I was installing a small sub in the boot, much like people have been doing with the bass600. I tapped into the signal after the x9331. Anyway, after I got everything wired up, I put the key in the ignition, and the radio came on as usual. After about 10 seconds, I could smell something like warm wires coming from the boot. I immediately removed the key to stop power. I unplugged all my connections to the amp to make sure everything was routed correctly and tight...

When I put the key in the ignition this time, the radio didn't come on. No clock, no chimes, blank, nothing. My bluetooth did work just fine through the speakers though.

It seems like it's gone into some sort of safe mode. Is there such a thing? If so, how do you get it out of safe mode?

 

I had something similar happen to me(without the toaster oven smell)...

I thought i blew a few so i popped open the fuse panel in the passenger footwell and pulled a few fuses to check and when i did not find a blown fuse i powered it back on, and the radio worked and has not shut down since.

hifi or standard??

 

Yeah, something similar happened when I did the channel swap months ago. That time, everything still lit up, just no sound. This time nothing even lights up. I've tried pulling all the fuses, and that didn't do anything.

Also, I don't remember hearing any sort of popping or clicking or anything like that.

 

I would say if your bluetooth is working the two items (sub install and radio display not working) are probably not related. The reason i say this is that the audio for the bluetooh goes thru the radio system and thus we know the sound channels are working.

My suggestion is to disconnect the battery for 30-40 minutes and then reconnect and try again. This will drain all the circuits in the car and will allow for a fresh start of all the cars computer systems of which the head unit is one of the major ones.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

I think you just answered a question I have been thinking about. I have never disconnected the Mini battery, or accidentally let it run dead. It seems in every car I have owned in the last decade or so, doing either created a problem. Usually at a minimum I needed some code to defeat the anti-theft circuit in the radio. I distinctly remember with one car looking for a fuel pump reset button somewhere just to get the engine started.

I take it with a Mini there is no such worry? I've looked around and can't find a code anywhere in the stuff the dealer gave me. I once had to pull a head unit to get a radio serial number to get a Mitsubishi radio working again and the thought of puling the Mini's head unit is not pleasant.

Can someone please confirm, as seems to be suggested above, that you can disconnect a Mini battery with no ill effects.

Thanks. (Sorry, I didn't mean to steal the thread.)

 

Disconnecting the battery didn't do it. I left it unconnected for about an hour. It cleaned the computer's memory (like the clock in the tach), but the stereo is still dark. I thought I checked all the fuses in the passenger footwell, I guess I'll try checking them again. Are there any fuses under the hood that it could be?

 

In addition to re-checking fuses, I had another thought: Right now, the speaker wires running to the boot for the amp are disconnected. Does the car "know" there is a "loose" speaker connection and cut power as a result? On other cars I've installed simple audio components in, this sort of thing would have never crossed my mind....but the MINI is supremely complex.

Anything else you can think of I should check? Or, should I be freaking out right now since I have a blown head unit?

 

I don't think the head unit would turn off because of a loose speaker wire. There would just be no sound. Durning my install my front right channel was unplugged and the head unit didn't turn off ('09 mcs).

Did you find the burt wires? That would be MY NUMBER ONE THING TO LOOK FOR, find that, and you might find your problem.

Did all speakers (including the sub) play for those few short moments the head unit was on?

 

I haven't found any burnt wires, though I think I know almost for certain what i was smelling. I had the power and ground wires switched at the sub's amp. Now I'm pretty sure that's what got me into this whole mess.

The few seconds the radio was on initially, it seemed to play normally. I have no idea if the sub was working (though I doubt it because I think the wires were switched). There was never anything traumatic like hissing or popping or anything like that. I just turned the car on that second time and nothing happened.

It feels like there's a blown fuse somewhere. But, I have literally pulled every fuse (except for the ones that I know are completely unrelated, like the fuse for the windows) and checked them one by one with a multimeter. Does the head unit have a fuse attached to the back of it?

Thanks for your help, guys.

 

I wrote a response yesterday, but looks like it didn't take. Sounds like you shorted something. You need to find the cause of the burned wires. Check the X9331 connector. Could there be a short somewhere there? Did you get something in the wrong place and connect a speaker to ground?

 

Most head units do have a fuse in the back... I don't know about the OEM of the mini.
I had something like that happen to me a long time ago! Smelled something burning, turned off the power etc... What ended up happening was the power wire I had got so hot it melted everything it touched. This caused all kinds of electrical problems. I would follow all the wires you had going to the amp and see if any of them are burt at some point (that means their full length).

 

The burnt wires were at the rear of the car, and I'm 99% sure it was at the sub's amp due to having the positive and ground wires switched around. I've visually double-checked connections at the x9331, and everything looks right. I used T-taps right after the x9331 to run the signal back to the amp.

How do I test to see if I've got a bad ground somewhere? If I've already solved the problem by fixing my connections, what would it take for the head unit to turn back on? Should it just fire back up one of these times I put the key in the ignition?

Thanks for the suggestion to look at the x9331, Robin. When I did the channel swap and added front speakers months ago, I had a similar problem where the head unit lit but there was no sound. That turned out to be a loose speaker wire. That time, once I cinched all my connections to the speakers, the sound came back. This is way more scary because the thing's not even turning on.

 

I would try to take it back to stock (disconnect everything to do with your sub), but that will be hard to do with T-taps. I favor getting replacement X9331 connector parts and making a pass-through connector, but too late for that.

Is it possible that one of the T-taps is causing a problem -- severed a wire, or something like that?

 

I do not think the Radio not having a display has anything to do with shorting out a speaker wire. The radio has protection built in for that and it will nto turn off the display. Also the OP mentioned that there was sound coming out of the speakers for his bluetooth, so again doubtful there is anything wrong with the radio speaker outputs. I believe it is just a display issue and if disconnecting the battery did not fix it then it needs to go back to the dealer for replacement.

Yes you can disconnect the batatery with out ill effect. There is nothing like you describe above (which i have also had to deal with on other cars) in the MINI. I have disconnected the battery many time without having to reset anything.

 

Perhaps at this point you should just take it back to the dealership and tell them everything you told us. If disconnecting the battery for an extended period didn't reset everything and fix your problem, I would have to assume there is something physically wrong with your head unit that is keeping it from firing up, could be as simple as a blown fuse or something worse. Follow up after you do that, and state what the dealer said so if someone else has this issue they can look it up here.
Best of luck

 

Yeah, I really don't want to have to go the dealer on this. They're not going to like to see wires with T-taps and stuff like that. It's going to end up being me paying for a new head unit, which I'm guessing will cost a fortune. It's not like the R53 where you can just put in an aftermarket unit and call it a day.

I just think there would've had to have been some sort of something that would break the head unit...In other words, it was working fine when I shut the car off the first time and just failed to come back on when I fired it up the second time. No hissing or popping, or trying to start up, or anything funky at all. It really does look as if the thing is just simply not getting power.

But, I don't know enough about it to know HOW this thing gets power to know if there are other places between the battery and the HU I should look for problems.

 

This Head Unit as it is called is a lot more than just a radio head unit. It is really an integral part of the cars computer system.

There is a 10 amp fuse on the back side of the radio but if that was blown there would be no sound output. And from what you are telling us there is sound output for the bluetooth. Is that correct?

If that is correct then there is a problem with the head unit and you will have two choices.

1. find one to purchase and install it. This WILL void any possible warranty and could screw up other parts of the cars computer as the programing for the one you use to replace it is not the same as the one that is in there. It also means that you would still have to go to the dealer to have it programed for your specific vehicle, I.E. complete reprogram of all the cars computer systems. This is not a recommended way of dealing with this situation as no mater what you WILL VOID your warranty and it will cost you lots of money

2. go to the dealer and have it replaced. IF you remove all the wiring that you have done hopefully the dealer ship will not see the nicks in the wires that the T-taps have made and will replace the head unit for you under warranty.

 

I'm glad you mentioned that there is an internal fuse on the head unit itself. I still think that may be the culprit. But I wanted to check with you to make sure it's worthwhile before I go tearing up the dash to get at the stock unit. I realize now I never told you I have the PARROT Evo bluetooth, which I think could still work even with the head unit powered down. That is, it has a blue box that connects after the head unit, if I remember correctly.

So, do you think it's worth the effort to tear everything up to check a fuse on the head unit itself. If I get to the head unit, will the fuse be pretty obvious, or is it literally inside the head unit?

 

I really think you should have it looked at by the dealer....if the HU is damaged you will probably have to buy a new one either way....and the dealer may find its something easy.

Too many new "clues" keep appearing here to make troubleshooting very effective.

If you chose not to go to the dealer...the best advice is to take it completely back to stock....and see if anything changes.....then maybe go to the dealer after removing the t-taps and bring it back to stock.


Good Luck!!

 

Taking it back to stock isn't a snap of the finger. Taking it back to stock will require pulling the head unit anyway...I have aftermarket bluetooth (Parrot Evo installed with mikeythemini's loom directly attached to the back of the HU). The dealership is not going to like seeing an aftermarket loom coming of the HU, the channel swap, or the nicks in the wires from the T-taps at the x9331. I don't know about your dealership, but mine just doesn't have the time to do in-depth troubleshooting.

They're not going to find a single broken component and replace it...that's just not what most mechanics do these days. Best case scenario, they won't see any evidence of the mods, and will replace the HU. Worst case scenario, they will see evidence of the aftermarket stuff, say warranty doesn't apply, and ask me to pay for a new HU--never having any idea what truly happened.

That being said, I was trying to ask if anyone knew for sure whether there is a fuse attached to the back of the HU. I've seen the back of the HU, a year ago, and I can't remember whether there was or wasn't. If there is one back there, I betcha it's blown and all I have to do is replace it.

 

A dead short...which it seems you created when you crossed the power and ground wire and caused that burning smell..would have blown the fuse immediately if it was going to blow it at all. Which would have shut the radio off sooner than 10 seconds.

When you say the speaker wires that run the sub in the boot are disconnected...do you mean you just have them tapped into the wire harness after the molex plug...but then not connected to the speaker level inputs at the sub amp? That should not matter....

So is the car back to stock electrically? meaning is there any wires from the sub amp attached to the car?
I realize that physically its not easy to bring it back to stock...but can we all assume that electrically the car does not see the sub in ANY way....

 

Right now, I don't see how the car would see the sub in any way. The speaker wires are disconnected from the amp and literally draped gingerly over the back seat. They are not touching metal anywhere along their path, and the ends are currently just dangling in the air. I didn't see the need in un-doing the T-taps.

So you think there is a fuse directly on the back of the HU?

 

I guess theres only one way to find out

 

You're right, there's only one way to find out!

I tore up the dash tonight to get at the back of the HU to see if there's a fuse....probably the only time in my life I HOPED to see a blown fuse. Alas, there WAS a blown fuse!!! It's getting late enough now that I'm getting stupid, so I'm going to call it quits for the night. I'll replace the fuse tomorrow and let you all know how it turns out....hoping for the best.

I had forgotten what a pain in the neck it is to tear all that apart. Very time consuming.

 

Looks like you solved the case....great job!!