In October I replaced my standard cassette deck with a Kenwood CD player, including the patch lead so that I could use the dash controls. However, the other day I used the mute whilst at McDonald's drive through(yes lazy, I know!!), and ever since, the light(on the mute button) wont go off and stereo seems to have mind of its own, jumping from stand-by to CD to radio etc! I pulled it out and checked all the wiring, everything looks ok. I even tried the old cassette deck back in but it still does the same! Any ideas?

 

check out modifry and their DCI (i think its called)

your aftermarket head unit no longer works with the aux control from honda near the engine start button.

 

Seems you have power back feeding through the head unit to the mute button. This can be due to install, such as combining power sources that should be separate.

 

But it still doesn't work with the original cassette deck? In fact the light is lite when there is no head unit attached! I read somewhere online that the circuit board containing the mute button etc is toast with the symtoms I have? As you are the undisputed guru of all things S2000, have you ever heard of damage to this board causing this problem?

 

Yup once you see the mute button on all the time the controls are toast, there was some kind of short circuit associated with the deck installation and it killed the controls. You have to replace the radio controls as the only way to fix the issue. I had that on my car from the previous owner who had the head unit replaced. I replaced the controls and added a Modifry DCI and it has been good since.

Search for a used radio control they come up from time to time, I've got a spare one stored away somewhere I think the face colour is black but I can't remember.

 

Thank you for your help. I believe there is a fix for the circuit board somewhere, have you ever heard about it?

 

Yes some guys have fixed the circuit board, I have read about it but I can't remember the exact process, it involves soldering in a new resistor I beleive, but I suck at soldering and I know nothing about circuit boards, I'd rather replace the controls as a simiple swap instead of messing with circuit boards. You can probably pick up a used radio control for $20 or so ?

 

To be honest, parts for the S2000 here in the UK seem to demand a premium, so I think it unlikely that I would get it for the equivalent of $20. I used to solder PCB's when I first left school, so I can still turn my hand to a bit of soldering fairly easily if I know which part to change. If you can remember anything that might help me find this information, it would be very gratefully appreciated.

The patch lead I used was this Ebay item:250922447177. There was no second attempt at the wiring, I was very careful to make sure it was installed exactly as the instruction said. And it worked fine, including the use of the mute button, since installed in October. Also, the reason we buy these patch leads is to ensure there is no need to cut the original wiring loom! So I find it hard to believe that there is something wrong with the installation and feel it more likely that there is something wrong with the patch lead itself?

 

I can't find the thread, but there is a resistor at the mute location on the circuit board, that gets blown and you need to replace the resistor, if you can get it removed you might be able to match it up at an electronics shop.

Here is a link to some of the mute button issue, note Modifry's comments, he is the man when it comes to this stuff. As I stated earlier the mute button is easily blown if it gets shorted for any length of time, and Modifry confirms this in his reply. Not sure about your patch leads but I only trust Modifry's DCI which you can get in a plug and play version based on your head unit.

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/262...1#entry4963067

 

That's great, thank you very much.

I took the board out last night, there were no visual signs of damage, and getting any information from the components on the board is almost impossible! So I've put it back now and just cut the mute wire(and insulated it) to the HU, obviously the mute doesn't work but it seems to have stopped it screwing with the rest of the controls.

I will have a go at contacting Modifry and see if he/she can help.

Thanks again.