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I'm not if someone here has any experience with car radios or if I can even ask diagnosis questions?

I have a dual din DVD player. It's an Absolute DD-3000ADT

Problem it's having is the display sometimes doesn't turn on when powering the unit up. The button LEDs however do and I get sound.

I'll have to keep turning it off and back on again for the display to come on and once it does it works fine as long as it doesn't turn off again.

EDIT:

I think it's something internal. It's almost like the power_on command isn't being sent every time or something because everything else works.

When the display is on it stays on and functions.

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  • Since the unit comes on and you get audio, the wiring to the car must be OK. To me it seems like an internal defect in the unit itself.
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Apr 18, 2016 at 20:28
  • Note on your comment: For an aftermarket head unit, there is no "power on command" sent from the car. There is a +12v wire that has battery voltage all the time and there is a switched +12v line that is on the whole time the key is turned on. It's not a momentary signal that can be missed - it's a constant 12v when the key is on.
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Apr 18, 2016 at 20:41
  • Ah but internally isn't there a power on command for the LCD? That's what I'm referring to
    – ohmmy
    Commented Apr 18, 2016 at 22:14
  • Yes, there would be some proprietary circuit inside the unit, but that's going to be beyond this sites area of expertise since we're really about the car side of things. If the unit didn't come on at all we could talk fuses or bad wiring, etc.
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Apr 18, 2016 at 23:10
  • @ohmmy its probably something inside of the unit... unless you have a degree in electronic engineering its probably not worth poking around in that.
    – James T
    Commented Apr 19, 2016 at 15:48

2 Answers 2

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You need to test with a Digital Multi Meter (DMM) because there is no way we can help you diagnose an issue.

I would:

  • Remove the dash and test at the harness (picture below of a headunit disconnected from a dash). Also, when the headunit is removed look for any burns or if the headunit has a blown fuse. If the back of the headunit has a burn mark it can indicate that you have a short or open wire.

enter image description here

  • Make sure it has a well rounded connection with no cuts, kinks, pinches. If you have any open wires it can effect the headunit coming on or short something out.

  • The aftermarket wire harness and your aftermarket vehicle harness does better if it's soldiered and not crimped connections. enter image description here If you have crimped connections I would go to radio shack and get head shrink tubing and redo the harness: enter image description here Example item on amazon for the extreme enthusiast.

  • Unplug the harness to the back of the head unit and test the voltage levels to make sure you don't have a short.

enter image description here

Wire harness colors per Crutchfield:

enter image description here

If all fails testing with a DMM then you might have to get a new head unit. Based on the Absolute Model brand it would appear the reviews indicate it to be not well made but for a price point around 140 usd for the Absolute DD-1000 7-Inch I don't think you could expect much.

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  • I think it's something internal. It's almost like the power_on command isn't being sent every time or something because everything else works. When the display is on it stays on and functions.
    – ohmmy
    Commented Apr 18, 2016 at 20:38
  • Well it's going to come down to is it worth going through and testing. I would atleast disassemble the dash to determine if there is a fault in wiring. If there isn't a fault in wiring then you know you have a bad unit. Since you have everything out you can redo your harness and swap in a functioning unit.
    – Hᴇʀʙɪᴇ
    Commented Apr 18, 2016 at 20:40
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Disregard, I just realized you meant an LCD screen for viewing video, not just a small display showing track/time. The comment below probably doesnt apply.

The comments and answers you've received so far are accurate, and it's probably an internal issue, however, some aftermarket decks have an input for dash lighting that controls the brightness of the display along with your dash lighting (dimmer when headlights are on, brighter when they're off). If your deck has this wire, and you didn't connect it to anything, it could impact the screen brightness unpredictably, especially in more modern decks, where it would be a logical input left floating.

The instructions should have told you what to do with it if your vehicle didn't have a matching signal. Usually, you would wire it high, to 12V.

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