4th Gen DSP Headunit

Neo · Post by **Neo** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 5:27 am

I'm sure some of you guys have this DSP unit. I bought one a while ago and I never really got a chance to put it in until now. The problem i'm having is it doesn't power on. I opened it up to see if there is anything obvious and found nothing. My oem headunit is an Alpine version and the ones I've seen in pictures are used with a pioneer version. Does it matter which version its connected to? Does anyone have one for sale?

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:00 am

I have this.
After a year and half it still confuses me sometimes with how it does/does not turn on so I hardly ever turn it off now, I just leave it on CD (so the aerial is down) and turn the volume down instead (yes, seriously)

The volume push switch doesn't ever feel like a push switch on mine - it goes in but doesn't feel like it's actually a switch (no sort of click sensation). Is yours the same?

I think the way I get mine to come on is to press the 'CD' button, which turns the bottom bit on and means the CD player works, then you can press the volume push switch and it will switch to radio. I think...

I might have a play with it again later on to confirm that, but I'm a bit loathe to, in case I end up back in the same situation you're in

If you give up and want to sell yours, I might well be interested 'cause the DSP unit on mine is fubar so I want another one as back up when I take mine apart to try and fix it (I suspect caps gone down)

I haven't seen an Apline badged headunit, but the gathers stuff is a combination of pioneer/alpline anyway, so I wouldn't worry too much about that (headunit on mine is poineer, the autochanger is alpine)

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 11:41 am

I remember on my old 2.3 I had an aftermarket stereo and installed a simple single way (on or off) rocker switch so that I could interrupt the supply to the aerial (headunit would always power the aerial up when you switched it on, but I could stop that happening by having the switch in off if I was using the CD player).

I sussed out the wires by looking at the connections to the aerial unit itself and measuring which was ground/live when the aerial was up (that was before I knew you could access copies of the service manual)

That was on a UKDM without half-mast, but I guess the same principle applies if you interrupt the supply between the head unit and the half-mast switch.

Looking at the wiring diagrams in the manual (23-276/277) you would put the rocker switch to interrupt the yellow/white wire so this stops the relay in the aerial being operated. You should be able to find this wire in the loom inside the centre console. nb: the manual doesn't show the half-mast switch but I assume the feed up to this switch is the same simple on/off and the switch then changes the circuit from there backwards.

I did a stealth install on the switch, just literally tucked it up under the bottom of the centre console in the drivers footwell so the switch was flush up under the bottom edge of the trim with the rocker facing downwards to the floor. It meant you couldn't see it at all, but you could just put your hand there and operate it nicely. It worked nicely with the install because the wires run up the centre console anyway.

EDIT:
removed alternative wire interrupt mentioned in original post because on review that wouldn't work due to having a direct link to the fusebox somewhere else... Stick with the original plan above!
Switch was something like this; http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_255229

Neo · Post by **Neo** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 5:10 pm

wurlycorner wrote:I have this.
After a year and half it still confuses me sometimes with how it does/does not turn on so I hardly ever turn it off now, I just leave it on CD (so the aerial is down) and turn the volume down instead (yes, seriously)

The volume push switch doesn't ever feel like a push switch on mine - it goes in but doesn't feel like it's actually a switch (no sort of click sensation). Is yours the same?

I think the way I get mine to come on is to press the 'CD' button, which turns the bottom bit on and means the CD player works, then you can press the volume push switch and it will switch to radio. I think...
I might have a play with it again later on to confirm that, but I'm a bit loathe to, in case I end up back in the same situation you're in

If you give up and want to sell yours, I might well be interested 'cause the DSP unit on mine is fubar so I want another one as back up when I take mine apart to try and fix it (I suspect caps gone down)

I haven't seen an Apline badged headunit, but the gathers stuff is a combination of pioneer/alpline anyway, so I wouldn't worry too much about that (headunit on mine is poineer, the autochanger is alpine)

when i power on the headunit with the volume knob I do feel a click. I need to find a Pioneer version of the headunit and give it a try. When I press and hold the CD button it tries to spit out the cassette but nothing in there so not sure why i does that.

There are literately hundreds of caps in the dsp unit. What I have does do far is test the voltage from the Alpine headunit, and re-soldered the connections on the dsp unit. but that didn't help.

Post by **indigolemon** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 5:45 pm

newkid wrote:Hope u guys dont mind me posting this here as Iain raised a point id like to know. Sure @indigolemon knows. What wires do u switch so aeriel goes down when on cd with aftermarket stereo?

Depends on the head unit. On a Sony, you simply turn TA and AF off and the aerial will never go up unless you specifically switch to radio mode.

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kris_aka_edu · Post by **kris_aka_edu** » Sat Jun 08, 2013 9:18 pm

I had a unit, could never seem to get it to turn on. I believe it's the original not sure if its cassette or CD player. I know I couldn't get it to turn on at all. Ill have a look in the she's and see where it is.