Head unit losing memory after a few days

[D-Day]

I'm not sure if this is a charging problem with the alternator or battery, but for some reason my head unit is losing its memory/channel presets after a couple days. There is plenty of power to crank my truck up; it's a heavy duty battery with a heavy duty alternator, and my truck has gone far longer without running and haven't had this problem before. It's just started acting up in the past couple weeks.

Could the head unit be going bad? Is a wire messed up somewhere? It's an older Kenwood, something like a 3022 or 4022.

[cowboy5683]

You prolly already know this but I am gonna cover it anyways..there are several important wires on the pwer side of a head unit..black for ground - make sure its clean and solid..red for ignition 12 volt - meaning only hot whikle ignition is on..yellow(I believe) for constant 12 volt- this is the one that keeps yer station presets and clock etc going..and finally a blue pre amp wire..should only be hooked up to an amp or power antennae- its job is to only to tell these items power is on go ahead and activate...I would check and make sure all wires are sourced right and connected properly(Voltmeter will help)..if so then I would say its yer head unit and may be time to upgrade..Hope it helps a little at least and that i haven't insulted yer intelligence.

[D-Day]

Well, I think I found the problem. After going to the store and stopping at a gas station to get some smokes, I came back and turned the key to the old familiar sound of rr-rr-runt...rr-rr-runt. Excuse me? 180 amp HD alternator and 1500 amp dry cell military grade battery and not starting? What the hell?!

I popped the hood, and smoke was billowing off this one ground wire that was melting. Trying to see what it went to, I knew it couldn't be good, so I took out my knife and sliced it. Shut the hood, turned the key and it fired right up. I have no idea what that wire was doing.

Upon getting home, I looked and saw that it was a black ground wire coming off the negative post...grounded to the front end. What the hell? Why was this there? How long had it been like that? I can not remember ever putting it that way. Having a ground wire running from the body to the negative post of the battery can't be good.

It'll be interesting to see if this removes my head unit problems, and the oddly slow starts lately. On the way home, nothing seemed amiss...stereo system, vacuum gauge, tach, fuel mixture meter, manual lock up for my overdrive trans, etc., all fine; all stuff that would have been added on myself. But I cannot remember what purpose that ground wire went to...it went to no other operating component. It puzzles the hell out of me.