Aftermarket head unit grounding

[Reaper1]

I put this in Doyle's thread, but I figured it was something that was important enough to share on its own. 

 

I was installing a new aftermarket head unit in my TC (Pioneer DEH-X8800BHS) and could not get it to turn a source on. It would kick the whole unit off, put it in a "safe mode" and I had to reset it to get it to come back on. 

 

Turns out that you can NOT use the Black/Dark Green wire as the head unit ground wire. I don't have a reason as of yet because according to the diagrams it *should* work, but in this case, it simply would not. Once I used the braided ground strap, the problem went away. 

 

So, if you are installing an aftermarket head unit, either run a dedicated ground, or use the braided ground strap. 

 

Hope this helps somebody at some point.

[Kevinflys]

Thanks for sharing!  I attached the braided strap to the chassis of my Kenwood and have not had any issues.  So make it two votes for the braided ground strap.

[2Shelbys]

I haven't looked into it yet, but mine now will not turn on after working fine for a year. I don't remember whether or not I used the braided strap. It could be the 10 amp mini fuse in the back of it too.