a little help with an aldi radio installation

savemejebus

I'm hoping someone here can help/point me in the right direction with a problem i'm having with my new aldi car stereo. I've searched the other aldi threads but couldn't find any answers.

Basically i bought the aldi cd/mp3/bluetooth head unit last sunday and today i got the harness adaptor for my car (a 92 starlet). I took out the old stereo and hooked up the cables outside of the dash to test everything but while the power light on the head unit (behind the front panel) is flashing away fine, i get no response when i attach the front panel. The power button is lit up but when i press it i get no response.

I've checked this on two head units (my gf got one too but didn't install yet) and i get the same result. I'm thinking that perhaps it's a battery issue but thats pure guesswork as i've no experience in this area.

have any of ye ever met a problem like this?

Any help will be much appreciated.

tyney

where did you get the harness, I put one of those radios in my brother's car, and although the harness was an iso one and had been used on his previous panasonic unit, I had to move some of the speaker cables. The wiring is well marked. get a meter and check that all your supply lines are correct. 1 ignition live and one permanent live for the memory.

savemejebus

i took back the harness and got a replacement but still no joy, i don't know what to do now, tis really pissing me off. I hope it's not the battery

stifz

track back the ignition & battery cable. make sure all cables correspond colour wise. Check it with a cd to make sure it's not a am/fm issue. Other than that is difficult to pin point the problem..

savemejebus

i've checked that all the cables correspond colour wise but don't really have a clue on tracking back the ignition and battery cable. I actually think the cable hooks has a socket on the end of it which plugs in where the dashboard and engine block meet.

Something just occurred to me, when i bought the car the guy i bought it from had one of those AXA GPS transmitters installed (behind the glove box) for insurance purposes. could the guy who put in/took out that have done something to mess up connections????

stifz

Obvious question here.. but do you have the aerial plugged in to the stereo?

savemejebus

obvious but necessary and the answer is yes. plus the normal toyota stereo works when i plug it back in

stifz

It should work even if the ignition & battery cable are mixed up - it'll just loose stored stations when turned off, so thats not it. Switching the cables sorts that. The aerial is plugged in, the speaker cables correspond.. and it's the same for both units purchased... The loom seems to be off in some way.

Is it the same loom your using for the old & new stereo? The loom being the cable & connector sockets attaching the stereo and car socket together..

A quick test is to make sure by removing the loom both ends and hold each end to the end of the stereo and the corresponding end to the bit connecting to the car. Make sure the little silver clips holding the cables definitly match the pins and they are not loose.

If theres no desrepencies then i'd advise you get another stereo from a mate or whatever and see if it works with that. If not it's definitly the loom needing to be changed. 15 quid should sort it. Just bring the stereo with you when your buying it.


I had a 92 micra that i ended having to completely re-wire the stereo & speakers when i fitted my system..including the loom.. If your gonna spend the cash on the stereo i'd also advise replacing the speaker cable and the speakers.. the cable especially being 14years old and wired for only standard 15wt speakers..

I did the same on a Golf and again the loom had to be altered..

And again on a 3 series..

savemejebus

have tried with a 2nd head unit and the same situation so maybe it's the loom. I'm going to see if i can get the shop where i bought the harness to look at it this evening and see what they say. Don't know if they'll do it though seeing as the stereo cam from aldi. It's head wrecking really and i only really wanted an aux in...

stifz

the 2nd unit being different to the aldi unit.. yeah? Sure it's a royal pain in the a#se. Hope it works out.

I re-wired the micra the day before i went to donegal with my then new girlfriend.. i did'nt put the new speakers in and ended blowing the four standard one's about 30 mins into the journey.. Thats one way to start a conversation with a girl your seeing for about 2wks! 5.5 hrs of noisy micra!

savemejebus

It was actually an identical Aldi unit, don't have access to any other stereo. I hadn't even thought about the speakers. It's looking like its heading towards the stage that i'll have to buy a new car to get the unit going...sigh.

Cheers for all the help man.

stifz

The wiring will be identical on the other aldi system??! Its something really really simple that will wreck your head but sorted in 2 mins with if you get another (a lend - does'nt have to anything fancy just to check if the loom is at fault or the stereo..) stereo to test or just buy a new loom. Whats the output of the aldi system? 4x 45wt or 4x35wt etc? No point buying a whopper system and only having a speaker out put of 4x15wt speakers with 14 yr old speaker cable in between.. Spend 150 quid on speakers - argos have a good basic range.. you'll have crystal clear toons.

Its well worth in the end..

savemejebus

managed to get the stereo going thanks to a really helpful guy at planet audio in limerick. Turns out one of the wires on the loom had crapped out so he tapped a wire from the fuse box and bobs your uncle I have stereo. Cheers for all the help stifz & tyney