General Problem with new head unit

[cpt_spalding]

HI,

Day 1 in the Big Fiat House.

I've changed the head unit & fitted the Panasonic from my previous car. The problem is that the unit resets itself every time I start the car. Spits out the CD, loses all the station presets etc. I'm guessing it needs some sort of permanent feed which wasn't there on the original Fiat unit. Can anyone help me here?

Like the Forum. I'm sure I'll like it even more if you help me sort this out

 

[trumpeter]

If i remember correctly it's the red and orange wires that need swapping over or you can buy a converter lead.
Basically the permant live and the ignition live are swapped about. Switch the wqires and it should work fine. My head unit had an inline fuse on both these wires so swapping them was easy.
Good Luck

 

[jug]

yep either red and yellow or red and orange need swapping over (depending on brand, not sure about panasonic), there should be bullet connectors on the head unit wiring harness designed especially for this.

 

[cpt_spalding]

Thank you both. Since joining the forum I've saved myself £65. Audio shop were about to charge me £100 for swapping these wires & fitting 2 speakers. Instead I've just bought 5"x7" JBL's from e-bay for £35 inc p&p & I should be ready to rock on Saturday. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[Hellcat]

Thank you both. Since joining the forum I've saved myself £65.

Cheques made payable to Hellcat c/o Fiat Forum

Red/Yellow is a common thing just because companies couldn't decide if red or yellow should be 12v. Red is 12v everywhere else on a car, not sure why some cars are made yellow for the radio

 

[cpt_spalding]

Hey!

Big thanks to Fiat Forum (Marea sub-branch). Swapped yellow & red over. Both had inline push connectors so it was a piece of cake. Thanks to another thread I knew how to get to the door speakers to change them over.

Wow, those Fiat OEM speakers really are lightweight. Improvement with the JBL's I fitted but still not getting a full sound. I only need sound in the front. Is there anything I can do simply without ripping up carpets & rewiring through the car?

 

[Tomasso]

Dampen (is this the right word?) the door by applying a dampening mat.

See this pic:

More pics from this install to be seen here (you don't need to understand the text):
http://www.powe.pl/brava.html

 

[cpt_spalding]

Thinking of my home stereo & limitations ono door speaker size, I've come to the conclusion I'll prob need to fit a subwoofer & amp package if I am to get the sound I'm looking for. Do I need to rewire to existing speakers from new amp location? Is there an idiot's guide anywhere to installing an amp & sub?

 

[trumpeter]

are your new speakers the same impedance as the ones that came out?
I had similar problems with my old marea when i changed the door speakers. I ended up having to disconnect the dash tweeters to solve the problem.
Also check your headunit instruction book to see what the max impedance is for front speakers. Sorry can't remember how i disconnected them it was over 4 years ago now!

 

[jug]

if you had the door speaker and dash tweeter wired in series, and both of the speakers have an impedance of 4 ohms, the total impedance will be 8 ohms.
if you had the door speaker and dash tweeter wired in parallel, and both of the speakers have an impedance of 4 ohms, the total impedance will be 2 ohms.

the headunit is designed to have an impedance of 4 ohms per channel. at 8 ohms the volume output will be halfed but it is safe and stable. at 2 ohms you are dropping below safe levels and you may damage the head unit's internal amp.

if you use a passive crossover you can wire both speakers together and maintain a 4 ohm impedance.