HU Repair or Replace?

[Kevinch 10+ year member]

Hi folks - first post, but been a member for a while & have learned a good bit here! This is a great site, & I hope to get some answers:

My unit is an Alpine 9833 bought new from Crutchfield & it is out-of-warranty. IMO, it's a great HU & I'd hate to have to replace it. Just over a week ago on Christmas my wife gave me a new 9856 for another car & while the SQ is similar, overall it just doesn't compare with the older unit.

Anyway, I'm having problems with the 9833. It always powers up fine, but after a while - maybe 30 minutes or so - will behave erratically. When selecting a function (ex.: skip to next track, change radio stations, etc.) the deck might power off & then power back up on its own, or the display will go blank and none of the functions will operate including power on/off, tilt, eject, etc. When this happens, the unit continues to play. The only way I have found to get it to work is to remove then replace the face plate, & everything comes back for a while but it will happen again.

Per manufacturer's recommendation, the HU is wired directly to the battery & is fuse protected. I'm not running any additional amps, tuners, etc. I've looked at the pins on the face plate & the contacts on the HU & everything looks to be OK from what I can see. I haven't taken anything apart.

In your opinion, would it be worth sending it somewhere to be repaired? If so, any suggestions on where? (I'm located near Pittsburgh.) Anything other than wiring connections that I can check on my own? I'd appreciate any comments on what to do.

Thanks...

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[Kevinch 10+ year member]

^^^^ [bump] no one? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[sqhertz 5,000+ posts]

my pioneer 4600 does the same shit. with my unit ill probably replace ones it shits seeing how theyre cheaper.

id say contact alpine and see what theyd charge to repair. maybe even get some quotes from other repair places and decide from there. 50%+ the cost of the unit ,id think about replacing.

 

[Trey803 5,000+ posts]

My old pioneer also did this.......my problem was that the connection between the faceplate and the HU main body was not good. I would have to push on the faceplate to make the screen come back on

 

[sqhertz 5,000+ posts]

My old pioneer also did this.......my problem was that the connection between the faceplate and the HU main body was not good. I would have to push on the faceplate to make the screen come back on

exact same problem with mine. 04' 05' model?

any fix or did you just replace.