Issue with head unit freezing up only while vehicle is running.

[XTR]

Hello.

I've been having an issue with an old Pioneer DEH-7200 head unit recently. I've owned it for 13 years (a long time I know) and recently it's begun to completely freeze up only while the vehicle is running. I have to pull the fuse out to get the illumination/display off. It works fine while the vehicle is off. No loose connections, replaced fuses, I've shaken it while hanging from the dash and tapped the faceplate while it's on...nothing. I've also ran new power and ground cables directly from the battery for testing and it still locks up. It usually happens 3-5 minutes after starting the vehicle.

I've been installing car audio since '92 and haven't had an issue like this. I'm just wondering if inline noise suppressors can fail and cause intermittent power loss causing this? The harness connections are clean as are the connectors from the faceplate to the unit. Other than this random lock up, the stereo looks and sounds like it's brand new and I'd hate to replace it with a cheaper model needlessly.

Thanks for any help or advice you have.

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[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

it shouldn't "lock up" and unless you mean it loses power and shuts down. if it stays lit and remains unresponsive, the problem is likely internal. the only difference between car on and off is voltage. shutting down with higher voltage would be an internal issue, a problem in the power supply or logic IC. eventually, all electronics fail.

i had an older Pioneer that wouldn't eject CD's consistently, i had to disconnect power to try again. I had the same CD in the car for a month despite daily resetting. i replaced it.

 

[XTR]

Thanks for the reply. I gave up checking this forum each day, so I'm not sure why I didn't get an email about a reply.

Anyway, I gave up all hope on it a few weeks ago. Most of the time the illumination would stay on and the unit was unresponsive. Only pulling the fuse would turn the illumination off. One day the eject motor randomly started grinding on its own while it was off and no CD in it. It also randomly will lose 2 hours of time on the clock overnight, yet keep all of the settings. I unplugged the harness for now and will get a new unit after winter is over.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Thanks for the reply. I gave up checking this forum each day, so I'm not sure why I didn't get an email about a reply.
Anyway, I gave up all hope on it a few weeks ago. Most of the time the illumination would stay on and the unit was unresponsive. Only pulling the fuse would turn the illumination off. One day the eject motor randomly started grinding on its own while it was off and no CD in it. It also randomly will lose 2 hours of time on the clock overnight, yet keep all of the settings. I unplugged the harness for now and will get a new unit after winter is over.

you won't get a notification unless you're quoted (unless you check the box for notifications on replies).

i would replace the head unit, without hesitation.

 

[XTR]

you won't get a notification unless you're quoted (unless you check the box for notifications on replies).
i would replace the head unit, without hesitation.

I replaced it a few weeks ago and hooked the old one up to an old battery in the garage....it's been connected for over a week with no issues whatsoever. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

The new one has no issues using the same exact wiring the old one was connected to for almost 12 years...

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

I replaced it a few weeks ago and hooked the old one up to an old battery in the garage....it's been connected for over a week with no issues whatsoever. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif
The new one has no issues using the same exact wiring the old one was connected to for almost 12 years...

so both the replacement and the old unit are working perfectly? that's quite odd. it's still likely an internal problem, maybe caused by a bad connection to the faceplate. that will render control useless. the garage is a more stable environment than the dash (less vibration).

 

[XTR]

so both the replacement and the old unit are working perfectly? that's quite odd. it's still likely an internal problem, maybe caused by a bad connection to the faceplate. that will render control useless. the garage is a more stable environment than the dash (less vibration).

Yeah, i whacked the heck out of it (more than the road vibration or sub can create), shook it, shook the wiring harness pretty violently and can't reproduce the issue outside of the vehicle. I'm just trying to do every test of it i can to make sure it's completely useless at this point. It's almost in new cosmetic condition and worked flawlessly for years until a few months ago. I'd like to at least sell the faceplate on ebay at the very least is why i'm not giving up on it yet...