Cheap Chinese head unit install.... So the issues start...

Vince

Vince

Vince

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Joined
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Some of you saw my thread on the head unit install that I did a couple of weeks ago, and well, tonight me and the mrs were heading out for a meal so I grabbed the car out of the garage (first time using it since the meet on Sunday) and ahhh no sound... turn the volume right up and I can hear a faint whisper and some nasty crackles. Do the journey to the restaurant and grab some food and the system is the same only there seems to be more sound than there was before. ie I can hear it faintly on 30 instead of 40 like on the way there.

Get home this evening and decide to take a quick look behind the dash and the wiring looks as it did after the install. Next up I head to the fuses, a quick look through the fuse book and it shows me that there are two fuses, one for the bose sound system (I think this feed powers the unit that sits behind the seats as well as has some connection to the amp) and another for the head unit both of which are fine.

Anyway its dark and I can't really do much more now but one of two things has happened, either I didn't ground the amp properly which could be as simple as just grounding it or as nasty as blowing up the amp.

Or..... The cheap Chinese head unit has lasted a measly two weeks and self-destructed :confused:

Either way more investigations will be underway at the weekend when I rule the head unit out by putting the becker unit back in and testing the amp... in the meantime please feel free to either mock me or give any advice that might help me out :) Cheers.
 
VinceB1 said:
The cheap Chinese head unit has lasted a measly two weeks and self-destructed :confused:
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Most likely. I'd never recommend anyone buy one, but alas it's a bit late now.

Is it WindowsCE or Android based? can you get hold of a firmware flash for it and re-flash it (I doubt the problem is electrical, more likely to be software)? A mate had a similar issue with a WindowsCE based pioneer unit, flashing to a newer firmware resolved the issues and increased functionality for the most part.
 
paradigm said:
Most likely. I'd never recommend anyone buy one, but alas it's a bit late now.

Is it WindowsCE or Android based? can you get hold of a firmware flash for it and re-flash it (I doubt the problem is electrical, more likely to be software)? A mate had a similar issue with a WindowsCE based pioneer unit, flashing to a newer firmware resolved the issues and increased functionality for the most part.
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Its a windows ce based one. Might give a flash a try... will start with some troubleshooting first as it could well be the amp and my wiring. Ahh well it was fun while it lasted. :D
 
Today I had the chance to take a look at the head unit... put the old one back in and what a supprise.... it works a treat. now I paid out £220 for this just a few weeks ago so im not giving up that easy! I worked out that the unit is made by erisin and have managed to get in contact with a guy in china but they are gmt+8 so arrangements are going to be tricky as its what 9/10pm local time.

Anyway turns out that the unit is in warranty and that I can wait until tomorrow when I might get a firmware update that "might" fix it or I can send it to some little fella in China who will take to it with a soldering iron and send it back. Spoke to the guy I bought it off on ebay and he is happy to help out as he bought it direct from Erisin, so ill just get a replacement and replace it next year as planned. TBH I am just glad that it is not the amp... a replacement bose porsche amp could cost any sum of money

Edit: just looked at the conversion from PDT to GMT... looks like its 6am over there so will hold out for a reply today some time. In the mean time Im going to put the car back in the garage.
 
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Well good news I suppose, I argued with the manufacturer in China which has cost me a small fortune (almost as much as it cost to purchase the unit) in both cost to mail, phone calls and time... But today my perseverance pays off and delivered is a new head unit... A few models better (newer) with updated firmware, hardware and UI...



How long will this one last?
 
haha I could do... But I think that I will give it the benifit of the doubt and put it in... If it last two weeks again I will set it on fire put it in the box and pay my hard earned to ship it back to china with a nice letter in there.

Normally I wouldn't have bothered but 2 weeks on a £220 item is a bit much so it became a matter of principle.
 
It's not hard to see why the Chinese economy is booming when people in the uk will buy things like this from them :p

I bet the makers laughing all the way to the bank:

toothlesschineseman.jpg
 
Firestar_3x said:
It's not hard to see why the Chinese economy is booming when people in the uk will buy things like this from them :p

I bet the makers laughing all the way to the bank:

toothlesschineseman.jpg
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Yup, never mind, it won't be long until the only trade we can do is knocking out cheap crap for the far east to buy for a pittance so we can get our own back then :p
 
Firestar_3x said:
It's not hard to see why the Chinese economy is booming when people in the uk will buy things like this from them :p

I bet the makers laughing all the way to the bank:

toothlesschineseman.jpg
Click to expand...

That's the guy... Goes by the name of christeen (a very Chinese name) or at least that's the name of the woman who ignored me every day while I sat in the support chat room of their website from 9 to 5 waiting for an unsuspecting staff member to come online.

If this serves no other purpose it has at least shown the real quality of these units. On another note I know an FD that works with a couple of companies in Hong Kong and the level of protection that UK buyers don't have is scary.

Buyer beware!!!
 
I dont think its as simple as saying everything from China is cheap junk. After all, you'd be amazed at how many far higher quality products are made there. Xbox 360 anyone?

What it does say is do your homework and don't buy direct from the manufacturer..
 
[TW]Fox;20798663 said:
I dont think its as simple as saying everything from China is cheap junk. After all, you'd be amazed at how many far higher quality products are made there. Xbox 360 anyone?

What it does say is do your homework and don't buy direct from the manufacturer..
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Bang on advise Fox. I bought from eBay but hunted down the manufacturer for a replacement as the guy wasn't interested, this was also tricky as there is no sign of who makes it anywhere on the unit.

I guess its like anything else if its £300 cheaper than any other unit with similar functionality you need to be asking yourself why.
 
This is why I never buy from China, and rarely buy from outside the UK. When it works it's all good fun, but when it breaks your ****ed.
 
To be fair I knew the risks when I went into this and It was more for fun and something to do more than anything else, it's not like I am driving the car all that much at the moment and I can return it all to stock quickly because of having two dash sections. All in all it could be far worse than a few weeks without a head unit.

Now to fit this one back in and see what it does. It has a few improvements like a 15a fuse on the back of the unit and an improved wiring loom so who knows. Anybody want to put a time on how long before the new one goes pop? I give this one two months.
 
VinceB1 said:
haha I could do... But I think that I will give it the benifit of the doubt and put it in... If it last two weeks again I will set it on fire put it in the box and pay my hard earned to ship it back to china with a nice letter in there.

Normally I wouldn't have bothered but 2 weeks on a £220 item is a bit much so it became a matter of principle.
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Sending them letters etc will do sod all - they're not under the jurisdiction of UK law and thus can't really say much to make them change their ways.

Buy UK, there are loads of people importing Chinese tat and you can return it that way.

I have 300 WiFi cards in my outhouse for this exact reason - I sell them on and if anyone has an issue, it's next day replacement rather than hours wasted on the phone and then 2 weeks for delivery.

I even dropped a replacement item off in person last week - you just can't have that level of service with someone in another country thousands of miles away.
 
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