Metra CHTO-01 Problems - Need Additional Advise

[PlumCrazy1091]

I've got a problem with what I believe to be with the Metra unit and have had this email dialogue with Metra. While they have responded very timely, I have no solution for my problem. Does anyone else have any advise?

I installed this unit several weeks ago and am having two problems that I suspect are originating within the unit. The stereo unit has been replaced with the exact problems continuing.

The first is an intermittent jumping up and down of the volume. It got better for a while when I changed the setting on the volume control but has come back and is getting worse.

The second problem I am having is with fading and balance. When I change the fader and balance setting all the way to the back right the sound progressively moves normally toward that speaker until the final position, at which point it jumps to the right front speaker rather than being limited to the right rear speaker like it should.

I called last week and was told to disconnect the battery for a half hour or so and then cycle the key. This addressed a third problem that I was having with the amp not turning on, but did nothing for these two problems.

Any idea what the problem is and how to address it?

Bob

What is the year, make, and model of the vehicle? Is the system factory amplified. Also what kind of radio did you install in here.

2007 Dodge Charger with the 276 watt amp. Pioneer AVIC D3.

On the CHTO-01 there is a number starting wit 07.... Can you give that to me please?

There is a number beginning with 08; 0802191A12.

What I want you to do is reinstall your factory radio in the car. Make sure your fade and balance is in the center. Turn on your factory radio and adjust your radio to your desired listening level. After that turn off you radio. Then disconnect you negative battery terminal for ten minutes. After the ten minutes reinstall your aftermarket radio. Make sure that the RCA's are going to the correct plug. Green - left rear, Purple - right rear, White - left front, Gray - right front. Give that a try and let me know if that works.

I can check the connections but the radio is in Texas and I’m in Georgia. I already sold it over eBay

Does your vehicle have the factory sub woofer?

No.

Since you do not have the factory radio anymore to do any test, then only thing I can suggest is to bypass the factory amplified system using the 70-6504. Which will probably sound better then the factory system.


Green - Rear White
Purple - Rear Red
White - Front White
Gray - Front Red

I don't know how to tell whether the red or white is left or right other than the balance works fine.

What testing would you do with the stock unit? The balance and fade worked properly with the stock unit.

The system in this car is a data system. The reason I would like you to do the test with the factory radio is so we can make sure 100% that everything is working properly and also try to reset and data that the vehicle might be retaining. As for how you have the RCA's plugged in, that is correct.

So what are the options without the radio?

The only option at this point is to bypass the factory amplified system using the 70-6504.

I couldn't overnight the unit to you and have it bench tested?

You can send it to us for bench testing but that will only verify the function of the CHTO-01. If that all checks out okay then we are back to the same situation, needing the factory radio.

I understand. But it seems to be the only option I have and it confirms where the problem is.

Do I need a RMA and should I send it to your attention?

The length of time to check the CHTO-01 will be unknown. The reason being is that we would need that vehicle to make sure the data system is operating properly. You can send it but I want to be up front with you on the length of time it might take. I asked before what type of amplified system you have and I was actually referring to the brand name. Do you know which one it is?

Boston Acoustics

Unless someone has some additional ideas I appear to be at the point where I'm going to have to buy another CHTO-01 and see if that fixes the problem. It doesn't seem like Metra wants to bench test the existing unit and I'm definitely not going to bypass the amp.

The problem sounds remakably similiar somenthing Metra diagnosed as a bad volume knob for HimMe

[Samoan Tsunami]

sucks that you gotta go through all this. from all the jazz its seeming that the easier solution might be to just hard wire....granted i REALLY dont want to go that route....at least yet... for some reason i could forsee the stock amp and something being pissed that i bypassed it. g'luck with it either way you go. still watching myself so i can figure out any fixes from your learning.

[PlumCrazy1091]

Thanks. I don't want to hard wire either.

[PlumCrazy1091]

A follow-up email received from Metra this morning.

I talked to the engineers this morning on your problem. Sending the CHTO-01 will not help determine where the problem is coming from. The problem is the data communication between the vehicle and the CHTO-01. Without having both your vehicle and the CHTO-01 here, we will not be able to isolate or repair the problem. At this point, your only option is to bypass the factory amplified system using the 70-6504.

Nobody has any thoughts or suggestions?

[sinistersix]

Thats just the chitty thing about car stereo sometimes, is its so difficult to actually diagnose problems, especially when you arent there to check it out yourself. Get an aftermarket amp and some new speakers, re wire that puppy, it will sound 10 times better and you will have no more head ache. Are you having a problem with the Nav jumping around too? I know that piece gives you VSS so if that isnt a problem it may not be that piece at all. I would make sure the gains on the piece arent jacked all the way up too. hope this helps

[PlumCrazy1091]

The VSS works fine. The gain is not turned up all the way. Before replacing the stock amp and speakers I will probably replace the piece and see if that makes the problem go away.

[sinistersix]

thats wierd. Ive put in a bunch of those things and never had anything like that happen. Swap out the piece and let us know if that fixes it

[Samoan Tsunami]

A follow-up email received from Metra this morning.



Nobody has any thoughts or suggestions?


main thought....

find someone who is local and selling or taking out a stock radio and go from there. not saying you have to buy it, but then and again, you may be able to borrow it if they arent uptight.

that way you can possibly run their "diagnostic"...



or you can ask if they know any "respectable legit" installers that can do whatever they planned to do with your car if you were able to visit their onsite location...

just see if that can be done locally.

i know it may cost to go to some local installer, but if you already planned aside to buy another piece....

[PlumCrazy1091]

thats wierd. Ive put in a bunch of those things and never had anything like that happen. Swap out the piece and let us know if that fixes it

That's kind of where I was going with the bench test. They certainly can check their unit to see if it is operating correctly but didn't seem to want to be bothered. They kind of suggested that if i send it to them, that they would have it a long time. How long can I go with the dash open?

main thought....

find someone who is local and selling or taking out a stock radio and go from there. not saying you have to buy it, but then and again, you may be able to borrow it if they arent uptight.

that way you can possibly run their "diagnostic"...

or you can ask if they know any "respectable legit" installers that can do whatever they planned to do with your car if you were able to visit their onsite location...

just see if that can be done locally.

i know it may cost to go to some local installer, but if you already planned aside to buy another piece....

Those are possibilities as well. I've got to take a look around at the shops. The places that sell in bulk, i.e., CC and BB, don't appear to have the talent to diagnose or the parts (They tell me to order it from Crutchfield and bring it in). The custom shops are few and far between in Northside Atlanta but there is one that I may go talk to this weekend.

[sinistersix]

Where did you get the piece? You could buy a 2nd one from best buy or something and then return the original with your new reciept and get your money back. Kinda sucks to do it that way but it beats letting metra warranty it which may take 3-4 weeks and you taking out your radio 15 times

[PlumCrazy1091]

Where did you get the piece? You could buy a 2nd one from best buy or something and then return the original with your new reciept and get your money back. Kinda sucks to do it that way but it beats letting metra warranty it which may take 3-4 weeks and you taking out your radio 15 times

Evil minds think a like. I really don't understand why they are handling it like this at all. If it were my business I would just replace the unit. Particularly since they are not the only game in town.

While it sells for $90 - 100 it can't cost anything to make and a happy customer complains to others a lot less than an unhappy one.
I have only been able to find the unit in stock in one place locally for retail so I'm still looking.

[PlumCrazy1091]

And now it started needing to be reinitialized again.

[Samoan Tsunami]

That's kind of where I was going with the bench test. They certainly can check their unit to see if it is operating correctly but didn't seem to want to be bothered. They kind of suggested that if i send it to them, that they would have it a long time. How long can I go with the dash open?



Those are possibilities as well. I've got to take a look around at the shops. The places that sell in bulk, i.e., CC and BB, don't appear to have the talent to diagnose or the parts (They tell me to order it from Crutchfield and bring it in). The custom shops are few and far between in Northside Atlanta but there is one that I may go talk to this weekend.

any chance you have something down there called "Tweeter"???

[PlumCrazy1091]

Hi-Fi Buys is a Tweeter company. They have one store open over near my office. They used to have a big presence, and I was a big customer, so I'll go check them out at lunch tomorrow.

[sLOWDOHC]

That sucks youre having so many problems.

If you were closer, I could get your piece swapped out.

[PlumCrazy1091]

Thanks for the support.

[PlumCrazy1091]

Looks like Metra feels that they have done all that they can for me. They seem awful anxious for me to simply bypass the stock system.

I now have the problem of not powering up the factory amp re-appearing. When I got in the car this afternoon, the AVIC D3 started up with no sound in any mode. I turned the key off, opened the door to turn off the power and cycled the key twice. I then had sound.

This was the same problem I had last week. When I called, I was told to disconnect the battery for half an hour or more, which I did. The problem went away for six days.

How do we address this?

Like I stated in my last email, the problem may lay in the the data communication between your vehicle and the CHTO-01. I do not have a fix for you since we do not have your vehicle and your CHTO-01 here. The only option at this point you have is to bypass the factory amplified system using the 70-6504, and in my opinion since you do not have the factory sub woofer option, bypassing the amplified system will sound much better.

Do you have an authorized facility in the North Atlanta area that I could take the car to?

We are based in the Daytona beach area in Florida. We do not have any other R&D facilities. Also our engineers are only here four times a year.

I still high recommend bypassing the factory amplified system.

[sLOWDOHC]

thats lame.

[PlumCrazy1091]

I agree.

At least it's entertaining. The car is kind of like a video arcade. A little quiz on whether or not your going to get sound. When you do, the music vloume goes up and down, changes speakers, etc. I just need to add some lights.

I'm going to have to get my hands on another unit. I have one or two options for this here in town, but if that doesn't pan out I'll order it over the Internet, most likely Crutchfields.

[sLOWDOHC]

I dont know how long youre willing to wait; but if you ship it to me, I will swap it out; and send it back. All for just postage.

If not use Metra part # 70-6504 to bypass the amp. :knockout: :lol:

[PlumCrazy1091]

I dont know how long youre willing to wait; but if you ship it to me, I will swap it out; and send it back. All for just postage.

If not use Metra part # 70-6504 to bypass the amp. :knockout: :lol:

I'm not bypassing the amp. I don't see the benefit based on what I have read.

I really appreciate the offer. PM me your address and I'll overnight it to you tomorrow. Send me the postage amount and I'll send it to you in any fashion you want as soon as I get the info. Or I can include a check in the overnight package for what it cost me to get it to you.

God I love this place. Everyybody give a sLOWDOHC hand. :clap:

[sLOWDOHC]

I'm not bypassing the amp. I don't see the benefit based on what I have read.


It was a joke. I was just re-iterating what they told you 15 times. :lol:

I will send a PM now.

[PlumCrazy1091]

It was a joke. I was just re-iterating what they told you 15 times. :lol:

I've been a little slow the last couple of days.:dead:

[sLOWDOHC]

got one comming today. :)

[HimMe]

Plum, I had the exact same problem with my Chto. What I found out was some of the Chto models were not updated with the new firmware. Open it up and if the numbers printed on the inside end in the #1 then you have an older model. I was told metra would update them free but i just bought a new one and swapped out the control box piece. Mine works fine now.

[PlumCrazy1091]

got one comming today. :)

Can't tell you how much I appreciate your help. I overnighted the old one to you at lunch and you should have it tomorrow. I'll PM the tracking number.

Plum, I had the exact same problem with my Chto. What I found out was some of the Chto models were not updated with the new firmware. Open it up and if the numbers printed on the inside end in the #1 then you have an older model. I was told metra would update them free but i just bought a new one and swapped out the control box piece. Mine works fine now.

Two sets of numbers; 257191 Rev A and 0802191A12. Which are you referring to? Hopefully this issue will go away with sLOWDOHC's help.

[BlkOnBlkSXT]

I have the same problem with not having sound when starting the car sometimes; cut off the car, open door, and restart and it works. I will try to get Crutchfield to warranty it.

As far as the speakers cutting from front to rear (that appears what you were describing) that may have to do with how your headunit settings are. Mine does that when I do not have it set the right way as far as how it controls the subwoofer and speakers, internally or externally.



*** Edit ****

I emailed Crutchfield and shortly after received a reply that they would send me a new one before I send the old one out. I guess there is a reason why I bought from them to begin with, they have great customer service and I am glad I did not have to deal with Metra like the OP. Hope everything works out for you.

[PlumCrazy1091]

Thanks for the info.

I would have bought from Crutchfields but they were out with no ETA for when they would be in. Thanks God sLOWDOHC is siaving my bacon.

[PlumCrazy1091]

Got the exchange from sLOWDHC today and put it in. Everything appears to be working perfectly. The fade/balance problem is definitely gone.

[Samoan Tsunami]

Got the exchange from sLOWDHC today and put it in. Everything appears to be working perfectly. The fade/balance problem is definitely gone.

been watching this thread big time....

well def post back in a few days and see if all stays well. hopefully its just a "batch" issue.

thanx for the updates!

[PlumCrazy1091]

I've had a chance to play with it a little more this morning going to work. The fader capability of the unit, in my opinion, is over rated. Conceivably this could be an issue with the car in general; Metra has indicated that the car retains some settings after you take the stock unit out or possibly the crossover's in the speakers. I don't know how the car could retain the settings when the battery was disconnected for 10 - 12 hours but that's their story.

Even with the new unit there is some blooming of the speakers. When you start out with the fader equally faded between the front and back, the sound is predominately coming out the front speakers. There is no blooming. As you fade to the back, everything remains fine until you get to a setting of 4, at which point you will hear occasional blooming of the rear speakers.

When the speakers are balanced between front and back, a 6 or 7, you can hear some blooming both ways.

As you get to about an 8 or 9 with the rear speakers now dominate, the blooming then switches to the front. Once you get to a 10, the blooming seems to go away though I ran out of time to play with it further.

If this is indicative of the unit, I would definitely go with the PAC unit. I purchased the Metra unit specifically for the fading capability. My experience tells me to fade the speakers until the sound is equally balanced between the front and back. In my experience you can't reach this equilibrium with the Metra unit without blooming.

The PAC unit does not have fading capability but does have the hookups for the steering wheel controls, where the Metra unit requires you to tie into the car wiring system, which makes the total setup slightly easier. If I'm not going to get the extra functionality, I would go with easier.

[Samoan Tsunami]

I've had a chance to play with it a little more this morning going to work. The fader capability of the unit, in my opinion, is over rated. Conceivably this could be an issue with the car in general; Metra has indicated that the car retains some settings after you take the stock unit out or possibly the crossover's in the speakers. I don't know how the car could retain the settings when the battery was disconnected for 10 - 12 hours but that's their story.

Even with the new unit there is some blooming of the speakers. When you start out with the fader equally faded between the front and back, the sound is predominately coming out the front speakers. There is no blooming. As you fade to the back, everything remains fine until you get to a setting of 4, at which point you will hear occasional blooming of the rear speakers.

When the speakers are balanced between front and back, a 6 or 7, you can hear some blooming both ways.

As you get to about an 8 or 9 with the rear speakers now dominate, the blooming then switches to the front. Once you get to a 10, the blooming seems to go away though I ran out of time to play with it further.

If this is indicative of the unit, I would definitely go with the PAC unit. I purchased the Metra unit specifically for the fading capability. My experience tells me to fade the speakers until the sound is equally balanced between the front and back. In my experience you can't reach this equilibrium with the Metra unit without blooming.

The PAC unit does not have fading capability but does have the hookups for the steering wheel controls, where the Metra unit requires you to tie into the car wiring system, which makes the total setup slightly easier. If I'm not going to get the extra functionality, I would go with easier.


think i may have to go that route then... thanx for the heads up. i owe you some beers or something, brah!:clap:


one question though, what do you mean by "blooming".... i'm relatively rookie when it comes to audio terms.

[sLOWDOHC]

Got the exchange from sLOWDHC today and put it in. Everything appears to be working perfectly. The fade/balance problem is definitely gone.

:clap:

edit:

err...well; sucks for the fading. :(

[PlumCrazy1091]

think i may have to go that route then... thanx for the heads up. i owe you some beers or something, brah!:clap:


one question though, what do you mean by "blooming".... i'm relatively rookie when it comes to audio terms.

Beers = Good. Particularly when working on cars.

By blooming I mean an increase in loudness.

[PlumCrazy1091]

Lasted a week. Yesterday I had to reboot the system to get sound.

Today, the system starts up for five or so seconds with sound and then turns off before the screen can came up. It won't come on with the knob on the HU. Did the reboot and the same thing happens.

I guess it could be the HU but the Metra unit has been so problematic that its hard to suspect anything else.

I'm going to order the PAC unit today and chalk it up to an expensive lesson.