• Welcome to Jetboaters.net!

    We are delighted you have found your way to the best Jet Boaters Forum on the internet! Please consider Signing Up so that you can enjoy all the features and offers on the forum. We have members with boats from all the major manufacturers including Yamaha, Seadoo, Scarab and Chaparral. We don't email you SPAM, and the site is totally non-commercial. So what's to lose? IT IS FREE!

    Membership allows you to ask questions (no matter how mundane), meet up with other jet boaters, see full images (not just thumbnails), browse the member map and qualifies you for members only discounts offered by vendors who run specials for our members only! (It also gets rid of this banner!)

    free hit counter
  • JetBoaters.Net 2nd Annual SeaDoo Switch Group Buy Sponsored By JetBoatPilot Is Live Now. Save 25% Off Select SeaDoo Switch Gear through October 31st.

    Click Here to go to the Jetboatpilot Seadoo Group buy

    You can delete this notice with the "X" in the upper right>>>

Is my POS JBL head unit toast?

OCMD

Jetboaters Admiral
Messages
973
Reaction score
1,000
Points
267
Location
Ocean City MD
Boat Make
Yamaha
Year
2008
Boat Model
SX
Boat Length
23
I have the stock JBL head unit in my 2008 SX230. Never used it much at all. Probably because the speakers suck but my riders rarely let me listen to 80s music so it rarely was used. Last week, I switched out the stock speakers for some DP651s I bought at half price over the winter. Immediately, I noticed a tremendously improved sound. However, the Aux port no longer worked. I had an aftermarket connection to the back of the head unit. The Aux port worked fine last season, but the FM didn't work. Last season I didn’t care, we just went with the Ipod. This weekend on the one non-rainy day, the Aux port stopped working. Suddenly, the FM started working however. Odd. Even when I switched the mode to AUX, and the read-out said AUX, I still heard FM. By the way, the sound was tremendous with the new speakers. On the way back in, the FM started going in and out. Not because of lack of FM signal, but because of something internal in the head unit, clearly. No big deal, I will figure it out. So today, in my driveway under the cover because of rain, I had a look. Aux still not working, but when I touched the connector portion of the Aux cord, I heard that loud obnoxious sound jumble from the speakers. Plugged into an Ipod? No better. Just the same noise. While on FM, I just heard noise, with faintly audible FM being heard though the noise of the speakers. I stuck a CD in, and the read out was “error.” In my opinion, the head unit is shot. Is this accurate? I don’t care one way or the other but if it is shot, I want to replace it. My question is where can I find a similar head unit, and by similar I mean one I can swap out for a near perfect fit, and not have to screw with re-doing all my wires? I am guessing a JBL unit will have JBL connectors which I can just plug in, no fuss no muss. Thoughts from the audio experts?
 
The aux port failed on mine before I bought the boat. When I removed it I found corrosion inside. These things should have been put out of their misery before they left the factory. They never should have been designated a marine product.
 
Search on eBay for the same model. If no luck there you'll need a single din radio/cd which should have the similar wiring. Look in the radios specs to make sure you get the same input and outputs in way of Rca plugs. Even if they are wired similarly, you'll probably need to splice in the Yamaha wire plug for the speakers and constant power.
 
@OCMD - look around for a fusion head unit; get the spacer for the dash. Cut and splice in the connector for the new unit and be done. It's not bad to swap out the radio.
 
Polks were great. Radio a POS. Fusion? Spacer? Where? And I guess I cut the wires between the connector and the head unit and then get the new unit and connect the wires to the old yamaha connector that I now have dangling loose? Not a PITA? Only a few wires? Thanks MArk
 
Polks were great. Radio a POS. Fusion? Spacer? Where? And I guess I cut the wires between the connector and the head unit and then get the new unit and connect the wires to the old yamaha connector that I now have dangling loose? Not a PITA? Only a few wires? Thanks MArk

Bingo cut the wires between the head unit and the connector and take the connector home and wire the new unit in the comfort of AC at you house. Then the new unit becomes pretty close to plug and play when you get back to the boat. My JBL unit just crapped out as well I'm still searching for what head unit I will buy next. I do not really use CD's anymore so a usb port on the front and bluetooth have become my main priorities with the next unit.
 
This is Fusion http://www.fusionentertainment.com/marine . They build the polar opposite of that JBL crap. Many of us love their rock solid marine head units. The IP600 was on closeout recently but I do not see any available now. There are some deals to be had on used examples on EBay.

JetBoatPilot built a mounting plate for me when I replaced my JBL with a Fusion. It is available in his catalog now. The head unit opening in the 2007+ 230 is sized to the cover that is around the JBL. You need the adapter plate for most head units.

I cut the connector from the JBL, soldered it to the Fusion wires and plugged it in. It was an easy job.
 
LOVED my fusion radio. Especially if you use an ipod, mine had a slot in the front for it so it was protected from moisture. We just kept one of our old Ipods in there all the time.
 
Polks were great. Radio a POS. Fusion? Spacer? Where? And I guess I cut the wires between the connector and the head unit and then get the new unit and connect the wires to the old yamaha connector that I now have dangling loose? Not a PITA? Only a few wires? Thanks MArk
You can do this! I can give you close up shots from where / how mine was spliced in.
 
You can do this! I can give you close up shots from where / how mine was spliced in.
May I have a copy of the pics showing the wiring splice for a replacement unit? I have the same boat (sx230-Blue- and need to replace the JBL MR-17- worked well for 9 years and finally bit the dust this week- The face plate is still 100% if anyone needs one for a working head unit!
 
May I have a copy of the pics showing the wiring splice for a replacement unit? I have the same boat (sx230-Blue- and need to replace the JBL MR-17- worked well for 9 years and finally bit the dust this week- The face plate is still 100% if anyone needs one for a working head unit!

Noticed this was your first post. Welcome aboard!
 
@Drew Haynie :Welcome:
I didn't want the splices so I found a connector to match the connector that comes on the end of the Fusion unit - similar process but instead of splicing boat wires to new HU you connect them to the female connector you bought and plug THAT into the male connector at the end of the HU. Bonus: if the HU should crap out under warranty it might be easier to say "here, FIX this!" than if you've cut the connectors off!
https://jetboaters.net/threads/connecting-fusion-hu-to-boat-wiring.7204/#post-124204
 
@Drew Haynie :Welcome:
I didn't want the splices so I found a connector to match the connector that comes on the end of the Fusion unit - similar process but instead of splicing boat wires to new HU you connect them to the female connector you bought and plug THAT into the male connector at the end of the HU. Bonus: if the HU should crap out under warranty it might be easier to say "here, FIX this!" than if you've cut the connectors off!
https://jetboaters.net/threads/connecting-fusion-hu-to-boat-wiring.7204/#post-124204
@OCMD
 
Nice, but where do you find the connector to match?
 
@OCMD / Tom: The mate for it is a Deutsch DT 12-Pin Female Connector, which are plentiful on eBay and elsewhere (http://tinyurl.com/pe75ooe or, non-eBay,http://tinyurl.com/ofawntc).
Just to be sure though, check the side of the connector attached to the HU for the model number. If it's the same as mine it'll say DT04-12PA. The second (non-ebay) link is a good place to confirm that they mate [DT06-12SA-Assy 12-Way Plug Assembly, Gray. Complete with wedgelock and choice of sockets. Mates with all DT04-12PA Receptacles. DT Series connectors are rated 13 amps continuous and accommodate wire sizes 12-20 AWG.]
 
NP - we still need to get together one of these days! (Have you given up completely on Assawoman Bay in favor of the Pokomoke?)
 
NP - we still need to get together one of these days! (Have you given up completely on Assawoman Bay in favor of the Pokomoke?)
Who the heck is naming the spots where you guys boat! LOL
 
Beautiful sights there in ocean city ;)
 
May I have a copy of the pics showing the wiring splice for a replacement unit? I have the same boat (sx230-Blue- and need to replace the JBL MR-17- worked well for 9 years and finally bit the dust this week- The face plate is still 100% if anyone needs one for a working head unit!

Hey @Drew Haynie was wondering if you still have that face plate?? I'm not sure if my JBL head unit or face plate has is going bad but would be interested in your face plate...how much do you want for it??
 
Last edited:
Back
Top