I'm betting he popped the pico fuse too.

I had the same issue with my Pioneer DEH-P6600 I spent months trying to figure out where the heck my engine noise was coming from. Checked the RCA's, never suspected them though because they're the best Rockford Fosgate ones. 2 gauge power wire running on the opposite side. I finally disconnected my speaker amp. Then a few months later the subs started acting up. Every time the stereo was on they would make a bassy pulsy noise, more so with the car on. With the car on was ridiculously loud, like BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! in the time frame of about a second. I'm not sure why it randomly happened when I'm pretty sure it was already blown, but it did. It also detected EVERY little electrical surge. You roll down the window, it boomed. You turn on the headlights, it boomed. REALLY annoying.

So I finally ordered a new headunit, a Pioneer DEH-P510UB. THEN of course I figure out what the problem is with my unit. Its fixed now, and I'm getting a nice upgrade in a few days =) I also hooked the 4 channel back up, and it works perfectly again.

Pretty much a blown pico fuse screws up the grounds to the RCA's. To test it, strip a few inches of wire, there should be two screws on the back of your unit next to the RCA's. Unscrew those, wrap a wire around one, wrap the RCA's in the wire, then screw down the other end. This should eliminate or drastically reduce the engine noise if this is the problem. To fix it, you need to take it apart and pretty much solder in a resistor in place of the pico fuse. Then remember to never take your RCA's out while the stereo is on. I'm going to be pulling the harness out every time I mess with my new stereo.

 

Yeah i think i blew that fuse as well since i did unplug the RCA's with the unit on which i normally don't ever do.

I guess i should just grab some extra wire and do like you guys are saying when i replace the antenna line.

Its wack that this fuse is like all in the radio and cant simply be replaced since it seems to go alot.

 

That is the one thing that keeps me from getting a Pioneer DEH800PRS... The Pico fuse issue. The other thing I don't like is the motorized face.

There is a long story involving a 6 hour drive with me listening to either the same CD or FM radio due to a motorized face that wouldn't fold down (i.e. the CDX C90 "no eject" issue).

ETA: I believe you can solder a resistor across where the fuse is.... but I can't recall the value of the resistor.

 

just dont buy pioneer. LOL
i like my alpines.

 

I still can't decide between the Alpine CDA-9887 and the Eclipse CD7200mkii

 

o eclipse also good brand!
my preferences are
eclipse 1
alpine 2
clarion 3rd

never owned a eclipse tho but ive heard great things from them a slong as you dont buy the cheapie models
ive had my alpines for about 2years and love them both! and i had a nice clarion for about 3years. i really liked that radio but i think it had some rca problems and it was old. so now i just use it in my dads work truck since his stock radio smoked!

 

Eh, technically it only happens when you hot swap the RCA's. And if you know that can happen, are you ever going to go it again? I sure as hell hope not. The fuse is also smaller than a grain of rice, so forwarning if you try to put a resistor in its place, its going to be a pain.

 

nah my soldering skills are the suck and i would never try that. I just hope i can pull of the mod with the wires on the RCA's and have it fix my issue if its not the antenna.

 

It fixed about 90% of the engine noise for me. My soldering iron died a long time ago so I had to drive to my boyfriend's house to use his. Plus I wanted to see exactly how well it fixed it. Only at high RPMs did I hear any noise. Soldering across fixed it entirely.

I have pictures on my camera of the quick fix if you'd like them. I figured out a nice wrapping technique. I also found a picture while researching the pico fuse issue where a guy soldered bare wire all the way across the fuse contacts to the RCA contacts on the circuit board, that would be a lot easier to do. Not proper, but it should fix the noise.