Radio Quit Working

[Tim Turner]

I have a Kenwood KDC-X879 headunit, which has a motorized faceplate that opens and closes whenever the ignition is turned on or off. About a week ago it was around 25 degrees outside in the morning and I went to start the ST up. The truck stuttered to start and the headunit opened up, but shut off shortly after. The faceplate was still in the open position. I haven't had a problem starting the ST since then, but the headunit won't close or even turn on completely. I can turn it on manually by holding in a button, but it just shuts down immediately after it comes on. Any ideas on the culprit, whether it is the headunit itself or a larger problem? I've had the headunit for just about 3 years and have never had an issue.

 

[Wes Davis]

Try disconnecting all power to the head unit. Don't forget both the main power wire and the constant power wire for memory settings. Let it set unpowered for several minutes then reconnect and hopefully things will reboot back to working order.

 

[JamesDiana Tiffany]

As an electrician I always say check your fuses first!

 

[joey reed]

try to reset button on the radio sould be somewere on the face

 

[Tim Turner]

Just an update, fuses are good, reset button did no good, but I think I know what the problem is. Somehow, the headunit has shifted from its original position slightly. I'm going to pull the entire thing out and check the wires and harnesses running to it soon. I think that it has gotten "off track" and is causing tension on the wires when the faceplate opens up. Hopefully, if I take it all out and reconnect everything all will be well.

 

[Dre L]

I have the 979, mine just started doing the same thing after it got cold for about the past 6 weeks. It works, but you need to force the faceplate to a more closed position before powering it on. What's happening is, if you remember from when it worked right, it would flip around a bit and then settle into the last saved position. Now, it's hitting the bottom, like it wants to move further than it physically can. The radio shuts down to avoid damaging itself.



Try the reset first, but it's a pain since you need to re-set everything, and it may happen again. My radio works fine, but the MASK piece is fubar.



I'm just going to keep f'ing with it until I swap it with a non-motorized Kenwood... i may send this one back for warranty work and sell it on ebay. I think it was a 3 year warranty.



I don't know about your install, but I installed mine myself and the moving parts do not pull on the wires / harness in the back. The wires are in a stationary chassis. Whatever told the plate to stop opening when it was fully open, isn't working anymore.



Oh well, the motorized part was pimp while it lasted... I should have stuck to my philosophy of "the less moving parts something has..."

 

[Tim Turner]

I noticed the same thing. If I moved it into more closed angled position, then it would start up fine, but the minute that I slid the headunit out or the lower face angled into a more open position, it would power down. I didn't do the install myself, had a shop do it, but I think your right about the faceplate trying to open more than it physically can. I tried to reset it while I had the lights working, but not fully powered up and it just shut down again. Mine may be going on Ebay as well soon if it doesn't get its act straight.

 

[Dre L]

It got worse. Now I need to hold the SRC button for 2 seconds before the radio starts. The faceplate folds out, and lights up, and that's it. Holding SRC for 2 seconds finishes turning on the radio.

 

[Tim Turner]

Mine eventually started up a little over a week ago. Don't know how or why, but it did. I have the faceplate at a 90 degree angle right now and haven't messed with it as far as the angle or slide feature. The headunit did exactly what yours is doing. It would fold out and light up, but then just stop once it was down. I wasn't even able to turn it all the way on, but eventually it came on by itself. Hope you have some better luck with it.

 

[Dre L]

I think I'm SOL. Figured I'd update you as there seems to be a new hack to start it up for every problem it's coming down with.



I'm shopping for a new HU as I didn't appreciate driving for 45 minutes forcibly without a radio. Made me wonder how I'd feel when it broke completely.



Anyway, good luck with yours, hope it lasts longer than mine.

 

[Tim Turner]

I'm shopping for a new HU as I didn't appreciate driving for 45 minutes forcibly without a radio.

Tell me about it. I can't even take it for 10 minutes. It's a shame too, because that unit and similar units had some really nice features.