2005 F-150 King Ranch with Audiophile. No other modifications.

Installed my PIE about 2 weeks ago. Very easy install. I'm running a fairly long RCA cable that terminates into a stereo (headphone) jack. This jack plugs directly into my iPOD Nano.

For the first week, everything worked great.

Then, without warning, the music only played out my right (passenger side) speakers. By fiddling with the plug, I only made it worse -- music was replaced by static, then by nothing. Stopping and restarting returned the music to the right side, but no stereo sound.

The iPOD is fine and plays great.

Not sure what's going on here. I have not had a chance to rip apart my dash again and thought maybe someone here had a similar problem.

Thanks.

 

Very little that you'll be able to nurse back to health on this one from my perspective...

First, obviously, maybe it's a loose connection.

Secondly, maybe the PIE is broken (if so, check the classifieds).

Best of luck.

 

Well, misery loves company; I do have a similar problem.

I occasionally lose part of the signal to the driver’s side speaker. Mostly bass, but maybe the mid range. It is kind of hard to tell. I was thinking it was somewhere in the wiring from the radio to the speaker because I can usually get the full spectrum of sound back when I gently press the face of the radio or slap the top of the dashboard.

Then I decided to switch between the radio and the AUX the last time I had the problem. There is no problem with the Radio or CD, just the PIE, as I toggle between the inputs. So now I am under the assumption that the connection between the head unit and the PIE input is loose or faulty. I have not opened up the dash yet to confirm my suspicions.

I am going to try and wait for a warmer day before I investigate any further. If you discover anything in the mean time, please post.

 

Will do. And, yes, temperature has limited my investigation. I thought the damn face plate was going to snap in half when taking it off the first time, and that was in 60 F weather. When it's only 30 F, I'm concerned about breaking something.

Also, I can switch back and forth between PIE and the other sources (CD, radio) and it's only the PIE that has the missing driver's side audio. I can alternate between "PIE" and "CRYSTAL" settings without any effect.

When I crack into the dash, I'll post my findings.

 

Sometimes my right side gets fuzzy, weird thing is it's usually below freezing and turning left. I've checked my connections, all good. Doesn't happen on radio or CD. I'm wondering since the PIEs are relatively new if there's not some type of issue with the early builds. My issue isn't worthy of seeking a replacement yet since the warranty is up.

 

Paper in the box says 90 days from purchase date.

 

My PIE adapter has the same problem: static on left channel - right channel sounds great. It gave me this problem right out of the box - I just got it and installed it today!

I called PIE's tech service today about the problem. They do not admit to having any known issues with these units, but he told me mine is def a defect (under warranty of course).

Seems to me there is a definite design flaw with these new units. Perhaps not enough R&D time before they rushed this hot product to the market.

 

Then again though... there's oodles of us out here that are using them with ZERO problems too... The folks that have them and are able to utilize them with no problems need to be heard here too...

Maybe it's inferior craftsmanship?

My PIE unit is coming out of my truck this weekend though (along with my XM MyFi and a couple of other audio related goodies)... we'll just say there's a system upgrade on the horizon!

 

I searced through the LogJamElectronics forums. There seem some defective units that loose the left channel. I filled out their RMA form and received a return authorization number today. I will be pulling the PIE out this weekend and sending it in for a replacement. So, I would suggest contacting the merchant you purchased your PIE from to get it replaced under warranty.

Good Luck!

 

I'm guessing that it's a quality issue. Probably designed the boards in house with proper engineers. Now, they've most likely outsourced the PCBAs to a discount house and probably are getting sloppy product. Maybe crossed a line or the soldering isn't as good as it needs to be. Just guessing.

We call is Design for Six Sigma -- the process of engineering a product so that it's easy to manufacture and avoid quality problems. It's easy for engineers to forget that eventually, it won't be engineers assembling the product!

BTW, I have sent an email to my vendor, Discount Car Stereo for instruction on warranty return/repair. I'll post back to let you know how it goes.

 

Discount Car Stereo responed to my email in about 15 minutes with detailed instructions on how to return the unit. That was on Dec 15, but I just sent it in today. Will post on how it turns out, but so far it's been about the best customer service I've had.

BTW, all of my connections were good. I rattled, poked, and shook all connections to no avail. Eventually, I got full stereo sound, but with serious static. The Nano worked fine and the cable (RCA plug to stereo jack converter) worked fine in my home stereo. It seems that the problem is either in the PIE or in the head unit.

 

Made in China

 

I ordered mine from Logjam back in their initial order in September. My unit is doing the exact same thing as of 12/30/05. I have sent in a RMA form for them to consider. I am willing to bet that they will replace it. Their website states that they warranty items for one year, regardless of the Manufacturer's Warranty. I should hear back within a day or so.

I bet the first run had some issues in it. For those that one of the first 200 or so, more power to ya if you don't have any issues.

-Travis

 

Just an update to the post I put up above...turns out it's not my PIE but the cable leading into the ipod. Must be a small break in it somewhere, when I wiggle it it gets fuzzy. I have it routed through the ashtray so it's gonna be a pain to replace. Hopefully you guys with the cut out issues get it resolved with new working units.

 

I was thinking the exact opposite. I figured that the first run was built in-house by engineers and technicians. The stuff was rock-solid and they probably made a margin of around 15%

Then, the operations were either moved off-shore or at least the components were farmed out to high-volume houses. Either way, I'm guessing that the design has too tight a tolerance on a few specs that is causing a 2-4% defect rate.