Kenwood deck blacks out when it rains

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bluev8 - 26 Feb 2004 06:18 GMT

I have a Kenwood MP3 deck that came with my 2003 F-150. I noticed that
in recent months that whenever it rains, the deck has a tendency to
black out. I have to remove the faceplate and re-insert it to get the
unit to power up again. Sometimes I have to do this a few times to get
it to turn itself back on. This only appears to happen when it rains,
or if there's heavy fog or dew and usually when I'm driving. I had
some amps connected to it and have taken it back to the audio install
place and have been assured several times that it's not their work
that is the problem. I'm inclined to believe them only because the
defect occurs when the weather is moist. What can possibly be the
problem? Condensation, leakage into the dash area, insulation
problems? The truck is new and so is the deck. This shouldn't be
happening.

Thanks for any input.

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mayhemkrew - 26 Feb 2004 06:43 GMT

I am not sure if Ford has ever fixed a problem with their antenna, but many
installers will tell you they have seen the problem I am about to describe.
For some reason, Ford's antennas are not sealed properly near the mast on
the outside of the vehicle and water will leak into the cable itself. The
water will leak all the way through to the deck leaving a rusted antenna end
"welded" inside the deck. I have seen this happen on 97 and up F150's and
Expedition's. That is the only thing that I can think of. I would think
Ford would have noticed this problem and have fixed it already, but you
never know.

Now being a new truck there isn't a positive way to find this out cause the
antenna end probably hasn't had enough time to rust. But water could have
leaked inside to the radio if the problem was not corrected by Ford in the
design of their new trucks.

> I have a Kenwood MP3 deck that came with my 2003 F-150. I noticed that
> in recent months that whenever it rains, the deck has a tendency to
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Thanks for any input.

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thelizman - 26 Feb 2004 21:14 GMT

> I have a Kenwood MP3 deck that came with my 2003 F-150. I noticed that
> in recent months that whenever it rains, the deck has a tendency to
> black out. I have to remove the faceplate and re-insert it to get the
> unit to power up again. Sometimes I have to do this a few times to get
> it to turn itself back on.

Well, sounds like voodoo to me. Just check your power and ground
connections - particularly on the factory side. Some Fords didn't have a
factory ground, and some installers never noticed. If you're pulling
your ground from your antenna, then its plausible that a rusty antenna
ground (not helped by high humidity) could be causing the problem. Did
your headunit ever dim when playing at moderate volumes?

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bluev8 - 27 Feb 2004 02:45 GMT

> > I have a Kenwood MP3 deck that came with my 2003 F-150. I noticed that
> > in recent months that whenever it rains, the deck has a tendency to
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> ground (not helped by high humidity) could be causing the problem. Did
> your headunit ever dim when playing at moderate volumes?

**Yes, it has dimmed out on low to moderate volumes. If it is a
factory ground problem, maybe Ford can check it out since it is still
under warranty.

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thelizman - 27 Feb 2004 04:21 GMT

> **Yes, it has dimmed out on low to moderate volumes. If it is a
> factory ground problem, maybe Ford can check it out since it is still
> under warranty.

Fraid not. Ford will likely tell you to go f.ck yourself, because its
not their car stereo. The absense of the ground wire in the factory
harness is actually quite common, and is intentional on Ford's part.
Best bet is to stay away from the dealership - dealer techs tend to be
horrendously ignorant on vehicle interior electrical systems anyway. If
you're fairly confident in your ability to do some basic electrical
crap, then just attach lead to the decks ground wire, then to a good
grounding location such as a bolt on the firewall. Scrape away the
excess paint so that the ring terminal (btw, use a ring terminal here)
is touching bare shiney metal. It wouldn't hurt to jump a wire from the
decks ground to a point on the decks chassis and lock it down woth a
machine screw. The whole process should take you about 15 minutes. Let
me know if this helps you out.

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bluev8 - 27 Feb 2004 16:00 GMT

> > **Yes, it has dimmed out on low to moderate volumes. If it is a
> > factory ground problem, maybe Ford can check it out since it is still
> > under warranty.
>
> Fraid not. Ford will likely tell you to go f.ck yourself, because its
> not their car stereo.

**Actually, this model of the Kenwood MP3 deck came as standard
equipment when I bought the truck. It was part of the package for the
2003 F-150 STX truck. So, maybe Ford can check out their grounding
wire. I am a complete moron when it comes to wiring and I just don't
want to screw anything else up.

The absense of the ground wire in the factory

> harness is actually quite common, and is intentional on Ford's part.
> Best bet is to stay away from the dealership - dealer techs tend to be
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> machine screw. The whole process should take you about 15 minutes. Let
> me know if this helps you out.

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mayhemkrew - 27 Feb 2004 06:37 GMT

Now I wonder if they used a wire harness or if they just cut the harness off
or spliced cause they could have a wrong ground wire too, like an
illumination ground. But yea, I would try to ground the unit to chasis like
liz suggested.

> **Yes, it has dimmed out on low to moderate volumes. If it is a
> factory ground problem, maybe Ford can check it out since it is still
> under warranty.

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chroot - 27 Feb 2004 09:09 GMT

If it's one of the D-MASK Kenwood units, look for damage to the thin
plastic film cable that connects the faceplate to the body of the unit.
The plastic cracks where it goes through a guide, and the wires break.
You're probably hanging on by a thread, and the humidity is causing
the film to swell a little, making it lose its already very precarious
connection. It'll probably be totally gone very soon.

- Warren
--
chroot
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TheBIessedDead - 27 Feb 2004 05:35 GMT

>I have a Kenwood MP3 deck that came with my 2003 F-150. I noticed that
>in recent months that whenever it rains, the deck has a tendency to
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>problems? The truck is new and so is the deck. This shouldn't be
>happening.

How strange. I was JUST about to post a question regarding this very same thing
when I came across this thread.

This morning, I got into my car to head to work and put the face plate on. I
was holding something that was a little wet, so when I touched the face, it got
a little moisture on the sides. I wiped it off, and put it on. I turned on and
started playing, but the damn face was blacked out. I pulled over, turned off
the car for a sec, took the face off and put it back on... and it worked fine.
Hasn't done it since, and it never did it before. Very strange.

Nick

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thelizman - 27 Feb 2004 21:38 GMT

> How strange. I was JUST about to post a question regarding this very same thing
> when I came across this thread.
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> the car for a sec, took the face off and put it back on... and it worked fine.
> Hasn't done it since, and it never did it before. Very strange.

Probably has less to do with the moisture, and more to do with the way
you put the faceplate on. I've actually had customers come to my shop
complaining that their faceplate wasn't working, and I just pulled it
off, and put it back on. Never had a problem again.

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