My head unit keeps breaking... Help

[Agent WD-40]

My problem is that the 6 disk changer on my head unit has broken for the second time. It seems to jam and won’t spit the disks out of the changer.

The truck is about 2 yeas old. The first head unit lasted up until about 3 weeks ago, and then the CD changer in it broke. I got it replaced at the dealer. The replacement head unit lasted for about a week before the CD changer in it broke.

I added the second amp with the sub and equalizer around 3 months ago. At that time I added a relay, which is triggered by the factory amp turn on wire, to drive my 2 amps and equalizer. After that I would sometimes turn the head unit off and it would turn itself back on. Everything worked fine for about 3 months and then the CD changer in it broke. My replacement one did that today just before the CD changer broke. Is my relay killing my CD changer? I can't see how it would. Any help would be great! Thanks.

BTW, The factory amp turn on wire stays around 11.3V with no load on it. When it is driving the relay it drops to around 10.5V or so. This factory amp turn on wire is also still connected to the external factory amp. Some how I think this is connected to the relay issue. Today I removed the relay and the factory amp turn on lead seems to turn on my amps and equalizer without as big a drop in voltage.

[JnEsPappa]

Hmm, I don't know how the relay would affect the cd mechanism. I have read 4 or 5 posts on jammed OEM cd changers, so it's probably just bad luck, IMO.

[Gilley]

Stop putting your pizza in the slot.

Seriously, I agree with jnespappa. I don't see how the relay would break the changer mechanism. Just weird luck I guess. The new one should still be under warranty, so take it back.

[Agent WD-40]

Yeah, I'm thinking I just have bad luck. I don't see how a relay can mess up the CD player either. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing anything. My little theroy was that some how the relay causes a voltage spike that went straight and killed the CD player. It is under warranty so I will take it back in. It is just a pain. Oh well. I'm thinking of getting a new head unit after the dealer replaces mine. How much would my factory 6 disk be worth if I sold it?

I was out testing my relay with a DMM and I found that the relay presents a larger load to the head unit than the turn on circuits for the 2 amps and my EQ do (the voltage drop on the head unit turn on wire with the relay than it was when the trun on wire was connected driectly to my accesories). So I'm not using the relay any more.

[JnEsPappa]

I sold my HU and amp (without the 6 disc changer) here on TS for $125 or so.

[Agent WD-40]

Well I took out the head unit last night. I looked at it and thought, "This doesn't look new". Well it wasn't. It looked like it had been refurbished. It had some extra stickers on it and a bunch of markings on it, like "OK" with a date next to it.

Is this typically how Toyota handles broken CD players? Send out the broken ones, get them fixed, and put them back in vehicles? Or is my dealer just screwing me?

Well none the less I'm tired of dealing with this. I don't really want to wait until I can take it in to the dealer personally to talk to the people about it. So I'm just going to get a new head unit. Even if I got a brand new one I don't really want to mess with it in another 2 years if it breaks.

By then I would be out of warranty anyhow and I would probably just buy an aftermarket one anyhow. By the way, the inside of the 6 disk changer is impressive. It is pretty cool how they pack 6 disks in there. It is certainly not a very robust design though. Everything looks pretty cheap and fragile. Probably why mine broke.

[Gilley]

Lon had a nice Alpine HU for sale in the classifieds at a good price.