New Member!!! AvicD3 nightmare Please HELP!!!
4/23/08, 08:54 PM
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New Member!!! AvicD3 nightmare Please HELP!!!
Hello all. my first post i wish it was with better circumstances. I just got a new bullitt.
I had an avic d3 installed in what was suppose to be one of the best shops in my area. I ran into a few problem i need to sort out before i go back there for them to fix my problem. First it sounds really bad....there is hardly any bass not that the shaker 1000 was the best ever but it had some bass. no matter what adjustments I make in the settings i can get rid of the tinny sound from the system now? could it be hooked up wrong? What settings are you guys using? also the head unit is in crocked with gaps. Did yours fit flush? Also does the illumination dim when you turn your head lights on because mine doesn't. After the installation my ambient lighting switch does not work...no power...anyone else have this problem? What satellite tuner did you use with the D3 for Sirius? And were you able to reuse your factory antenna because they told me it wasn't possible, but I've read on forums that you can...what are you guys doing to reuse your factory Sirius antenna? On a side note they scratched my shift ball and parking brake handle which they said they would fix....please help me with this nightmare.
Thanks Guys
Scott
I had an avic d3 installed in what was suppose to be one of the best shops in my area. I ran into a few problem i need to sort out before i go back there for them to fix my problem. First it sounds really bad....there is hardly any bass not that the shaker 1000 was the best ever but it had some bass. no matter what adjustments I make in the settings i can get rid of the tinny sound from the system now? could it be hooked up wrong? What settings are you guys using? also the head unit is in crocked with gaps. Did yours fit flush? Also does the illumination dim when you turn your head lights on because mine doesn't. After the installation my ambient lighting switch does not work...no power...anyone else have this problem? What satellite tuner did you use with the D3 for Sirius? And were you able to reuse your factory antenna because they told me it wasn't possible, but I've read on forums that you can...what are you guys doing to reuse your factory Sirius antenna? On a side note they scratched my shift ball and parking brake handle which they said they would fix....please help me with this nightmare.
Thanks Guys
Scott
4/23/08, 09:21 PM
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Hey Scott, sorry to hear about your dilemma! I can answer some of your questions. I installed a D3 during the winter and it was fun to do. While I don't have the Shaker 1000, I do have the 500. When I had all the wires pinched together I plugged the wiring harness in to the car, and the unit powered up. No bass though, as i didn't plug in any of the RCA wires (the red ones that look like wires and plugs for a tv). Once I found the correct wire to go into the proper plug, I heard the base from the subs in the doors. So, I would make sure that they have the RCA jacks plugged in properly. I know several forum members who have the D3 also have the 1000 stereo and can tell you where to plug the wires into.
2nd, about the fit? Mine fit perfectly. I got the install kit from crutchfield. You use the brackets to mount the radio to the radio bezel. Didn't have any problems with it. When I screwed the radio in the car, with the brackets and bezel in place, it was flush to the dash and looks OEM. Without pics to see, sounds like the bezel doesn't fit properly, they didn't line up the brackets that hook onto the bezel properly, or didn't get the brackets on the radio in the right location. If you have pics, that would be a big help for us to see the issue.
About the dimmer wire. The wire listed as a dimmer doesn't work with the Ford harness. For some reason, its a dead lead. When I was ready to button everything up, my dad (who's great with soldering and electrics, as he's a 55+ year mechanic), got his wire tester, to help find the 4-way flasher dimmer wire. When you turn on the 4-ways, the button lights up. He used a tester to find the correct wire, and he stripped that wire and put the D3's dimmer wire to it. When I turn my lights on, the screen dims now. Most use the headlight switch, but I figured to use something closer (didn't feel like running a wire from the radio halfway across the dash).
For the ambient lighting, there is a plug for it under the center console, to connect the car wiring loom to the light switch in the console. If they removed the entire console to work on the stall (which they probably did) they forgot to plug the harness back in for the switch. This should be an easy fix. For the sat radio, sorry to say, but i didn't set one up on my car. Others can add info for the Satellite radio when they see this. The antenna question? Ford changed the plug for 2007. You need a Chrysler antenna adapter, available at any electronics store. A few guys on here that used the D3 in their 2007's went to Best Buy and got the part needed. Part number I don't know, but others on here do.
Lastly, for something that wasn't listed. Did the install place add a Voltage Regulator to the system? If not, I would tell then to do this ASAP. If you don't do this, you will get a popping noise from your speakers every time you start up the radio/start the car. It gets annoying. Reason being, the radio is a different voltage than what the car puts out. The regulator bridges the difference. Its an easy $5 fix with a regulator from Radio Shack, some heat shrink tubing, 3 strips of wire and some solder. There is a diagram and sketch on here for this application. Its a necessity on this unit in our cars. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them. I got lots of info from the Interior Modifcations forum. Just go into there and you can find the posts back a few pages. Good luck getting things fixed.
2nd, about the fit? Mine fit perfectly. I got the install kit from crutchfield. You use the brackets to mount the radio to the radio bezel. Didn't have any problems with it. When I screwed the radio in the car, with the brackets and bezel in place, it was flush to the dash and looks OEM. Without pics to see, sounds like the bezel doesn't fit properly, they didn't line up the brackets that hook onto the bezel properly, or didn't get the brackets on the radio in the right location. If you have pics, that would be a big help for us to see the issue.
About the dimmer wire. The wire listed as a dimmer doesn't work with the Ford harness. For some reason, its a dead lead. When I was ready to button everything up, my dad (who's great with soldering and electrics, as he's a 55+ year mechanic), got his wire tester, to help find the 4-way flasher dimmer wire. When you turn on the 4-ways, the button lights up. He used a tester to find the correct wire, and he stripped that wire and put the D3's dimmer wire to it. When I turn my lights on, the screen dims now. Most use the headlight switch, but I figured to use something closer (didn't feel like running a wire from the radio halfway across the dash).
For the ambient lighting, there is a plug for it under the center console, to connect the car wiring loom to the light switch in the console. If they removed the entire console to work on the stall (which they probably did) they forgot to plug the harness back in for the switch. This should be an easy fix. For the sat radio, sorry to say, but i didn't set one up on my car. Others can add info for the Satellite radio when they see this. The antenna question? Ford changed the plug for 2007. You need a Chrysler antenna adapter, available at any electronics store. A few guys on here that used the D3 in their 2007's went to Best Buy and got the part needed. Part number I don't know, but others on here do.
Lastly, for something that wasn't listed. Did the install place add a Voltage Regulator to the system? If not, I would tell then to do this ASAP. If you don't do this, you will get a popping noise from your speakers every time you start up the radio/start the car. It gets annoying. Reason being, the radio is a different voltage than what the car puts out. The regulator bridges the difference. Its an easy $5 fix with a regulator from Radio Shack, some heat shrink tubing, 3 strips of wire and some solder. There is a diagram and sketch on here for this application. Its a necessity on this unit in our cars. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them. I got lots of info from the Interior Modifcations forum. Just go into there and you can find the posts back a few pages. Good luck getting things fixed.
Last edited by 05fordgt; 4/23/08 at 09:26 PM.
4/23/08, 09:41 PM
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Hey Scott, sorry to hear about your dilemma! I can answer some of your questions. I installed a D3 during the winter and it was fun to do. While I don't have the Shaker 1000, I do have the 500. When I had all the wires pinched together I plugged the wiring harness in to the car, and the unit powered up. No bass though, as i didn't plug in any of the RCA wires (the red ones that look like wires and plugs for a tv). Once I found the correct wire to go into the proper plug, I heard the base from the subs in the doors. So, I would make sure that they have the RCA jacks plugged in properly. I know several forum members who have the D3 also have the 1000 stereo and can tell you where to plug the wires into.
2nd, about the fit? Mine fit perfectly. I got the install kit from crutchfield. You use the brackets to mount the radio to the radio bezel. Didn't have any problems with it. When I screwed the radio in the car, with the brackets and bezel in place, it was flush to the dash and looks OEM. Without pics to see, sounds like the bezel doesn't fit properly, they didn't line up the brackets that hook onto the bezel properly, or didn't get the brackets on the radio in the right location. If you have pics, that would be a big help for us to see the issue.
About the dimmer wire. The wire listed as a dimmer doesn't work with the Ford harness. For some reason, its a dead lead. When I was ready to button everything up, my dad (who's great with soldering and electrics, as he's a 55+ year mechanic), got his wire tester, to help find the 4-way flasher dimmer wire. When you turn on the 4-ways, the button lights up. He used a tester to find the correct wire, and he stripped that wire and put the D3's dimmer wire to it. When I turn my lights on, the screen dims now. Most use the headlight switch, but I figured to use something closer (didn't feel like running a wire from the radio halfway across the dash).
For the ambient lighting, there is a plug for it under the center console, to connect the car wiring loom to the light switch in the console. If they removed the entire console to work on the stall (which they probably did) they forgot to plug the harness back in for the switch. This should be an easy fix. For the sat radio, sorry to say, but i didn't set one up on my car. Others can add info for the Satellite radio when they see this. The antenna question? Ford changed the plug for 2007. You need a Chrysler antenna adapter, available at any electronics store. A few guys on here that used the D3 in their 2007's went to Best Buy and got the part needed. Part number I don't know, but others on here do.
Lastly, for something that wasn't listed. Did the install place add a Voltage Regulator to the system? If not, I would tell then to do this ASAP. If you don't do this, you will get a popping noise from your speakers every time you start up the radio/start the car. It gets annoying. Reason being, the radio is a different voltage than what the car puts out. The regulator bridges the difference. Its an easy $5 fix with a regulator from Radio Shack, some heat shrink tubing, 3 strips of wire and some solder. There is a diagram and sketch on here for this application. Its a necessity on this unit in our cars. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them. I got lots of info from the Interior Modifcations forum. Just go into there and you can find the posts back a few pages. Good luck getting things fixed.
2nd, about the fit? Mine fit perfectly. I got the install kit from crutchfield. You use the brackets to mount the radio to the radio bezel. Didn't have any problems with it. When I screwed the radio in the car, with the brackets and bezel in place, it was flush to the dash and looks OEM. Without pics to see, sounds like the bezel doesn't fit properly, they didn't line up the brackets that hook onto the bezel properly, or didn't get the brackets on the radio in the right location. If you have pics, that would be a big help for us to see the issue.
About the dimmer wire. The wire listed as a dimmer doesn't work with the Ford harness. For some reason, its a dead lead. When I was ready to button everything up, my dad (who's great with soldering and electrics, as he's a 55+ year mechanic), got his wire tester, to help find the 4-way flasher dimmer wire. When you turn on the 4-ways, the button lights up. He used a tester to find the correct wire, and he stripped that wire and put the D3's dimmer wire to it. When I turn my lights on, the screen dims now. Most use the headlight switch, but I figured to use something closer (didn't feel like running a wire from the radio halfway across the dash).
For the ambient lighting, there is a plug for it under the center console, to connect the car wiring loom to the light switch in the console. If they removed the entire console to work on the stall (which they probably did) they forgot to plug the harness back in for the switch. This should be an easy fix. For the sat radio, sorry to say, but i didn't set one up on my car. Others can add info for the Satellite radio when they see this. The antenna question? Ford changed the plug for 2007. You need a Chrysler antenna adapter, available at any electronics store. A few guys on here that used the D3 in their 2007's went to Best Buy and got the part needed. Part number I don't know, but others on here do.
Lastly, for something that wasn't listed. Did the install place add a Voltage Regulator to the system? If not, I would tell then to do this ASAP. If you don't do this, you will get a popping noise from your speakers every time you start up the radio/start the car. It gets annoying. Reason being, the radio is a different voltage than what the car puts out. The regulator bridges the difference. Its an easy $5 fix with a regulator from Radio Shack, some heat shrink tubing, 3 strips of wire and some solder. There is a diagram and sketch on here for this application. Its a necessity on this unit in our cars. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them. I got lots of info from the Interior Modifcations forum. Just go into there and you can find the posts back a few pages. Good luck getting things fixed.
I had a writeup for the regulator so they did that and the bypass. These people were very nice and did everything to help but I was really let down by the sound quailty of the install it got considerably worse than the shaker 1000 which i didn't think was too bad. Also they scratched the shift ball a Ebrake lever which let said they would fix.
The stock sirius antenna was the one i was speaking of, I want to use it if i can instead of removing and putting a aftermaket on on. I will take detailed pics of this install tomorrow.
how from are you from Pittsburgh 05FORDGT ..... is there a pm feature on this site?
4/23/08, 10:01 PM
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Hey Scott, sorry to hear about your dilemma! I can answer some of your questions. I installed a D3 during the winter and it was fun to do. While I don't have the Shaker 1000, I do have the 500. When I had all the wires pinched together I plugged the wiring harness in to the car, and the unit powered up. No bass though, as i didn't plug in any of the RCA wires (the red ones that look like wires and plugs for a tv). Once I found the correct wire to go into the proper plug, I heard the base from the subs in the doors. So, I would make sure that they have the RCA jacks plugged in properly. I know several forum members who have the D3 also have the 1000 stereo and can tell you where to plug the wires into.
2nd, about the fit? Mine fit perfectly. I got the install kit from crutchfield. You use the brackets to mount the radio to the radio bezel. Didn't have any problems with it. When I screwed the radio in the car, with the brackets and bezel in place, it was flush to the dash and looks OEM. Without pics to see, sounds like the bezel doesn't fit properly, they didn't line up the brackets that hook onto the bezel properly, or didn't get the brackets on the radio in the right location. If you have pics, that would be a big help for us to see the issue.
About the dimmer wire. The wire listed as a dimmer doesn't work with the Ford harness. For some reason, its a dead lead. When I was ready to button everything up, my dad (who's great with soldering and electrics, as he's a 55+ year mechanic), got his wire tester, to help find the 4-way flasher dimmer wire. When you turn on the 4-ways, the button lights up. He used a tester to find the correct wire, and he stripped that wire and put the D3's dimmer wire to it. When I turn my lights on, the screen dims now. Most use the headlight switch, but I figured to use something closer (didn't feel like running a wire from the radio halfway across the dash).
For the ambient lighting, there is a plug for it under the center console, to connect the car wiring loom to the light switch in the console. If they removed the entire console to work on the stall (which they probably did) they forgot to plug the harness back in for the switch. This should be an easy fix. For the sat radio, sorry to say, but i didn't set one up on my car. Others can add info for the Satellite radio when they see this. The antenna question? Ford changed the plug for 2007. You need a Chrysler antenna adapter, available at any electronics store. A few guys on here that used the D3 in their 2007's went to Best Buy and got the part needed. Part number I don't know, but others on here do.
Lastly, for something that wasn't listed. Did the install place add a Voltage Regulator to the system? If not, I would tell then to do this ASAP. If you don't do this, you will get a popping noise from your speakers every time you start up the radio/start the car. It gets annoying. Reason being, the radio is a different voltage than what the car puts out. The regulator bridges the difference. Its an easy $5 fix with a regulator from Radio Shack, some heat shrink tubing, 3 strips of wire and some solder. There is a diagram and sketch on here for this application. Its a necessity on this unit in our cars. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them. I got lots of info from the Interior Modifcations forum. Just go into there and you can find the posts back a few pages. Good luck getting things fixed.
2nd, about the fit? Mine fit perfectly. I got the install kit from crutchfield. You use the brackets to mount the radio to the radio bezel. Didn't have any problems with it. When I screwed the radio in the car, with the brackets and bezel in place, it was flush to the dash and looks OEM. Without pics to see, sounds like the bezel doesn't fit properly, they didn't line up the brackets that hook onto the bezel properly, or didn't get the brackets on the radio in the right location. If you have pics, that would be a big help for us to see the issue.
About the dimmer wire. The wire listed as a dimmer doesn't work with the Ford harness. For some reason, its a dead lead. When I was ready to button everything up, my dad (who's great with soldering and electrics, as he's a 55+ year mechanic), got his wire tester, to help find the 4-way flasher dimmer wire. When you turn on the 4-ways, the button lights up. He used a tester to find the correct wire, and he stripped that wire and put the D3's dimmer wire to it. When I turn my lights on, the screen dims now. Most use the headlight switch, but I figured to use something closer (didn't feel like running a wire from the radio halfway across the dash).
For the ambient lighting, there is a plug for it under the center console, to connect the car wiring loom to the light switch in the console. If they removed the entire console to work on the stall (which they probably did) they forgot to plug the harness back in for the switch. This should be an easy fix. For the sat radio, sorry to say, but i didn't set one up on my car. Others can add info for the Satellite radio when they see this. The antenna question? Ford changed the plug for 2007. You need a Chrysler antenna adapter, available at any electronics store. A few guys on here that used the D3 in their 2007's went to Best Buy and got the part needed. Part number I don't know, but others on here do.
Lastly, for something that wasn't listed. Did the install place add a Voltage Regulator to the system? If not, I would tell then to do this ASAP. If you don't do this, you will get a popping noise from your speakers every time you start up the radio/start the car. It gets annoying. Reason being, the radio is a different voltage than what the car puts out. The regulator bridges the difference. Its an easy $5 fix with a regulator from Radio Shack, some heat shrink tubing, 3 strips of wire and some solder. There is a diagram and sketch on here for this application. Its a necessity on this unit in our cars. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them. I got lots of info from the Interior Modifcations forum. Just go into there and you can find the posts back a few pages. Good luck getting things fixed.
I must say you definitely hit every point dead on. I would certainly have them install a voltage reg. asap. I had this problem with my AVC-N2. Good luck, keep us posted.
4/23/08, 10:33 PM
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thanks for the quick reply . I was hoping you would see my post! I think i will take it apart myself before it goes back next Monday . Im not sure how they have the RCA's hooked up im guessing if there is more than one set there are crossed somehow? I will take pics tomorrow evening of the gap in the dash the bottom fits nice and flush the top corners have a gap your could poke a pen in almost.
I had a writeup for the regulator so they did that and the bypass. These people were very nice and did everything to help but I was really let down by the sound quailty of the install it got considerably worse than the shaker 1000 which i didn't think was too bad. Also they scratched the shift ball a Ebrake lever which let said they would fix.
The stock sirius antenna was the one i was speaking of, I want to use it if i can instead of removing and putting a aftermaket on on. I will take detailed pics of this install tomorrow.
how from are you from Pittsburgh 05FORDGT ..... is there a pm feature on this site?
I had a writeup for the regulator so they did that and the bypass. These people were very nice and did everything to help but I was really let down by the sound quailty of the install it got considerably worse than the shaker 1000 which i didn't think was too bad. Also they scratched the shift ball a Ebrake lever which let said they would fix.
The stock sirius antenna was the one i was speaking of, I want to use it if i can instead of removing and putting a aftermaket on on. I will take detailed pics of this install tomorrow.
how from are you from Pittsburgh 05FORDGT ..... is there a pm feature on this site?
). It was a fun thing to do and to accomplish. I was stoked when it powered up the 1st time (at 2:30 am 
). As far as my location, I'm about 25 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Not close sorry. And there is a PM system here. Just move the cursor over my screen name above my avatar, click it, and you'll see 'send private message". BTW, since you now have a new Mustang, and are in Pa, any interest in going to Carlisle for the All-Ford Nationals in June? If your interested, shoot me a PM and I'll be glad to give you details on my club's (badmustangsclub.com) ongoing setup. Gonna be HUGE!!!
4/24/08, 03:08 AM
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I installed the D3 myself, and was extremely pleased to say the least when it powered up and did everything exactly like it was supposed to...thanks to all who contributed to the write ups on the forums...I didn't bother with the dimmer, the screen is not that bright without it. I am going to install the Siruis later because I loved it on my Shaker, and I read somewhere that the factory antenna will work you just have to pull the connector of the end or something like that...Check out the wright ups and take it apart yourself, you will appreciate knowing how that all fits together...Hope that helps.
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