New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

[eelnairb33]

I have a 1992 Sea Ray Sundancer 330 I have replaced my radio with a newer one and no sound will go to the speakers....

I am relativly good at electronics and this one is messing with my head. I took out the old Clarion tape deck that has a red wire (+) black wire (-) and yellow (memory+) and 4 speakers. I put in a old cd player and hooked up all wires, red to red, black to black, yellow to yellow and speakers all in proper positive and negative position. The radio turns on but no sound. I have tested the speakers with a battery, tester and put the old radio back in and it all tested fine. I have also tried another brand new radio that works in the car but not in the boat. It powers on and no sound. I have connected speakers directly to the back and no sound. The radio EQ is bumping to every station I tune it to but no sound.

What else have I checked...
1. I checked inline fuses 10A all fine
2. bildge fuse box has push button fuses and all are good (none triped)
3. protection fuse above the mute switch is good and mute switch is not the problem it works with old radio.
4. batteries are good and charged
5. Fuse pannel under dash is good
6. Old radio did not use blue wire for amp so there is no wire to hook up the blue wire to so I am guessing there is no external amp.

Help on finding any other fuse that may need to be checked, or if sea ray has some issue with aftermarket radios installing on their boats. None of my friends can understand why there is no sound coming out of the back of any new radio I try and install.

On a last note after all this I have no power to my 12v plugs, the one in the cabin and under the stearing wheel. This problem happened half way through trouble shooting the sound issue. So I dont think it is that issue but it could be, where is the fuse for the 12v acc plug???

 

[keith2k455]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

Does the radio power on with no sound? If it powers on, you have strictly a speaker problem, or the amp circuit in the radio is fried. What input are you using? Are you sure there is a source to provide sound?

 

[eelnairb33]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

The radio turns on and the EQ is bumping to any station it tunes to but no sound. I have tried two new decks and the same issue. I have new wires to the speakers and connected directly to the radio and no sound. I have connected a boom box with external speakers to the boat speakers and they sound great. But nothing from the new radio.

 

[eelnairb33]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

I haven't checked the fuse in the back of the radio, I'll check that tomorrow

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

add one speaker at a time and see if any work. The more modern stereos can go into a protection mode if theres a detected problem with a speaker before it blows the amp. Also test both the yellow and red for +12v when the key is on

 

[beardeddone]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

Might check to see if there is a mute button on the radio also try turning the volume up and of course an antenna, if not the speaker wires are wired wrong to the radio.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

Might check to see if there is a mute button on the radio also try turning the volume up and of course an antenna, if not the speaker wires are wired wrong to the radio.

thats a real good post about the antenna as the new radios dont put out static like the old ones did

 

[britisher]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

Have you thought about reconnecting the old Clarion back to the speakers? If they work, then it's not the speakers. The 'newer one' you are trying to install is it 'new' or 'new to you'? If it's brand new I'd check it back to the retailer for a swap unit. If it's a 'new to you', then did you confirm it worked before you bought it? If not, I'd again get the seller to confirm it works. I'm no expert on electronics, but don't some radios work via a separate pre-amp unit? My wife's car has the factory Mopar unit in the dash, then a pre-amp unit underneath the seats. I suspect if the main unit needs a pre-amp, then you won't get sound from the speakers. Just a thought.

 

[eelnairb33]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

Have you thought about reconnecting the old Clarion back to the speakers? If they work, then it's not the speakers. The 'newer one' you are trying to install is it 'new' or 'new to you'? If it's brand new I'd check it back to the retailer for a swap unit. If it's a 'new to you', then did you confirm it worked before you bought it? If not, I'd again get the seller to confirm it works. I'm no expert on electronics, but don't some radios work via a separate pre-amp unit? My wife's car has the factory Mopar unit in the dash, then a pre-amp unit underneath the seats. I suspect if the main unit needs a pre-amp, then you won't get sound from the speakers. Just a thought.

Yes I have reconnected the old Clarion and everything works... So I checked the fuses again, Checked the antenna, and I have tried to connect a old Kenwood that I know works but no sound. The new radio has an internal amp 4x50watts and the Kenwood has 4x75watts rms out the back. The Boss radio has a inline 10a fuse and the Kenwood has a 10a fuse connected to the back of the unit all fuses are fine.

I am led to think that the Clarion has special powers to only play on my Sea Ray. I have connected 3 stereos to the boat with no sound, My next option is to get an additional amp like a 4x100watt connect it to the radio and bypass the internal amp. I will test that method next week after I gather the supplies. But if anyone has a brilliant Idea let me know.

 

[eelnairb33]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

thats a real good post about the antenna as the new radios dont put out static like the old ones did

Thanks Ive checked all of that, the EQ on the radio bumps to the radio station it is tuned to but no sound still.

 

[joed]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

What is the make and model of the new radio? I go with connection issue or dead amp.

 

[eelnairb33]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

What is the make and model of the new radio? I go with connection issue or dead amp.

Let see the new radio is Boss 612UA MP3-Compatible Digital Media AM/FM Receiver
The Second radio is Boss Audio MCK637W.6 AM/FM/CD/MP3 Marine Stereo
The thirs is a old Kenwood that came out of a car that worked in the car.

All stereos will tune to a station and play something but no sound. The Kenwood plays CDs but no sound, the Boss 612UA plugs into my MP3 and the EQ bumps that it is playing my music. No sound unless I reinstall the Clarion M3170 (the majical radio)

 

[eelnairb33]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

I am wondering about the yellow acc cable on my boat that doesnt go to the ignition key it stays on even if the battery switch is off. I read that this is standard on my boat. I may need to check if the amperage has anything to do with the radios not playing sound. It may be a low enough amperage that keeps the amp in the radio decks from turning on. Anyone know this to be true?

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

Will the radio play on the bench with a speaker and a battery?
Will the radio play in the boat using the bench speaker instead of the boat speakers?
What is the impedance of the speakers in the boat? 2ohm? 8ohm?
If you have multiple speakers per chanel, are they in series or parallel?
If you pull the fuse out of the back of the radio, does the whole radio go dead or is the the fuse only for the amps?

What Radio is it?
Does it assume it is driving an external AMP and not speakers directly
OR, Are you overdriving an external AMP that you don't know is there? Are you sure?
If you turn the volume all the way up and put your ear to the speakers can you hear any low level noise hiss?

 

[jasonachord]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

I'd pull a speaker and wire it straight to the radio to troubleshoot and rule out the speaker wiring in the boat. It has to be something in the speaker wires or the speakers themselves. Sounds like everything is good with power and ground.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

Have you tried pressing the reset button below the SD card slot, after it is powered up?

 

[eelnairb33]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

Will the radio play on the bench with a speaker and a battery?
Will the radio play in the boat using the bench speaker instead of the boat speakers?
What is the impedance of the speakers in the boat? 2ohm? 8ohm?
If you have multiple speakers per chanel, are they in series or parallel?
If you pull the fuse out of the back of the radio, does the whole radio go dead or is the the fuse only for the amps?

What Radio is it?
Does it assume it is driving an external AMP and not speakers directly
OR, Are you overdriving an external AMP that you don't know is there? Are you sure?
If you turn the volume all the way up and put your ear to the speakers can you hear any low level noise hiss?

I want the Boss 612UA MP3-Compatible Digital Media AM/FM Receiver to work so I will pull the radio and try the bench idea. I dont know how the radio would assume its driving an external amp with out the blue wire attached to something but Ill try simplifying the system on my work bench. No sound with volume all the way up. Removal of the fuse turns the radio off. I will check the impediance in the AM.

 

[eelnairb33]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

Have you tried pressing the reset button below the SD card slot, after it is powered up?

That was the first thing I tryed lol, thanks

 

[gm280]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

Maybe the fact that your boat doesn't provide a ground plane, maybe the radio stops at different preselects but there simply isn't enough received power to bring the radio out of auto mute... Can you play a CD in it? If so that rules out the auto mute issue.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: New radio install issue thats stumping everyone who has looked at it

The Boss 612UA MP3 does not have a mute button.
It is a simple radio that can play MP3's from an SD Card or USB Flash Drive. NO CD player.
If the EQ display on the front panel is responding to the volume control, at least the front end of the radio thinks it is sounding off.
If the boat is in harbor, in Portsmouth; I am confident that even a coat hanger would supply plenty of signal.

No minimal Hiss from the speakers at full volume make me suspect the Power Amplifiers are not happy.
The fact that multiple radios do not like the boat, indicates the common issue may be the speaker impedance.
The radio wants to see 4-8 ohms. Nothing uncommon about that.
The single fuse powers everything, so it is not a fuse/power issue.

Can anything be heard out of the RCA Jacks?
The signal is line level, but can make a small speaker at least whisper.
Waiting on the bench test.

This IS a good one!