SteveZ33

AVIC-N2 installed today.Couple questions.

Installed today and I am so far very happy with it's features and operation. But I have a couple questions for those of you with experience. First,immediately after install and power up, my "check engine" (or "service engine" whatever)light came on and stayed on. The installer said that because he had harnesses and connections unpluged that the system cycled through and sensed a problem due to the disconnections. He said that after a number of cold start ups the system should reset itself and the light would go off. Does this sound true? Could it be a coincidence that it's on due to the tank of regular fuel I got the night before last by mistake?

Second, on the way home I turned on my climate control. I noticed a whining type turbo spooling up sound during acceleration. The higher the revs, the higher the pitch. It sounds like the sound people describe when their spark plug wires are not correctly insulated and a whining sound is heard (in the background)through the radio. This now only occurs when the climate control in turned on. Is this a common problem with the AVIC-N2 install? Is there something the installer should have done to avoid this annoyance? Other then that, it works great. I just hope you guys can advise me on these 2 questions. Sorry for the long post. But I wanted to give as much detail as possible.

zman1910

iTrader: (3)

First, congrats on your new unit.
Secondly, I cant really answer your questions but a good buddy of mine has this unit and hasnt had any problems at all.
If you dont mind me asking where did you get it installed? Sounds like they messed up something.....you shouldnt have the CEL light at all, no matter what those people say. Its most likely an excuse to cover up, so dont buy into it....they obviously messed up something.
Also regular fuel rarely makes a difference..

Paul350Z

iTrader: (1)

Your noise is coming from the speakers?

If so that would be "alternator whine" which can be cured with a simple choke coil put in line with the power lead of the unit - they run $8 to about $20 or so. The mid-sized ones would probably work on the AVIC N2 as it only draws 10 Amps of current. Yes, this is something the installer should have checked on before sealing your unit into the dash. You'll spend more on the labor to open the thing back up then to install the choke. Spark plugs sound like a popping noise "pop-pop-pop" where the alternator noise is a whirl - a high pitch noise that follows the speed of the engine.

SteveZ33

Yes, thats excatly what it sounds like. Funny though, it only happens when the climate control is on.

mario60185

could be bad grounds too right>?

Paul350Z

iTrader: (1)

Could be but rare. A bad ground on the head end causes all kinds of problems.

I use to ground the hoods and fenders of difficult cars with noisy ignitions/alternators. The choke kit normally gets it done. There is a capicitor kit that can be added to the alternator itself but newer high quality cars (like ours!) come with them pre-installed.

Kwame

iTrader: (78)

The answer to your first question is, that the installer is telling you the truth, the same thing happened me when my system was being installed and they had the entire center dash apart and the climate control harness was not connected. They happenned to cycle the engine (meaning they turned it to the on position with out actually cranking it up). I had the CEL light on for a couple of days and it went away and never came back. It happens to most new cars under the same circumstances, it happened in our 745i only thing is the only way to turn off the CEL light is to go back to the dealer and have them reset the ECU,which cost my installer $200 out of his own pocket (we should count our blessing that we don't have to go through all of that).

The answer to your second question is, that you have alternator whine which has been already said. I have the same thing, however i only notice it, when i have my music cranked up and i happen to mute it in order to persay make a phone call. I forgot the soultion to the problem, but my installer said they could take care of it, I forgot how though.

Congrats on the new haedunit and take care, I hope I helped alleviate some of your fears

SteveZ33

Thanks to all! I appreciate the help. I will call the installer tomorrow and complain about "alternator whine." And hopefuly my CEL light will go off in a few days. Good to hear form those with experience.

SteveZ33

Update: "alternator whine" has been eliminated. YAY! All is right in the world for now

mario60185

nice!

Paul350Z

iTrader: (1)

Now hurry up and posts some pictures! Day time and night time ones please please PLEASE!

I'm so close to pulling the trigger on an AVIC ... just got the tax refund back and next weekend is a long weekend for me - perfect for tearing into the project but I'm tossed between the Pioneer and the Kenwood DDX7015.

JimRHIT

iTrader: (6)

Is this Choke coil just an cap + inductor? ...

Apexi350z

iTrader: (3)

been waiting for AVIC-N2, please post some pics.. thanks! Oh, a review would be great!

SteveZ33

Just hang in there. I'm working on the picture part of it, give me a day or two.
As far as a review? Well, I never had a NAV system before. So I have nothing to compare it to. But I can say that it is amazing to me on how much you can do with this unit. Way more funtions and options then the factory system for about the same money. Last Saturday I almost traded my 350 in for one with factory NAV. I didn't get the deal I wanted and drove directly to the place in my area who sells and installs AVIC-N2's. Lets just say I'm so happy I didn't trade my car in. I'm much happier with this purchase. Many will say that other brands are better. Some for audio, some for NAV. All I know is for me I now have more then I'll ever need as far as AVIC-N2 goes. Just my opinion. And I'm far from an expert or audio freak. Hey, I was happy with the stock BOSE as far as audio is concerned. I'm very, very HAPPY. Probably one of the coolest things that I have ever bought. So that's my review for what it's worth. YAY!

got turbo?

iTrader: (1)

Nice, can't wait for pics. I'm thinking about getting AVIC-N2 with XM nav traffic, and TV tuner, by any chance you have one of those, if so can you give me your opinion.

Thanks.

Apexi350z

iTrader: (3)

Steve, can you check on something for me? Can you seek/scan mp3 songs? Like fast forward mp3? (not regular music cd).

I have mp3 that are one file (100mb) and can't skip to next track. The seek function is very important for me..

thanks.

MrGraphics

How did you solve the alternator whine? I've got it only when the AC comes on too.

SteveZ33

I mentioned to the installer about the advice I got here on this forum which was a "choke coil put in line with the power lead of the unit." He said that he would take a look at it and took the car into the shop. When he was done he pulled the car out front and said that he seemed to have fixed the problem. I said thanks alot and went on my way forgetting to actually ask him what he did. I guess I was so excited that it was fixed I forgot to ask sorry. I would try the same if I were you.

SteveZ33

I tried an MP3 CD just now and was able to skip ahead to the next track with no problem.

SteveZ33

Sorry about not yet having pictures. I have them on my camera but can't get them onto my PC. Some sort of software problem that I haven't been able to figure out since Sunday. Don't have the TV tuner, probably won't get it. I'm going back sometime in the next couple months to have the back-up camera and the unit for the XM nav traffic installed. I'll let you know how that turns out later.