Has anyone heard of a Pioneer AVIC-Z140BH causing interference? Electrical bonanza!
 

Have a real mystery here. Car has ~2500 miles on it and an aftermarket head unit, amp and sub. Door speakers and tweeters were swapped out.

As space is at a premium behind the dash, the XM tuner was actually installed in the wheel well with cable run through the center console to the radio.

The car is a 2012 nismo 370z

I have two very odd issues:


ISSUE #1
Key fob detection has been slowly degrading.

-At first, the car would not see the fob(s) unless they were in my right hip pocket or in the console or passenger seat.

-Then, the car would not detect the fob unless it was actually resting in the cup holder in the center console. Earlier this week, the car wouldn't detect the fob from outside the vehicle and I had to use the physical key to enter the car but once I got inside, everything was ok.

- Most recently, I came back from lunch and the car would not respond to the fob so once again, I had to manually open the door only this time, the car would not detect the fob anywhere inside the vehicle unless the fob was inserted into the fobgina (thank god).

I took the car to Nissan yesterday and they tested the batteries in my key fobs (both good) and actually programmed a new one and swapped it out so the fobs aren't the issue.

I have another service appointment on Monday but the dealership seems mystified. Any ideas before I give it back to Nissan to play with?


ISSUE #2
-Getting weird intermittent static out of my left speakers which will occasionally cut out entirely (both tweeter and door speaker). Static seems to happen when the car is cold (???). My GPS antenna runs up the lefthand side of the windshield (underneath the joint) up to where my mic is mounted. Can the GPS antenna signal interfere with speaker wires? I've checked all the connections and everything is shrinktubed properly. No weird grounds and nothing is shorting so what the hell?

Also if all else fails, I'm going to take it to a specialty shop and have them comb over it and tell me why I'm a dumbass but any input you guys might have would be appreciated.

Oh and the stereo install was complete 2 months ago so this has been a slow burn and not an immediate critical failure (which would have probably been easier to deal with tbh). Stereo was professionally installed.

This is really a weird set of issues that you're having. I'm surprised you're still having FOB problems after changing batteries/fobs.

IMO, you have some kind of issue with the install of the aftermarket equipment. Obviously, there shouldn't be static on any of your channels, and I wouldn't be surprised if your installer made an installation error causing these problems.

I'd take the car to a reputable aftermarket audio place and have them go over the entire install.

The fob problem si weird however the noise in the left speaker could be caused by your cell phone.

Yeah I have a pending appointment with a shop I know and trust next week but figured I'd go this route first.

Build - in case you're curious:

Pioneer AVIC-Z140BH
-Alpine MRP-F300 - Amplifier - V-Power - 4-channel mounted under passenger seat.
-Infinity Kappa front speakers replace stock.
-Pioneer Premier TS SW841D - Car subwoofer - 120 Watt - 8" (just to fill out sound in place of the bose 2ndary speakers) located in wheel tire well - sits on top of a custom sub mount.
-SWS steering wheel control mod
-GEX whatever Pioneer XM/Sirius module. Anyone want to tell me why this f'ing thing is 8x the size of the alpine/kenwood mod? Finding a place for it was a bastard.

I've been working with/around electronics since I was a kid and I am absolutely mystified FYI. I'm usually very good at troubleshooting etc.

I know what cell interference sounds like and this isn't it. This sounds to me like a loose connection/short but I've gone over the wiring with a magnifying glass and I swear it's golden.

You could also check the individual rca jacks to see if they're a bit loose. If an installer puts too much pressure on an individual jack and breaks the ground, you can get signal loss until the unit heats up and the metal expands, creating the connection. The car bouncing around may cause intermittent loss here also.

But again, as far as the key fob goes, that's really weird. I still think there's some kind of electrical issue going on there. I haven't heard anything at all about aftermarket systems putting out any kind of signal strong enough to keep the fob from working, but there's always a first time for everything.

Disconnect the stereo and see if the issues persist.

That's some weird issues that you're having. I have installed Pioneer avic-z140bh on my Z without any issues. I would suggest the same thing as Threadlocker..Did bypass your receiver? check your wiring because I had some issues with the nav and bluetooth connections till I bypass it.

If your key FOB is not working properly then there could be some federal systems operating near by that have priority on the frequencies they use. FOB operate on a un-licensed basis and must accept interference. It's all very tricky.

No. Tested at the dealership and other Zs do not exhibit the weird intermittent behavior.

Not gonna take it apart again. I checked the installer's work and it looks good to me. Done it 3x and can't find the fault and dammit, I'm pretty good at this stuff. Taking it to my audio specialist tomorrow morning.

Jacks are solid. Not sure if the two issues are related but I suspect they are.

has anyone examined the rfid module in the car that recognizes the key...or perhaps any of the individual rfid antennas? There are 8 on the car or the remote keyless module itself. There is nothing behind the radio that relates to the key fob.

Verdict from my audio shop:

-Head unit is bad and needs exchange. Going to ask the amazon vendor to do an exchange but I'm not too hopeful. Really don't want to have to ship it to Pioneer out West but that may be my only option. Shop says that the speakers cutting out has to do with the nav system doing "something weird". They also said my wiring was good and save for a couple loose connections, everything looked to be in order.

-Key fob is Nissan's issue and they need to handle it. Dealership said the next step would be to replace the module (which I suspect may fix the issue).

This support model sucks.

"Yes gee we're sorry your head unit failed under warranty, please uninstall it and ship it across the damn country at your own expense without a RMA number and we'll try to fix it"

No advance replacement? Why do I have to pay shipping? UGH.

good reason to shop local and support your local business, they would have had that swapped out same day

Ok well no one local had this HU. I pre-ordered it 2 months before it was released and ended up getting it for $300 less than list. I'll probably spend 2-3 weeks being annoyed at the lack of a radio (during the winter when the car is garaged anyway) but still doesn't justify paying retail.

But if there had been a local place offering a preoder for the same price, I would have done it in a heartbeat.

So the key fob mystery is solved!

("Someone" may have forgotten to reconnect half of the wiring harness for the RFID detector module at some point during a stereo install )

http://www.the370z.com/members/dmhen...06-mistake.gif

*cough*

So add to the knowledge base for the RFID system that if you disconnect half of the plugs, it ends up exhibiting some REALLY odd behavior sometimes.

sucks, but I'm not surprised. Glad you got it figured out.

Wait we're not done yet. I go to pick up the car and now the entire antenna system is totally dead. Dead as in, "can't unlock the doors from outside the car, key fobs not detected anywhere inside or outside the vehicle, car will not start unless fob is inserted in fobgina"

Is there a way to reset the antenna module? I feel like bashing my head into a wall.

ROund 19231983281923 with the dealership tomorrow if I can't figure it out. At this point I don't even care if they charge me I just want it fixed.

I'm just gonna leave this here. For the historical records. Hope you get it sorted out, sounds like a bigger mess than when you started.

"Fobgina" that is "F"ing hysterical! I feel for you after reading everything, but the fobgina nearly put me on the floor. I'm now looking into a new headunit and this will be useful info.
Regards,
TommyGuns

Yeah be careful whatever you do. As near as I can figure, the master RFID keyfob module is underneath the center console and apparently, it isn't very sturdy.

I did take it to the audio specialist (the one the dealership recommended) and they basically said "yeah nothing wrong with the stereo install, this is Nissan's issue"

I probably looked like a dog that had crapped in its owners shoes while the service manager was basically giving the verbal equivalent of smacking me with a rolled up newspaper.

.....