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Started By
Message
replaced stereo receiver in boat - PROBLEM - UPDATE
Posted on 3/10/17 at 7:48 am
Posted on 3/10/17 at 7:48 am
Hey guys. I am not much of an electrician so I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction on this problem. I just replaced an old Sony stereo receiver with a newer model Sony. Unfortunately the wiring harness was not the same (figures!) so I had to splice all the wires. I matched the colors on the new harness to how the old harness was wired. All my connections are solid (crimped heat-shrink butt connectors). When I turn on my battery the stereo comes on for about a second then turns off. If I hold the power button it does the same thing. Any ideas on what could be causing this?
The old stereo did not have this problem.
UPDATE: So it turns out I had all the wires connected correctly. My problem is like a dummy I had the external antenna plugged in the wrong spot which was causing the radio to turn off for some reason. To be honest I didnt even know it had an antenna because it was down in the console and looked just like a coil of plastic ribbon. And of course it ended up breaking and I had to order another one but its cheap and not hard to connect. Anyway, thanks for all of your advice and I am sorry for making so many of you try to solve the problem for me when in reality it was something so simple.
The old stereo did not have this problem.
UPDATE: So it turns out I had all the wires connected correctly. My problem is like a dummy I had the external antenna plugged in the wrong spot which was causing the radio to turn off for some reason. To be honest I didnt even know it had an antenna because it was down in the console and looked just like a coil of plastic ribbon. And of course it ended up breaking and I had to order another one but its cheap and not hard to connect. Anyway, thanks for all of your advice and I am sorry for making so many of you try to solve the problem for me when in reality it was something so simple.
This post was edited on 3/14/17 at 9:43 am
4
Posted on 3/10/17 at 7:53 am to marinebioman
quote:
Any ideas on what could be causing this?
Probably this
quote:
I matched the colors on the new harness to how the old harness was wired
Colors are not really standard, they possibly changed.
You need to figure out the main power and ground, then the remote on. The remaining should be speaker wires.
If the three main wire are connected correctly, it might be something else. What model head unit
This post was edited on 3/10/17 at 7:54 am
Posted on 3/10/17 at 8:00 am to NYCAuburn
I am confident I have the ground connected correctly (black to black). The power on the harness are red and yellow connected to what the red and yellow were connected to on the old harness. I feel like these are connected correctly. All the others wires are speaker wires and I think those are connected correctly, but even if they weren't it shouldn't be affecting the unit staying powered on, right?
Sony DSXM55BT
Sony DSXM55BT
Posted on 3/10/17 at 8:03 am to NYCAuburn
quote:
I matched the colors on the new harness to how the old harness was wired
Colors are not really standard, they possibly changed.
This is your problem. I've hooked up many a radio and the colors are never the same from one radio to the other. Even though the make is the same.
quote:
You need to figure out the main power and ground, then the remote on. The remaining should be speaker wires.
Posted on 3/10/17 at 8:05 am to 4WHLN
Okay I will double check when I get home but I was also referring to the diagram in the owners manual and was pretty confident i got the wires right...but like I said I am a novice at electrical work.
Does the fact that I am at least getting power for a second mean that I have at least one of the two power wires connected correctly?
Does the fact that I am at least getting power for a second mean that I have at least one of the two power wires connected correctly?
This post was edited on 3/10/17 at 8:06 am
Posted on 3/10/17 at 8:05 am to marinebioman
quote:
The power on the harness are red and yellow connected to what the red and yellow were connected to on the old harness
Try to reverse these two. Ive had both colors as the main power before.
Posted on 3/10/17 at 8:07 am to marinebioman
Wire colors mean very little. You need to find the wiring diagram in the radio manual to determine the purpose of each wire. Since you probably don't have a wiring diagram for the existing wiring in your boat, you probably will have to do a little tracing to verify. Shouldn't be too bad though.
Posted on 3/10/17 at 8:08 am to 4WHLN
Okay I am just trying to understand...the way the old radio was wired and the way I wired the new one is to have both the red and yellow connected to the same existing power wire that is in the console (red and yellow wires twisted together and crimped on one side of butt connector). I thought that was the way it was described in the owner's manual as well.
Posted on 3/10/17 at 8:08 am to marinebioman
While the speaker colors may not be standard. The wires on the radio for power should be standard red, yellow, and black.
Posted on 3/10/17 at 8:09 am to Boudreaux35
Okay thanks everybody for the advice. I will do some more investigating this weekend.
Posted on 3/10/17 at 8:14 am to marinebioman
quote:
Does the fact that I am at least getting power for a second mean that I have at least one of the two power wires connected correctly?
You are on the right path. Are you sure your battery is fully charged? it could also be a low voltage shutdown
Posted on 3/10/17 at 8:16 am to NYCAuburn
I have two new batteries and all other electronics are working and the engine turns over with no problem.
Posted on 3/10/17 at 8:57 am to marinebioman
quote:
both the red and yellow connected to the same existing power wire
One of those (prob yellow) is constant power that should run straight to the battery. I will provide power to the radio even when it's off to keep the radio presets and time. The other wire (prob red) should be for ACC... but that doesn't really work for a boat.
If you have both constant power and ACC running straight to your battery, it will probably run your battery down over time unless you have a battery disconnect switch or something like that.
I'm trying to get an idea of where your 1 power wire is coming from? Is it connected to your ignition? Like the radio automatically comes on when you turn the ignition? The first thing you need to do is verify where that power wire is coming from.
Posted on 3/10/17 at 9:03 am to terd ferguson
So the old radio would come on whenever i turned my battery switch on...even if the key wasnt in the ignition...not ideal but not a big deal as long as I remembered to turn the switch off after i got back. I figured I was wiring the new radio the same way. I dont know for sure but i am assuming the power wire runs straight to the battery terminal.
Do you think I should try to just connectthe one wire (yellow) and leave the red disconnected and see if that works for me?
Do you think I should try to just connectthe one wire (yellow) and leave the red disconnected and see if that works for me?
This post was edited on 3/10/17 at 9:05 am
Posted on 3/10/17 at 9:55 am to marinebioman
The red wire is an instantaneous power to turn the unit on. The yellow wire is constant. What you are describing would indicate you have the wires backwards.
Posted on 3/10/17 at 9:57 am to SportTiger1
Thanks but again I don't understand how they could be backwards if they are both connected together...
But if what you are saying is true, it sounds like my problem might be in the yellow wire...
But if what you are saying is true, it sounds like my problem might be in the yellow wire...
This post was edited on 3/10/17 at 10:05 am
Posted on 3/10/17 at 10:06 am to marinebioman
quote:
Do you think I should try to just connectthe one wire (yellow) and leave the red disconnected and see if that works for me?
you need both for the head unit.
One is constant power, the other is essentially a switch that tells your head unit it is safe to turn on.
Ideally you should have a constant power that leads back to that battery/switch and have some sort of fuse in the middle, then you would have a switch on a dash panel connected to the remote lead, that you flip on when you want power to the radio, just like any other accessories on the boat. basically redundant since you have a battery switch.
You can use your battery switch for both, but you need to make sure you turn it off or you will get a constant drain on the battery
Posted on 3/10/17 at 10:13 am to marinebioman
Your radio should've come with a description of the different colored wires
Posted on 3/10/17 at 10:15 am to NYCAuburn
I think my first thing will be to double check my connection of the red and yellow to the power wire in the console...make sure that connection is sound. I might cut it off and make a new connection but I only have a limited amount of wire on the harness so I don't want to keep cutting more of it. After that I guess I would run a voltmeter to each spot on the harness and make sure I am getting 12v...After that...I might tell my wife she is going to have to live without music on the boat! haha
Posted on 3/10/17 at 10:15 am to marinebioman
quote:
Thanks but again I don't understand how they could be backwards if they are both connected together...
But if what you are saying is true, it sounds like my problem might be in the yellow wire..
Are you saying the red and yellow from the radio are hooked up to the same boat wire? If so, that is 100% your problem. They do different things.
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