Need Metra/Kenwood 9960 help!

[markgoodson]

I am having some of the worst experiences customizing this ride for some reason. Without getting into everything that has gone wrong so far, I am looking for help with my stereo issues.

I have just installed a Kenwood DNX9960 with the Metra kit and I am getting some odd behaviors that I wanted to see if everyone else was getting or knew how to fix.

Car Toys here in Dallas says this is normal, but I would hope for what they charge for theses head units that it can’t be this Mickey Mouse.

First, Onstar, my door chimes, seatbelt, turn signal clicks (who the hell thought of this idiot idea ) and backup sensors all come thru my dash center speaker which sounds like crap, and according to Car Toys this is the only way it will work and I can not plum these sounds to my other speakers.

Second, when Onstar is activated it completely shuts off the head unit until the call is finished then you have to wait while the head unit reboots. If you were using your GPS, oh well, your screwed now

Third is that annoying turn signal tick tick tick. We have been able to get rid of this but at the expense of losing the backup sensors and other alerts :upset: if I want the sensors, I have to put up with that stupid turn signal tick in the center channel .

For the love of all things holy can someone please tell me this is not how my life is meant to be? Surely at a cost of better than 2k for the head unit and mounting kit the final output cannot be this crappy …

[Kendell347]

oh wow...bumping this to the last thing on the mod list

[Gunmetal]

yeah, after a ton of research, I found a processor is the best option.

[mdinferno]

First - Normal

Second - Normal

Third - Normal but you can turn the volume down but the adjustment on the box. you installer has to read the instructions...

[markgoodson]

Originally Posted by mdinferno

First - Normal

Second - Normal

Third - Normal but you can turn the volume down but the adjustment on the box. you installer has to read the instructions...

Great, I have a 5k+ system that sounds like crap

Why is this the first time I have seen anything here like this? Everyone was saying what a great setup it was....

[oachalon]

Mark,

I have not installed any of these in my camaro or anyone else camaro, but i can tell you everything you have is normal. I have a metra kit in my saturn aura

1. On my saturn aura it comes out the front driver side speakers.
2. It sounds like they didnt hook up the mute wire. if you look in the metra instructions, it will say the head unit mutes if mute wire is connected, if not it will turn off head unit when onstar is activated.
3. Volume can be turned down, but that also lowers the amount the signal is amplified from the head unit to the factory amp. The headunit outputs whatever voltage from your preouts, say 4V at max, then the metra will increase or decrease those preouts before going to the factory amp.

[Racer-X]

Stock headunit with Bitone or MS-8 is the best option we have found.

[Gunmetal]

If u can return it, do it, and check this out Alpine PXE-H650 Processor. Its on sale at Al and Ed's for $208 as Alpine just released the new model. They are auth dealers and u will get full warranty. Plus they compare to any internet price. I have heard nothing but issues from removing the factory head unit. Plus you deter people from breaking into ur car to snatch ur head unit

[CamaroGeek]

The turn tick sound can be stopped by removing C63 on the audio interface. The picture below shows the location. A sharp soldering iron is best, but needle-nose pliers will work - just break it off.

As for the head unit shutting off, the mute line of the radio must be connected to the mute line of the interface. The 9960 has a very weak pull up, however, and the kit can't detect it. To fix it, add a 300K resistor between the brown (mute) wires and the red (accessory) wires. Your radio will then mute when in OnStar or OE Bluetooth instead of shutting down.

Now for the chime/OnStar sound coming through the front speaker. Since the sound comes only through the center speaker, I'm guessing that you added an aftermarket amp which is being driven directly by the head unit, but the BA amp is still in the car. In that case the gain pots on the interface should be adjusted as follows: Turn off the car, leave the keys in, and open the door. This will start the chime signal. Start by turning the gain pot (closer to the corner of the board) fully CCW. Then turn the chime pot fully CCW. Then slowly turn the gain pot CW until you like the chime volume.

If my guess above is wrong, let me know. What exactly do you mean by "sounds like crap"? Noisy, distorted, both?

[markgoodson]

I am aw inspired in your knowledge Obi One, your understanding of my system is dead on. Two Kicker amps and the original BA amp for the center channel (Car Toys says it must be so for chimes/Onstar to work). You recommendation for the 300k resistor is the same response I got from Metra but when I told Car Toys this they refused to do it saying that it was feeding positive power (the red accessory wire) to a negative wire (the brown mute wire) regardless of the resistance and they would not assume liability if this blew out the head unit, so I backed down.

FYI, sounds like crap = shitty center speaker with underpowered amp vs. 3,000+ watts of Kicker equipment. It’s like listening to a CD then changing to a AM station.

[Racer-X]

Originally Posted by markgoodson

I am aw inspired in your knowledge Obi One, your understanding of my system is dead on. Two Kicker amps and the original BA amp for the center channel (Car Toys says it must be so for chimes/Onstar to work). You recommendation for the 300k resistor is the same response I got from Metra but when I told Car Toys this they refused to do it saying that it was feeding positive power (the red accessory wire) to a negative wire (the brown mute wire) regardless of the resistance and they would not assume liability if this blew out the head unit, so I backed down.

FYI, sounds like crap = shitty center speaker with underpowered amp vs. 3,000+ watts of Kicker equipment. It’s like listening to a CD then changing to a AM station.

Car Toys FAIL!

[The 2010 Sin]

MS-8 FTW .. :-)

[Steve@Subthump]

Originally Posted by markgoodson

I am having some of the worst experiences customizing this ride for some reason. Without getting into everything that has gone wrong so far, I am looking for help with my stereo issues.

I have just installed a Kenwood DNX9960 with the Metra kit and I am getting some odd behaviors that I wanted to see if everyone else was getting or knew how to fix.

Car Toys here in Dallas says this is normal, but I would hope for what they charge for theses head units that it can’t be this Mickey Mouse.

First, Onstar, my door chimes, seatbelt, turn signal clicks (who the hell thought of this idiot idea ) and backup sensors all come thru my dash center speaker which sounds like crap, and according to Car Toys this is the only way it will work and I can not plum these sounds to my other speakers.

Second, when Onstar is activated it completely shuts off the head unit until the call is finished then you have to wait while the head unit reboots. If you were using your GPS, oh well, your screwed now

Third is that annoying turn signal tick tick tick. We have been able to get rid of this but at the expense of losing the backup sensors and other alerts :upset: if I want the sensors, I have to put up with that stupid turn signal tick in the center channel .

For the love of all things holy can someone please tell me this is not how my life is meant to be? Surely at a cost of better than 2k for the head unit and mounting kit the final output cannot be this crappy …

On pg 8 of the instruction manual it talks about head units that shut down when onstar activates and what to do to solve the problem. Maybe that will help. I'm having issues with the hvac system on mine.

[CamaroGeek]

Steve - I just tried to PM you, I'm being told that your mailbox is full. Let me know when you have it cleared out.