Head unit powering off after a minute or so

RoughNeck

Hi there,
I've wanted to change the head unit in my 2014 Honda Civic to something a little bit more modern. I took the car to Halfords as they seemed to be good value. However, they tried installing the stereo only to find that the stereo would turn itself off after about a minute or so. They tried two different units (Kenwood and Pioneer) and the same thing happened. In the end I think they just gave up as they didn't know what the issue was. Apparently they tried a few cables too, to no avail. Thankfully, I was not charged for anything.

Does anyone know why this might happen? The standard stereo works fine, so doesn't seem to be a power issue (or a cabling issue?). I spoke to Honda, and they weren't sure why it would do that either, particularly if the standard stereo works. I also spoke to a local garage who said that it could be something with the comms/electronics system that is causing it - giving me the example of when a brake light goes out, the car may over compensate on another bulb to make it brighter. I'm not really sure what was meant by this , but I guess relating to the distribution of power?

Anyone experienced anything like this before? The local garage said they'd give it a go for me, but if the same thing happens I'd have just wasted money on the head unit and the fascia kit (around £300 for both), and possibly the labor.

Thanks in advance!

Rover_Driver

Your local garage are probably right. Modern aftermarket stereos need a battery feed and an ignition feed. Often the original equipment stereos don't have an ignition feed as such, it is connected via the vehicle comms system instead. A proper ICE dealer should be able to sort it out for you.

neilmcl

Agree with the above. Got to somewhere that actually know what they're doing. Also have a look on a Honda Civic owners forum, I'm sure there's plenty of others that would've come across the same issues.

RoughNeck

Thanks both. I've posted on the Honda Civic forum too. It definitely sounds like this could be the issue. There are a number of ICE professionals in the centre of Bristol, so I will check in with them too

iainscomputer

Hi, I have fitted an aftermarket Alpine double din into my 2014 Honda Civic. To connect the head unit to the cars wiring you will need a ISO harness. On the Honda Civic there are quite a few available & I suspect the incorrect harness has been used. They are different because the diesel versions have a factory amp & some versions have telephone answering on the steering buttons.
The harness I bought was £150 which included a Alpine patch lead to control the head unit via the steering wheel buttons.
It is plug & play & the hardest part is removing the head unit & fitting all the connectors etc behind the new unit.

Homer_home

iainscomputer said:

Hi, I have fitted an aftermarket Alpine double din into my 2014 Honda Civic. To connect the head unit to the cars wiring you will need a ISO harness. On the Honda Civic there are quite a few available & I suspect the incorrect harness has been used. They are different because the diesel versions have a factory amp & some versions have telephone answering on the steering buttons.
The harness I bought was £150 which included a Alpine patch lead to control the head unit via the steering wheel buttons.
It is plug & play & the hardest part is removing the head unit & fitting all the connectors etc behind the new unit.

I was gonna say this , you should be able to buy a harness and patch for your car which will solve your problem

Failing that it's really not that difficult to wire in a permanent live and switched live for your stereo , it's just a matter of having a wiring diagram for your car