am-fm cd driving me nuts!!

[danny k]

I have installed 3 seperate, different brands, of am-fm cd player on pontoon. Each one presented the same problem. The sound comes and goes from 4 speaker system. The sound waves are still being displayed on dial, I assume to the beat of the song being played at that time, even when no sound is coming from speakers. It's happened at the dock, idleing, half throttle, etc. No rhyme or reason. All the instructions were followed but this is a CAR radio. Is there a difference in a marine radio and car radio? I have the hot and negative legs going directly to the battery (it has an inline fuse), eliminating the fuse panel as the problem.<br />Running me nuts!! Any ideas, ya'll? <br /><br />Thanks,<br />Danny k.

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: am-fm cd driving me nuts!!

Now, I'm assuming these 3 didn't "work for a while" and only eventually start having this problem. If that's the case (they die after a while), it's possible the radio itself is getting wet and eventually dieing. Marine radios are water proof auto ones aren't. <br /><br />If this problem is happening right away no matter what radio you hook up then the problem is likely: 1) The speaker wires; 2) The speakers themselves or 3) An external Amp (if you have one)<br /><br />I'd hook up a temporary speaker wire directly to the player and go to each speaker one after the other. If they work, your existing speaker wire may be no good (or your external amp if you have one). If none of them worked or worked intermittently, I'd try a new speaker.<br /><br />Also, get a volt meter and read across the power on the radio (red to balck usually). Make sure you have 12V...

 

[Marc J.]

Re: am-fm cd driving me nuts!!

Like Ralph said, make sure you have 12V. If you have an unregulated charging system you may be frying your radios with 15-17V at speed. If this is the case, the cheapest solution would be to carry a second battery dedicated to the electronics and charge it at home as needed.

 

[danny k]

Re: am-fm cd driving me nuts!!

Thanks guys,<br /><br />Each radio would work fine for about 30-45 minutes after first turning on. After losing sound the radio dial was still active, displaying selected station and sound waves. My fluke meter displayed a 12.6v reading when engine not running and 13.4v while under power (while the problem existed.) There is no external amp. After a period of time, which varies and for no particular reason, the sound would once again come back on. The sound would stay on for up to 2 or 3 hours or as little as 5 minutes. Again, this is a pontoon and we regularly simply go the the wet slip, pop a top, and just sit there telling lies and singing the old dowop stuff along with the radio, with the old "Got 'er done" not even leaving the slip. Were it not for such a large CC I would swear it would be an overheating problem because that is the way it acts. But, I've not heard of a 12v sound system overheating, cooling off, then operating normally. I'm a musician and that happens with 120v systems frequently, especially with all the external amps, EQ's, midi's, etc. But this 12v thing is again, running me nuts.<br /><br />Thanks guys,<br />Danny K.

 

[gspig]

Re: am-fm cd driving me nuts!!

How are you grounding your speakers? My marine stereo has ground wires running back to the stereo unit for the speakers. Most car systems have a positive wire for each channel and depend on the car body for the return wire. The marine unit has a ground return for the front channels and one for the rear channels.

 

[amirm]

Re: am-fm cd driving me nuts!!

A lot of modern amplifiers, especially the IC types employed in powered head units have overtemp protection. They will mute the input to cool the amp down and then unmute it. Running from 12v versus 120 makes no difference. Given the symptoms, it defintely seems like the unit is getting too hot.<br /><br />If you can reach the side of the units, put your hand on it. If it feels too hot to touch, then it is not getting enough circulation. Again if you can access the sides, go to Radio Shack and get a can of "component cooler". Then spray this on the sides to cool the off. If this makes the unit come back to life, then you know for sure it is heat related.<br /><br />If you can not feel the sides, then touch the front. If it is getting very warm to touch there, then you know for sure you are cooking the device.<br /><br />The other things to try are:<br />1. If there is a brightness control for the display, turn this all the way down. These flashy displays chew up a ton of power and contribute to fair amount of heat.<br /><br />2. Run the radio at low level. If it does not shut down, then again, you know the heat is the enemy.<br /><br />3. If the unit has no ventilation behind it, you are definitely asking for trouble at mid to high volumes. Get an external amp and don't use the one inside the unit. But know that external amps have high idle current so they chew up fair amount of power even when not playing (but of course, will sound better than the one in the unit).<br /><br />Good luck,<br />Amir

 

[vipzach]

Re: am-fm cd driving me nuts!!

Have you tried using some different speakers with new wires? Don't run the wires all over the boat just yet, try putting the speakers on the floor below the radio and dropping the new wires to them. <br />How many speakers are hooked up in your boat? Are they all on there own channel?

 

[danny k]

Re: am-fm cd driving me nuts!!

Thanks again, guys..<br /><br />All ground wires are running directly to the negative post on the battery. There are 4 speakers, each has its own channel. No problem getting to the side of the radio. Actually there is a access door in the front of the CC so access to any wiring or radio is very simple. I may try some "component cooler" and see what happens. If that fails I'll hook up one speaker (remote) at a time. I wasn't aware 12v systems have built in heat protectors that will mute sound if overheated. Thanks for that info.<br /><br />Will let ya'll know what happens.....<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Danny K.

 

[vipzach]

Re: am-fm cd driving me nuts!!

Danny, try hooking the speakers up the + and - leads from the radio instead of the negative on the battery. The reason I wanted you to try with different speakers was just in case one of the speakers is shorted or blown it would over heat the outputs on the deck.

 

[Perfidiajoe]

Re: am-fm cd driving me nuts!!

Does this happen w/ the radio only, or w/ the CD also. car radios will work on a boat, but the Ant. is different. car ant. uses car body, & that won't work or work poorly on a boat. Good Luck, Joe