Okay now i have a pioneer headunit less the a year old installed atm..last couple days right it turns its self off and then back on at different volume levels and for different lengths of time... ive just pulled the HU out and shit me the wiring is a mess i was having a look around and there was a black wire (ground?) which isnt connected to anything!!! :S the end isnt even stripped :S does the unit ground elsewhere or thru this wire..if thru the wire where can i ground to as i cant see any points to ground.

thanks guys

There is no ground throught he Standard head unit wiring harness, the head unit should be grounded out to the chassis (Plenty of points to screw it to in behind the head unit there too.)

If its turning itself off and on randomly with different volumes, sounds like a wiring issue - loose wire bouncing around making contact and killing / starting the HU.

Has it ever blown any radio fuses?

Who did the install?
Do they have a warranty on the installation if done professionally?

EDIT - how long has the head unit been in the car? there when you got it or did you get it fitted?

thats all the (poor) help im able to offer on it sorry.

well if its gotta be grounded thru that wire that must be the problem because its not connected to anything! and now that i have it out all other connections seem fine but that one. never blown a fuse or anything like that and a 'mate' did the install of the HU and i did everything else...will go out ground this wire and see how we go

Do you actually have the HU wiring instructions to know what the balck wire is FOR? "Black = Ground/Earth" is not always correct, depending upon the brand and era of the HU.

My bet is that if this unit was not grounded at all, it would have never functioned in the first place. Before you go shoving that "unknown black wire" onto chassis, have a look to see if any other wires are already grounded to a convenient screw or bolt in the dash.

There is a site - I think called Install Doctor - based in USA but still useful, which details Plug configurations are wiring colours for a variety of car makes and HU brands. Or try the Pioneer site for Support or downloads of wiring specs for your HU.

I have a vague memory that Pioneer HU's were prone to fry themselves if wired incorrectly.... from older threads in here.

yeahh i went to a site and it said black was ground so ive now grounded it and its working again...not sure if its turning on and off as i havent been for a long drive yet. when i removed the headunit a short wire with a spade connector fell out so i think that may have been an issue, or mabye it was connected to something dodgey and become loose. its now secularly grounded so yeah

head units will work for sometime without earthing the black wire as it would be pulling an earth from the aqntenna and/or the rca's. if you have amplifiers then i would be checking for any engine noise (pioneers are well know for burning out the earthing tracks on the rca's)

Give us an update if the problem has been fixed ?

well i earthed the black wire, do need to re-tune everything because of power loss but havent had time yet...since re-doing it it hasnt played up so i think its good atm...really want to redo all the wiring...its disgusting

Can't be as bad as some of the wiring problems I have had to fix up...

e.g All speakers connected to one Speaker output from the deck (Friend was wondering why his CD's were comming out burning hot).

Friends Amp keept turning off when he plugged in a CD.. (Amp connected to Power antenna wire instead of remote)

A Screw in place of where a fuse should be cause the deck kept blowing fuses.. (nearly caused a fire)

A friend had their speakers installed by their dad who confused the - output on the Speaker out puts for ground.. ( he assumed it meant a common ground)

If you still have the Mitsi connector on the loom in the car (not chopped-off to splice the aftermarket deck in)..... then consider the Aerpro (or equivalent brands) of wiring loom connectors and adaptors.

Aerpro have a website with fairly good listings of what is available.... you can get adaptors from late-model Mitsi (single plug connector) to either ISO connectors or to bared wires, then you can get either ISO connectors to Pioneer (or any other brand) OR bare wires to Pioneer (which probably came with the HU when bought anyway). These make install/uninstall a plug-n-play operation, or have the advantage at least that soldering can be done on the workbench, not hunched up in the confines of the car and dash/console.

If you still have the Mitsi connector on the loom in the car (not chopped-off to splice the aftermarket deck in)..... then consider the Aerpro (or equivalent brands) of wiring loom connectors and adaptors.

Aerpro have a website with fairly good listings of what is available.... you can get adaptors from late-model Mitsi (single plug connector) to either ISO connectors or to bared wires, then you can get either ISO connectors to Pioneer (or any other brand) OR bare wires to Pioneer (which probably came with the HU when bought anyway). These make install/uninstall a plug-n-play operation, or have the advantage at least that soldering can be done on the workbench, not hunched up in the confines of the car and dash/console.

i wish i had the mitsi harness still there but my pioneer ones be joined on and taped around the wires (isnt a bad job) but say 50 mm done the wires theres another join in tape aswel which is starting to fall apart from the heat