A little story, for what it's worth. When I bought my '86 Vette new, I had a problem with the electronic climate control LED's flashing randomly. The dealership replaced the head unit under warranty. It worked fine until several months later when the new one started doing the same thing. Once again they replaced the head and everything worked. This happened 3 more times, for a total of 5 head units, over a period of about 2 years, and considerable cost to GM, all under warranty. Knowing full well there was no way I kept getting bad head units, I decided I would find the problem myself. I unplugged the connector, removed the terminals from the plastic connector body, took a pair of needle nose pliers, and crimped the terminals for a tighter connection with the mating terminals. Apparently every time they replaced the head unit, it made a new connection, and problem temporarily went away. This was 20 years ago, and to this day the problem has never come back.

 

That's my kinda story. . .
The battery cable connections probably benefit from the same procedure you talk about.
As mentioned I have pulled my head unit and unplugged and re-plugged every connectors on the back of the unit. None seemed loose, but i know of electrical connections going bad over time.
I will keep an eye on this and report back if it works or not
Thanks

 

I did the same thing.. Pulled the head unit and put it back in.. It worked for 2 days or so..

I'll have to try and look at the pins in the connector when I get back from the airport today.. I gotta go get my toy from the mechanic.

 

Update !
I have changed out the stock battery terminals and it has stopped my flickering navigation screen.
I noticed the smallest amount of corrosion on my battery terminals and cleaned them a with a wire brush, both the terminal and the battery post. I reused the stock terminal but found that I really couldn't get them very tight. The stock terminal also grabs the post in a rather thin way. So, like many of you out there, I have replaced the terminals with serious battery terminals.
The flickering is gone. I would like to believe that this was the problem.
Before, my screen would flicker every couple of seconds, even at start up when the truck was cold.
My dealer told me I was looking at a cost of about $1500.00 for replacing the head unit, if that were the problem
NOW can you see why I am so excited.
I should have listened to DocOlds three years ago, when he suggested to change the battery terminals for solving many electrical issues.

Tram- I sent you a PM about this fix

 

Happy to hear that!! I noticed a crazy corrosion on the battery terminal while I was installing K&N intake as well. I tried to clean it out as much as I could but I couldn't make it in perfectly clean condition. I may consider replacing the stock terminal then. Any specific brand you guys recommend?

 

the old fashioned ugly ones are best, made of lead or better yet,brass. but never cut the cable unless you can solder a heavy ring conn on immediatly,b4 the wires tarnish.
the ring conn can be attached to the old style with ONE of the 2 bolts in the clamp end.
I NEVER USE THE CLAMP ON BARE OPEN WIRES, they will corrode in a short time.

you can cut part of the existing conn and hammer it flat if necessary,drill o hole for the one bolt. u still have the factory crimp which is very good.

the "pretty",fancy ones with the hidden set screw are a failure waiting to happen if they clamp bare unsoldered wires. if they use an allen head screw,dont loose the wrench!!ha,ha!!

NEVER CLAMP BARE WIRES

 

I got the military style which is lead from my local NAPA parts store
My experience tells me that you need a terminal that grabs the whole post. That will give you the best conductivity.
As you have noticed the stock terminals grab only the base of the terminal, it looks about and 1/8" where as the new ones grab the entire length of the post.
Also, the stock terminals have vertical grooves in them that most likely allow corrosion to accumulate, my guess only.
I also used conductive grease on mine, in case corrosion likes my battery
Lastly, those plastic covers could also trap off gases, that again could contribute to corrosion buildup

You are smart to get yours changed out before you have the hassles that Tram and I have had.

 

i took another look at batt terminals,,,wow,its too easy. theres already a bolt thru the flat metal,(where u could drill a hole), u can simply sit a new conn on the bolt and add a nut.
u will want to snip off the xtra metal.
i may check a z brass tonite even tho i have no trbl,yet.
ill get pix soon

 

Well, I cleaned my connections with what I had available and it seems to have helped some. I need to get out and clean it again, get some new connectors and give it a shot.

 

wtfturner - is your head unit still working correctly?

Cleaning the terminals didn't help mine and it's still on the fritz. I've about had it and am about to buy a new unit but don't want to have issues with an aftermarket head unit.

It's really weird. If it's dark out, and I turn my lights off manually, the nav screen pops up bright as can be. If it's light out and I turn my lights on and then off manually, it does nothing.

Sometimes just turning the car off and then back on will fix it for a few seconds then BAM.. Gone again..

Driving. Me. Nuts.

Seriously looking at the Pioneer 930BT, it has a lot of features I can justify anyway, namely being able to play MP3's off a disc or sd card..