[rudaire]

Can those of you who have upgraded head units please take a second to answer this question?

How does your unit react when power is first applied to it, like as in the very first time you put it in the car, or at least how does it act if you remove the battery from the car for a few weeks and then install the battery and fire up the stereo? The reason I ask is I want to upgrade to a better head unit for more power, better volume knob ( i hate the little finger wheel), and better iphone/ipod control, BUT, i have to use a battery cut-off switch to kill power to the car every time I park in my garage. So, every time I get in my car and restore battery power, the head unit comes back from the dead so to speak, and I don't want to buy a unit that has all sorts of annoying 'demo' screens, or has a prompt to set up bluetooth every time or some other annoyance that I can't get past. I realize I'll never have radio presets, or tone control presets or anything. But I just want to know which head unit will be the least annoying if it is in a perpetual 'just installed in the car for the first time' state... BTW, the factory stereo works great in this capacity, and I'll keep it if I have to and buy an amp and just play mp3 cd's.. but i'd rather get a nicer head unit i can find one that behaves OK in this environment...

thanks

 

[Chris Mackey]

Is the question, "What is a good head unit?"

I have the JVC KD-NX5000, which came with the care during the Summer '07 sale. It is absolutely awesome. It runs satellite and iPod, as wells as AM/FM and a CD player. It also has a hard drive for storing songs on (I never use it).

The navigation is really sweet, too.

 

[marcinr]

This is very different for many head units. I haven't upgraded the Alpine in my Elise yet, but the Kenwood I installed in my other car has an option to commit all my settings to non-volatile memory, so cutting off power has no effect on anything, including presets.

I would suggest going to the web sites for the manufacturers of the head units that you're interested in and downloading the respective manuals. Search for options that allow you to save settings to flash or nvram and buy a head unit which supports that feature.

 

[rudaire]

Is the question, "What is a good head unit?"

No, not really the question. Sorry my question is so long, but the question for you really, is would you still love the head unit that you are using if you had to use it the way I have to. Meaning every time I turn on the stereo, it behaves as if it was turned on for the very first time because I disconnect power to it every time I shut off the car. Some devices require more set-up to be useful, which would ordinarily not be an issue for people that leave their battery hooked up...
d

 

[RichS]

If I were you, I might be looking for a system that has some kind of battery backup capability.

You might try asking the folks at Crutchfield, they know quite a bit about this stuff.

 

[rudaire]

If I were you, I might be looking for a system that has some kind of battery backup capability.

You might try asking the folks at Crutchfield, they know quite a bit about this stuff.

I'm not sure that exists anymore. It did when stereos were 'pull outs' and the whole thing came off the power, but now with detachable faceplates they expect a constant power supply, and are justified in expecting one really..

I will try crutchfield though..

 

[rudaire]

talked to crutchfield. He said no unit will retain presets if not connected to continuous power supply. He also said no unit will allow me to use my ipod without first going through some 'setup' procedures, which will of course be lost every time I park the car, and will be very annoying.


Does every one here with battery cutoff switches just use the stock stereo??
d

 

[turbophil]

what radio?

 

[RichS]

Maybe a small auxiliary battery would work.

 

[rudaire]

Maybe a small auxiliary battery would work.

would be nice, but the alarm draws enough power even when not armed to drain the main battery, it would kill a small aux battery in no time.. It is possible to get into the wiring with diodes and such and make sure the aux battery powered the radio and only the radio, but I've never seen a wiring harness for the car and don't know how hard that would be..For that matter, I could just install a switch that killed power to the alarm only, and let the car battery power the radio like it is supposed to...

I hate that freaking alarm. why does it draw so much power, even when disarmed??
d

 

[turbophil]

D- If you kill your imobilizer when the alarm is not armed (an option yu can elect), it will not drain your battery... FWIW...

Later,

Pv

Edit: So is the gal in your pic good looking?

 

[the1sen]

would be nice, but the alarm draws enough power even when not armed to drain the main battery, it would kill a small aux battery in no time.. It is possible to get into the wiring with diodes and such and make sure the aux battery powered the radio and only the radio, but I've never seen a wiring harness for the car and don't know how hard that would be..For that matter, I could just install a switch that killed power to the alarm only, and let the car battery power the radio like it is supposed to...

I hate that freaking alarm. why does it draw so much power, even when disarmed??
d

regrading the alarm, I am working with Lotus to install a bypass switch on my car - the alarm system has failed and left me stranded. The car runs fine without the damned thing. I could care less about the alarm either...

in the absence of the alarm bypass switch, you could always unplug fuse # 11...

I have no love for that alarm. it's not friendly, it has rotten teeth, and it's mother is a bastard child from an anal torture f*ck.

 

[fpitas]

what radio?

^^^^^^^^^^
What he said.

 

[marcinr]

would be nice, but the alarm draws enough power even when not armed to drain the main battery

Actually, it should be possible to do this without powering up the alarm. Buy one of those 12V 8AH sealed lead acid hobby batteries from a hobby store ($20-30) and a small charger for it (~$10).

Run some wires from the radio which connect to the constant power and ground wires, and put some connectors on the wires to easily attach to the battery. This will power up the radio with the main battery disconnected, but it will also power up the rest of the electrical system. Now, if you install a diode on the power wire for the radio, before the place you spliced in the small battery, it will prevent the battery for powering anything but the radio.

 

[charliex]

Avoid losing your radio presets when battery is disconnected - Mazda Forums