mk2 Ibiza aftermarket headunit problem

[BeezerDiesel]

Recently got an Ibiza GTI 8v after a mere eight years since I got shot of my last mk2 Beezer.

You'll probably be hearing lots of issues from me over the next few weeks it's like being a newbie all over again.

Problem no.1: The car has an aftermarket Pioneer headunit (complete with tape player!) which won't turn on without the ignition key switched to the second notch. Neither will it hold any stored stations after the ignition is turned off, they just revert to the default radio settings.

Anybody had any experiences of this in that does the mk2 Ibiza require an extra wiring loom to run an aftermarket headunit or is the unit faulty? Not too bothered either way as there are plenty of cheap headunits for under £50 in the sales but would rather fix the one that's there up for nowt!!!

 

[truCido]

Pull the stereo out and swap the red and yellow wires over, i.e. yellow to red and red to yellow. there will be a bullet connector in each to do this!

 

[Chrisdaman]

Pull the stereo out and swap the red and yellow wires over, i.e. yellow to red and red to yellow. there will be a bullet connector in each to do this!

yup thats was what i was about to suggest

 

[orangemuffin]

I used to have one that did this in my 8v before i replaced it..bloody nightmare aint it. I took it to a mate who is a spark and it took him about 5 minutes to sort it....probably did whats been suggested.

I brought a new head unit today actually...got a sony CDXGT929U...it was £180 in Halfrauds.....only £122 on amazon ! sold - to that man !

 

[robreidmotors]

Make sure the yellow and red are what they should be first, by checking with a multimeter with the ignition on.

I once had an astra that had the black and red the wrong way round, hence i got an earth reading off the black wire, and smoke later!

Worth checking that.

 

[BeezerDiesel]

Thanks chaps, I'll have a wee look over the weekend if I can get the HU out.

 

[Bentley1989]

I brought a new head unit today actually...got a sony CDXGT929U...it was £180 in Halfrauds.....only £122 on amazon ! sold - to that man !

you jammy man! i was gunna buy that one a few months back haha

glad i didnt now, they were at the £200 mark then!

 

[orangemuffin]

I know mate. It was a right result. I am hoping its easy to slot it in considering i have an after market one in already.

In fact the one in already is pretty nice, its got a tilt option and it move out and flips over and stuff...its got a remote to.....but no Ipod connection. Hopefully get a few £££ on ebay.

 

[Bentley1989]

mine hasnt got a ipod jack either, i just plugged a cable in the back and used the AUX and plugged my ipod in that way, just using one of those red and white audio cables

 

[orangemuffin]

fair play mate, i never thought of that. I was sold on this new one when i saw the cars sooming round the screen......LOL

 

[Bentley1989]

haha yeah canny good effects on them, my sony one has a snowboarder pulling off some tricks on it and some rally car wizzing about lol

have you got it in yet btw? i cuddnt figure it out in hal-to-the-fords how you set radio stations lol it has no number buttons at the bottom...

 

[orangemuffin]

I only ordered it yesterday so should be here sometime next week.

Dont get how in the common climate halfords can sell a head unit for £60 more than what you can get it off the internet ??

 

[BeezerDiesel]

Pull the stereo out and swap the red and yellow wires over, i.e. yellow to red and red to yellow. there will be a bullet connector in each to do this!

Okay, partial success. The radio now remembers its stations with the wires changed over but still no workee with the ignition switched off. Oh and the AM reception is crap so no listening to the footie. Maybe time to invest in a cheap stereo, they had a couple of cheap JVC units in where I bought the HU removal tool thingys from for 50 quid.

 

[CraigW]

Okay, partial success. The radio now remembers its stations with the wires changed over but still no workee with the ignition switched off. Oh and the AM reception is crap so no listening to the footie. Maybe time to invest in a cheap stereo, they had a couple of cheap JVC units in where I bought the HU removal tool thingys from for 50 quid.

You will need a signal booster for the aftermarket head-unit. This is because the signal booster is built into the standard Seat headunit so when you take it out you lose the booster. Autoleads do a signal booster. I got mine from ebay for around £10.

 

[truCido]

ok if you want it to work when the cars switched off (most stereos won't) you'll need to have both the red and the yellow wires from the stereo to the yellow, i.e. permanent live

 

[Cupra Kid]

ok if you want it to work when the cars switched off (most stereos won't) you'll need to have both the red and the yellow wires from the stereo to the yellow, i.e. permanent live

Yup, some times you can move a fuse on the rear of the unit that will do this for you. My JVC was like this. My Panasonic one in there now has a Y connecter on the yellow so you can connect both the red and the yellow and make it permanently live.

Most turn off with the ignition to prevent the power being drained as it can't be left on.

 

[BeezerDiesel]

You will need a signal booster for the aftermarket head-unit. This is because the signal booster is built into the standard Seat headunit so when you take it out you lose the booster. Autoleads do a signal booster. I got mine from ebay for around £10.

Cheers, I remember doing one of those in the past on an old Golf, like an ariel bit with a wire from the unit to the ariels amplifier IIRC? I'll look around the local motor spares places during the week to see who's cheapest then!

EDIT: I think I had one of these I took out of something years ago so it's either in my shed or down the landfill

ok if you want it to work when the cars switched off (most stereos won't) you'll need to have both the red and the yellow wires from the stereo to the yellow, i.e. permanent live

Ahh thanks, maybe a bit of a nuisance to do then but worthwhile as I do sometimes sit in the car with the radio on and no engine running eg. when the wife is in the Chinese waiting for the order.
How is it that as standard they are permanant live but a HU won't accept it without modification? PITA

 

[BeezerDiesel]

Yup, some times you can move a fuse on the rear of the unit that will do this for you. My JVC was like this. My Panasonic one in there now has a Y connecter on the yellow so you can connect both the red and the yellow and make it permanently live.

Most turn off with the ignition to prevent the power being drained as it can't be left on.

I can remember doing this on an Alpine unit one one of my cars years ago, forgotten about that, but I don't remember there being a fuse on the back of the Pioneer. I'll drag it back out of the dash again tomorrow and have a proper look.
Thanks.

EDIT: Just remembered there is a Y connector on the yellow wire so that could be it, it never twigged at the time. Cheers

 

[M4TTYF]

i have to pull the unit out because the wiring confuses me i connected the red and yellow together and the black to neutral and i have to do this to listen to my radio all the time really annoyin like

 

[surcalation]

I have to turn my stereo on manually as I burnt the wire from wiring it up wrong when I tried to wire it up to the ignition. On most cars there is a fuse that prevents this however on Ibiza's there is not. So mine is wired just to the battery. Which is ok until I accidently flatten the battery and have to re-program everything in! God damn!