questions.
wtcasey
Junior Member
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Mar 11, 2013 7:18 am

Pioneer DEH-4500BT not working right

Post by wtcasey »

I am new to all of this stuff so bare with me. I purchased the DEH-4500BT to replace an old HU that was just shot. I hooked up all the wires to the wiring harness and they are all correctly matched to the stock wires. I only use ground (to the chassis), continuous 12V, ACC 12V, and remote wire. It is hooked up with rca's to a Clif Design 1400W amp (4-channel), then the amp powers the speakers. My problem is that either the HU is bad or the stock wires in my car are screwed up or both. Checked the amp and speakers and rca's with my IPOD and no problems. The HU preamps will ususally only work for the front L and R channels and not the back. Sometimes it works for both front and back. So either the head unit is a P.O.S. or something is wrong with the stock wires connected to the wiring harness. Also get alternator whine. Checked grounds for both amp and HU and there is no difference. Both are reading 0 ohms. PLEASE HELP I AM ABOUT TO LOSE IT. BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT FOR THREE STRAIGHT DAYS WITH LITTLE SLEEP. IT IS DRIVING ME CRAZY.
JeremyC
Master of My Domain
Posts: 2329
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2005 4:13 am
Location: Oklahoma

Post by JeremyC »

If its a new head unit, it could be the RCA's. Or is could still be the ground wire for the deck.

Just because it reads zero ohms doesn't mean its a good ground.

To test the RCAs is pretty easy. Disconect them from the deck, and hook your ipod up to them just like you did the deck. Start the car and play some music.
If the problem is still there disconect the RCAs from the amp, hook your ipod back up there, restart the car, and check again. I know you all ready did this, but you didn't say if the car was running or not.

If both check good, then send us a picture of the head units ground wire, or temporarily run a wire from the same point you have the amp grounded to the head unit and see if the problem changes.

While you have the amps ground apart, I would take a wire brush to the metal and remove all the paint from under it (if you haven't all ready).

Let us know what you find.
wtcasey
Junior Member
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Mar 11, 2013 7:18 am

Post by wtcasey »

It turned out to be the head unit. Got new one and sounds ok, but getting a clicking noise when turning the radio on and off. Also probably need to update all the wiring because it is getting close to 10 years old since last wiring. Also not getting a lot of clear sounding music I really can't describe it but some songs are better than others. Not alot of the low end bass but don't have SW either, just tweeters and 6 1/2 in the front and 6X9 in the back. Just wondering if the wiring could clean some of the sound up and possibly new rca cables, cause I got really cheap ones from autozone. The ground wire for the deck is attached to a bolt directly underneath it that goes through some sort of stock bracket and into the body of the car. Thanks Jeremy for the reply.
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