Need help with my car audio!

[keyofmiracles]

Hey guys, I'm pretty much a newbie when it comes to stuff like this so bear with me.

So the vehicle in question here is an '06 Nissan Pathfinder. I changed out the stock head unit and replaced it with a Pioneer DEH x2800UI and wired it using an aftermarket Metra harness. However it didn't have a black wire, so I had to ground the black wire from the radio to this metal bracket behind the head unit, and I did so by screwing the bare wire down with the screw that was in the bracket hole already.

Ever since then the audio will be great at higher volumes for a good while, but eventually, no matter how long it takes, the audio starts to distort and get super fuzzy when a certain frequency of bass starts to hit. I can't seem to figure out what is going on. Is it my grounding location? Is it the way I grounded the car? I've:

-Redone all the wiring for the head unit.
-Changed head units.
-Plugged in the antenna using an adapter, as I heard that the head units also ground through the antenna in these cars.

Also when I use the balance and fader controls to divert all the audio to either the front, the back, left or the right one at a time, the bass doesn't get messed up like I described above.

With no change whatsoever. Please help me, it would be appreciated greatly. Thank you!

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[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Sounds like the issue is based on heat since it happens after some time has passed. The only reason you could attribute this to a ground is if the connection between that bracket and the chassis are very weak. You should only ground to brackets if you can find a solid metal path back to the chassis of the vehicle. Connecting the ground wire to the actual floor of the vehicle would be the only ground change to make.

Also, feel for heat at the back of the head unit when it does this. If it is too hot to touch, the issue may be the head unit trying to power more than it should (or maybe a slight short).

 

[keyofmiracles]

Sounds like the issue is based on heat since it happens after some time has passed. The only reason you could attribute this to a ground is if the connection between that bracket and the chassis are very weak. You should only ground to brackets if you can find a solid metal path back to the chassis of the vehicle. Connecting the ground wire to the actual floor of the vehicle would be the only ground change to make.

Also, feel for heat at the back of the head unit when it does this. If it is too hot to touch, the issue may be the head unit trying to power more than it should (or maybe a slight short).

Thanks for the reply!

The bracket should be ok based on the design of the car, but I can double check that front. However it is interesting that you mention heat, because the back of the head unit does get extremely hot to the point where it burns if I touch it when it's been running too long. What do I do to remedy this?

 

[keyofmiracles]

Also to add something weird I noticed this morning, my head unit's USB port has been acting up lately, but once I unplugged the antenna cable from the head unit and factory reset it, the usb port started working instantly.

 

[IndySlim]

Never heard of a factory radio with no ground

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

if the antenna shield is the only chassis ground, it would be problematic.

The USB connection issue is odd for sure. I recommend a chassis ground not a bracket ground.

Having it be too hot to touch speaks to a slight short. You need to inspect all connections (including at speakers). no bare copper should be visible nor should you have wire strands touching other channels, metal, or speaker baskets.