Long post looking for help
Kenwood head unit installed in 2011. No issues until about 6 months ago.
Typical Day:
Start engine first thing in morning - head unit is powered on and functioning normally
Between 1 - 10 minutes into drive - head unit shuts off. no power. can't turn back on with power button.
Sometimes between 5-10 minutes of no power - unit turns back on, functions normally again. Shuts back off after 1-5 minutes again. does not come back on for remainder of day.
If I pull the 10amp fuse out from the car fuse block and put it back in (same fuse obviously, it is not a blown fuse), radio will turn on. Will shut down within 10minutes again.
Yesterday (6/18/2017) I replaced the head unit with a new one. problem did not go away. It initially powered on and functioned normal, but lost power about 5 minutes in.
made a video of the following (with new head unit installed):
car in park in my driveway:
turn engine on as normal, radio does not come on. pull radio fuse with engine running and replace. radio turns on; functions normally and sounds good. power radio off/on with power button on head unit; still working good. shut engine off, pull key out of ignition - radio shut down as it should have. put key back in and start car - no power to radio.
I did this same troubleshooting with both head units - I don't think it has anything to do with the radio itself (anymore).
Another note - With engine off and key out of ignition; if I pull the 10amp fuse and replace, the radio will come on. When this happens, the radio does not shut off, even with the doors open. I've seen this a couple times also when turning the engine off. If I notice it when leaving my car, I usually unplug the faceplate.
more info during troubleshooting:
while driving, when head unit is off, I sometimes hear an electronic sounding squeal for about 2 seconds, then I see the head unit power back on.
When I had the old head unit disconnected, I heard pulsing squeal from speakers, almost like a security system?? lasted for about 90 seconds and then went away. No radio was hooked up. (If I have a security system, I don't know about it. I do have OnStar but I've never used it.)
"service air bag" light sometimes comes on/off. usually doesn't stay on for more than 5 minutes. Maybe 4 or 5 times in past 6 months, I have also lost all dash indications (fuel level, tach, sped, and coolant temp) while driving for a couple seconds and then they came back.
Assuming the radio problems are related to the other problems; can't say for sure.
Can anyone offer some advice??
Thank you
Will
