Losing Memory sometimes on Alpine unit

Hey, I've recently installed an Alpine 9847 unit and it loses it's memory settings about once a week when i start my car. So i thought it was the unit and got it exchanged for another unit. And today after a week it has lost the memory again. I have checked all the connections (especially the 12v contstant) and they are all fine. I even wiggled the harness around with a meter measuring the 12v constant wire to make sure it isn't loose or anything and it never loses the power reading. All the extra wires are all taped up at the ends so nothing can get shorted out. And all the harness connections are soldered and shrink wrapped so theres no way any wire can be loose. So now i have no idea what it could be. Anyone ever encountered a problem like this before?

well it sounds like your 12 volt constant wire is losing power at some point try running a 12 volt constant fronm your steering column, see if this works.

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probably becasuse alpine just isn't as sweet as eclipse.

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Well, i have connected the 12v wire to another source last weekend. Its been 4 days now and this morning my deck had lost all its radio station memory (better than losing all memory like before), but all the other settings have stayed such as the color of the buttons, sub options, bass/treble levels, etc. Any idea whats going on? Could something be happening when the car is starting? I'm thinking of putting a capacitor on, will that help?

not at all.

Run a 10-16 gauge fused wire straight from the battery to the alpine HU...that'll help your SQ some too...

-Drew

It is currently running right from the battery right now which is why i'm confused as to it dropping memory. My dad has talked to someone at work that had the same problem and it seems he got it fixed reversing the yellow and red wires. Maybe it has something to do with our cars, He has an eagle talon and i have a mitsubishi lancer.. hope reversing the wires work.

Well, i tried reversing the wires and memory doesn't hold at all. Now the whole unit is taken out and connected to an extra car battery in the house.

I have hooked up the red, yellow, and ground wires with a switch to the red wire to simulate turning on the car. Also i have tested taking out the yellow wire for 20 seconds and the memory still stays. It seems to lose memory some time between 20-30 seconds disconnecting the yellow wire.

I don't think theres any way my car battery would be losing power to the yellow wire for more than 20 seconds because it is connected directly to the battery now and because its a brand new car bought last year.

I will be turning on the unit at least twice a day to simulate going to work and back. If the memory isn't lost within a week i will have no idea what it is and any help from you guys would be great.

Also, when i exchanged the deck, the guy gave me a new deck but i kept the same head unit. Is it possible the head unit is defective?

Everything was fine on the spare battery, turned it on and off taking the faceplate on and off about 50-60 times total in 4 days and the memory was fine.

I installed the deck back in my car 2 days ago and decided to put the faceplate on and turning the keys to accessory before starting the car every day to see if everything was fine.

Today after work i put the plate on and put the keys to accessory and all the memory was gone. So its not the car starting thats killing the memory. Anyone have any ideas at this point?

Another note, the stock deck that came with my car never loses memory..

So just to recap:
1) The unit was exchanged for a brand new one but the same faceplate was kept (don't think i'll be able to exchange the faceplate because small stores will just say i wired it wrong and theres nothing wrong with the deck)
2) Yellow wire is connected directly to the battery.
3) Memory is fine for 2-5 days.
4) Memory will die before starting the car at any given time between 2-5 days (sometimes before i go to work in the morning, and sometimes after work).
5) Car was bought brand new 1 year ago and stock deck never loses memory.

What are my options now?

i had the same problem myself.  when i finally had enough time to address the problem, it had stopped losing memory.  i feel for ya.

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I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it. - Jack Handy

i had the same problem with my alpine.  when i finally had enough time to address the problem, it had stopped losing memory.  i feel for ya.

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I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it. - Jack Handy

sorry about the double post. it's from my god damn computer!!!

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I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it. - Jack Handy