Pioneer AVH-X3500BHS - Annoying hum won't go away!!!

[RPS13]

I purchased my 4Runner with an Ottonavi headunit that's made specifically for Toyotas/4Runners so it dropped right in. It was decent, but I preferred the UI of my old Pioneer AVH-P3200BT. So I installed an AVH-X3500BHS that was brand new.


The annoying thing is that anytime it is on there is a very noticeable hum at about 2-4 kHz if I had to guess. It does this even with the truck OFF (i.e. it's not alternator whine, does not vary with RPM, never changes intensity).

All research pointed towards a ground loop issue, so I have moved the ground all over the place to see if it'd make a difference, even cut back the tiny 16 Ga stock ground in the harness to only a couple of inches and ran 10 Ga wiring. It's currently grounded to the dash bar (also had it grounded to the body in the center console area, no change).

I thought maybe there was some interference coming in the power line, so I got a cheap BOSS power filter and ran the battery feed through it - no change.


So I'm at a loss. I've never experienced any sort of issue in car stereos besides the occasional quiet alternator ground loop using the stock harness ground, and a bigger ground to the dash bar always fixed it.


Thoughts? I'm not sure if this is a legitimate warranty concern, but I got it off Amazon, which come to find out somehow went from being an authorized dealer back a few years ago to not one for Pioneer... soooooo.... hoping I don't get burned here.

I really like the headunit besides the whine, but it's getting to where it's really REALLY getting on my nerves.

 

[TakeORF]

I had the exact same issue with the exact same HU about 2 months ago. I also bought it on Amazon, but had it installed at Best Buy. After trying to deal with it for about a week, I couldn't take it anymore. I brought it back and they said that it must've been an issue with the HU, so I sent it back to Amazon and they sent a new one. I brought the new one to Best Buy and they said they would go ahead and switch them out but the same hum came back. Then, I brought it to a different Best Buy and asked them if they knew what could cause it. The techs at the second Best Buy seemed more knowledgable than the first one and said they have seen this issue before and usually it's a wire that wasn't grounded. A little while later they had it fixed and said that was the issue.

Anyway, it sounds like it should be an easy fix for someone that knows that kind of stuff... Hope it works out for you, I really enjoy it.

 

[judogti]

If its humming while the power is off Id be concerned about your battery as for enough juice is going through your system to send sound to the speakers...

Do you have a volt meter? Test the constant and switched lines in the back. And some of the others too..... that is too fishy.

 

[zimdba]

Thoughts? I'm not sure if this is a legitimate warranty concern, but I got it off Amazon, which come to find out somehow went from being an authorized dealer back a few years ago to not one for Pioneer... soooooo.... hoping I don't get burned here.

Always buy with a credit card that has purchase protection. I think Amex is $600/incident, $1000/year. I've used it a couple of times when I missed the 90-day cutoff to return to Amazon.

 

[DC runner]

I don't think this is a HU issue and still a bad ground issue. You have ripped out, installed, and then ripped out HU at least 3 times now, right? You need to check everything.

 

[RPS13]

There's only ONE ground for the HU - I'm not sure how someone could miss it.

A ground loop problem via alternator noise is sometimes caused by ground location, but mine happens even with the ignition just to ON and on pure battery power. TakeORF, did yours also hum while just on battery power?


Battery voltage is fine. Music is loud and clear, with an annoying hum on top of it.

 

[makristal]

Have you noticed that all of your speakers are fading in and out or that your radio reception is terrible? I have an older pioneer unit that was installed by the previois owner of my Runner and I want to get the unit you installed. This issue is definitely something I hope I don't encounter seeing how I'd be going form 1 non-humming pioneer unit to another. But I do feel like reception issues plague my unit

 

[TakeORF]

TakeORF, did yours also hum while just on battery power?

Yes, it hummed with just the battery and without having the engine started.

 

[gshadow325]

Pioneer avh, head units suck. Run a ground to the rca out puts.

 

[Ohhh S.k. CFPB]

Pioneer avh, head units suck. Run a ground to the rca out puts.

i wouldn't say they suck, they have been the best head unit i seen currently on the market that look great, function and reliability. ive seen more sonys, alpines, and kenwood, come in for repair. we very rarely see pioneers come in.

source: geek squad service repair

but i would recommend running a RCA ground to your amp ground as well

How to Eliminate Engine Noise
try following this

 

[gshadow325]

i wouldn't say they suck, they have been the best head unit i seen currently on the market that look great, function and reliability. ive seen more sonys, alpines, and kenwood, come in for repair. we very rarely see pioneers come in.

source: geek squad service repair

but i would recommend running a RCA ground to your amp ground as well

How to Eliminate Engine Noise
try following this

Yes I will say they suck, all the video products suck. They all have a hum from the power ic. Best buy does not sell excelon, Sony is no where on the map with video products.

Pioneer don't get repaired they get replaced because of this noise. Kenwood has its own sets of problems that is irrelevant to this topic.

Take a length of wire while the radio is out. Touch one end to ground and one end to the rca coming out of the rear of the radio. That should eliminate the hum.
If what I suggested does not work.

Return for refund. Amazon is good for that. If you don't do it now, since this is already discontinued. You are stuck with it and the noise.
Buy it from a authorized retailer.

Source: authorized direct Pioneer dealer/retailer since 2003, same for Kenwood, jl, Alpine, Compustar. And all the other lines I carry.

 

[makristal]

What is your recommendation then for a quality headunit if you're alleging that Pioneer is crap?

 

[DC runner]

Yea. That kind of "#*&# sucks" is ridiculous and refereed to as anecdotal evidence; which is really just short for worthless opinion.

Now, you take a lot of opinions and put them together and you have some real data. Amazon and Crutchfield have it highly rated by many, many people. That is a trend, and that is a real valuable opinion.

 

[ebg18t]

Gshadow325 owns a car Audio shop somewhere around Phili. I am pretty sure he is not just saying its crap for no reason. Maybe that model has an issue or something.

 

[gshadow325]

Yea. That kind of "#*&# sucks" is ridiculous and refereed to as anecdotal evidence; which is really just short for worthless opinion.

Now, you take a lot of opinions and put them together and you have some real data. Amazon and Crutchfield have it highly rated by many, many people. That is a trend, and that is a real valuable opinion.

READ MY WHOLE RESPONSE BEFORE YOU REPLY. This way you can see where my so called opinions come from.

Opinions are like @ssholes, everyone has one. thats your anedotal evidence.

FACT:
Pioneer units always were plagued with buzzing sound from the RCA's when they moved away from the AVX-P7000cd platform. Thats a seperate brain unit that was as large as a two telephone books. circa 1999/2000

*Since the AVIC-N series came out they were plagued with RCA buzzing noise, ribbon cable issue. Still was never solved until the 4th version, N4
*The Avic-D series came right after that with 3 versions. Same thing buzzing rca's, and broken ribbon cable that does to screen. Not until the 3 version that didnt have a mving screen did the ribbon not break.
*Avic-F series didnt even last long enough in the vehicle for us to have buzzing rca's. The year that came out i had the highest returns ever in my retail history with one vendor and one sku. $24500 thats roughly 37 units

I didnt get into the AVH products or even the DEH products or APP radio's.

I can only give you my experience with them. These are facts not opinions. Amazon and crutchfield are opinions because they are coming from inexperienced consumers that only know that ONE car they are installing it into. I have installed/removed/service 1000's of them.

Do i like certain products over others? Yes. Kenwood Excelon never has these issues. like i said above they have their own set of problems.
Do i hate Pioneer? No. I learn to deal with it.
Do all Pioneer products sucks? No. Speakers are reliable LoL
Do i talk from my @ss? When i was younger and didnt know better. Now if I know, then i speak up. If i dont know, I ask.

Please dont forget, i dont want to have equipment fail. When equipment fails and I installed it, it costs money to go in and remove it swap it out for another unit. It cause multiple phone calls, time, labor, shipping and most of all profit. From a retailer's standpoint i want product to work just as much as the consumer does. When it fails, thats where the customer service comes into play that separates me from the competition.

I have been around Pioneer for a long time, they for the most part make some solid stuff. Its just the power IC always have issues.

I dont like these long winded replies. This was needed so readers dont think I give my opinions, and see where i am actually providing factual data. All my experience is hands on directly dealing with Pioneer Product.

 

[RCs4Runner]

Always buy with a credit card that has purchase protection. I think Amex is $600/incident, $1000/year. I've used it a couple of times when I missed the 90-day cutoff to return to Amazon.

90 days? Amazon is 30 days.

 

[Kubota Yota]

I had the exact same problem in my Nissan Titan. I installed a Kenwood DDX-512 (I think.... can't remember) and within a week got the annoying buzz, even when it was only running off the battery. I tried everything to fix it, but nothing worked until a buddy with a car audio shop switched the speakers power from the OEM amplifier over to the amp in the head unit. Problem solved. The head unit had a higher volume limit than the OEM, so turning the music up too loud blew the OEM amp. Not sure if the 4runner runs of an independent amp or one in the head unit, but this could be your problem.

 

[RPS13]

I finally had time to really sit down and figure this thing out. First I went through and tried grounding everything/unplugging everything on the back of the HU trying to find the source of a buzz. Nothing... nada

I had the whole thing stripped down and was starting to get pissed, so then I started taking off "extra bits" like the bypass relay, and when I moved that I got a very slight pitch change in the hum.... So I chop off the whole remote power wire/antenna wire (blue/wht) - HUM IS GONE!!!!!!!!


I'm extremely relieved now, and still have no idea why the remote wire going to the bypass and antenna power would buzz like that. I redid it on the bypass and no hum, so I can only assume it's going to the antenna power. I did test radio reception on a couple of stations without the antenna power going to it, and they were picked up fine and locked in on digital with I'm guessing the power meter thing pegged out (and I'm about 30 miles from the center of Houston, so decent test).


All in all, still confused on why it would hum with that, but I'm really glad I finally solved it through trial and error.


BTW - speakers are powered from the HU, no external amp yet (will eventually toss one in for a sub if I get around to it).

 

[makristal]

So now that you were able to get rid of the hum, how are you liking the unit in general? I went to Car-Toys to try to get my hands on one to play around, but no luck. They were adamant about upgrading to the 5500 for the pre-amp outlets. Any gripes/likes/red flags?