Stereo comm error / weird wiring

[FLJetBoater]

Hi guys
2015 242 LS

getting a stereo comm error on and off. My rear remote is pretty trashed and definitely needs to be replaced. However, looking at the wiring I can’t find the Y connector for the remote. The wiring diagram clearly shows a Y with 2 other connectors coming off it. Under my helm I have this.



the thick wire goes directly to the remote connection on the head unit. The blue wire goes to the tach. The other side of that wire from what I can trace does directly back to the transom remote. I’ve traced it everywhere I can see it and I don’t see another Y anywhere. Is it somehow embedded in the thick part of that cable?

I tried disconnecting the transom remote at the transom and still get the comm error. I really wish you could just disable the stereo comm error. Pretty stupid that you can’t. It definitely shouldn’t be an alarm.

 

[FLJetBoater]

It actually looks like the Y's that are back at the transom came in later years. For the 2015 this is the correct wire...just the blue lead out of this Yamaha cable into the connectors on the tachs.

Finally found a PA4A online and got it ordered. Should be here tomorrow to see if that is the issue. Seems to be what happens people say the bluetooth goes (which happened like a year ago) and now maybe the whole unit. There's definitely power getting there but with the remote trashed I can't even see if it's on or not.

 

[Julian]

It actually looks like the Y's that are back at the transom came in later years. For the 2015 this is the correct wire...just the blue lead out of this Yamaha cable into the connectors on the tachs.

Finally found a PA4A online and got it ordered. Should be here tomorrow to see if that is the issue. Seems to be what happens people say the bluetooth goes (which happened like a year ago) and now maybe the whole unit. There's definitely power getting there but with the remote trashed I can't even see if it's on or not.

Where did you find the PA4A, and did you get the just the "remote" or the head unit brain too?

 

[FLJetBoater]

Where did you find the PA4A, and did you get the just the "remote" or the head unit brain too?

It’s the full package remote + brain. Great lakes skipper they have 11 more in stock.

 

[Julian]

It’s the full package remote + brain. Great lakes skipper they have 11 more in stock.

Let me know once you have it installed if it is plug and play! My knob is feeling "crunchy" and I keep expecting it will come off in my hand one day - so Ieave it well enough alone....but having a backup would be smart.

 

[FLJetBoater]

Let me know once you have it installed if it is plug and play! My knob is feeling "crunchy" and I keep expecting it will come off in my hand one day - so Ieave it well enough alone....but having a backup would be smart.

Will do! From what I can see of the connectors in the images on their website it looks like it all matches up.

 

[FLJetBoater]

So after some more troubleshooting it’s even more bizarre…..

I pulled the stereo from the boat and bought a AC to 12v DC converter. Hooked the stereo up to that along with a spare polk remote and it fired right up.

put it back into the boat but kept the Polk remote hooked up directly and no power at all.

checked the power voltage coming out of the connector from the boat which the head unit plugs into and it was 12.03v.

could it somehow be supplying enough power with no load but dropping when the unit tries to power on? When I measure the voltage while the unit is connected it only shows 1-2v. I took the head unit to the battery compartment and put the connectors directly on the battery and it fired up no problem.

so seems to be some sort of power issue but no idea how to troubleshoot….would I need to hook up an amp meter in series or something? My multimeter only does 10 amps so might need to buy something stronger because the unit is rated 15A.?

 

[Humbeglez]

So after some more troubleshooting it’s even more bizarre…..

I pulled the stereo from the boat and bought a AC to 12v DC converter. Hooked the stereo up to that along with a spare polk remote and it fired right up.

put it back into the boat but kept the Polk remote hooked up directly and no power at all.

checked the power voltage coming out of the connector from the boat which the head unit plugs into and it was 12.03v.

could it somehow be supplying enough power with no load but dropping when the unit tries to power on? When I measure the voltage while the unit is connected it only shows 1-2v. I took the head unit to the battery compartment and put the connectors directly on the battery and it fired up no problem.

so seems to be some sort of power issue but no idea how to troubleshoot….would I need to hook up an amp meter in series or something? My multimeter only does 10 amps so might need to buy something stronger because the unit is rated 15A.?

Hi guys
2015 242 LS

getting a stereo comm error on and off. My rear remote is pretty trashed and definitely needs to be replaced. However, looking at the wiring I can’t find the Y connector for the remote. The wiring diagram clearly shows a Y with 2 other connectors coming off it. Under my helm I have this.

View attachment 175966

the thick wire goes directly to the remote connection on the head unit. The blue wire goes to the tach. The other side of that wire from what I can trace does directly back to the transom remote. I’ve traced it everywhere I can see it and I don’t see another Y anywhere. Is it somehow embedded in the thick part of that cable?

I tried disconnecting the transom remote at the transom and still get the comm error. I really wish you could just disable the stereo comm error. Pretty stupid that you can’t. It definitely shouldn’t be an alarm.

Hello, I ma having this same issue on my 2015 242 Limited S, the audio on the screen says it is off, and I have that Stereo comm error message, did you resolved it by replacing the head unit and the wired remote? I just found one on Amazon and I would like to know if this resolved your issue.

Thanks in advance.

 

[FLJetBoater]

Hello, I ma having this same issue on my 2015 242 Limited S, the audio on the screen says it is off, and I have that Stereo comm error message, did you resolved it by replacing the head unit and the wired remote? I just found one on Amazon and I would like to know if this resolved your issue.

Thanks in advance.

Hi there, no, the end result of my investigation was that either the wiring which supplies the power to the head unit is bad, or the relay is bad, or the wires to the relay are bad.

The way it works is that when you turn on your key the power to the helm fires up. That "power up" is supposed to send a 12v signal to the relay which then opens the relay for power to flow through to the head unit. Something is going wrong in that process and your head unit doesn't turn on.

What I did is run a new wire from my battery (with a switch and inline fuse 1ft from battery) directly to the head unit. Generally I leave the switch on all the time but if I need to turn off the stereo (like in a slip overnight) but keep the battery on I can still do that.

 

[Humbeglez]

Hi, thank you so much for your reply, I really appreciate it, this has been giving me headaches since yesterday, just a quick question, I do not know much about these boats or audio, do you happens to have a picture of your new installation or a diagram of it? And where exactly did you connected the new line to the head unit? It gos to the B5 and B7 pins mentioned in the pic attached?

 

[FLJetBoater]

Yeah, 5 is the ground (black wire) and 7 is the power (red) wire.

I didn't actually connect directly to those pins though. I still used the connector that plugs in there because it has all the wiring for all the speakers, etc. If you follow the wires that come out the back of the connector you can follow the power wire to the relay. I just cut that wire in the middle and connected it directly to the wire coming from the battery. Sorry we actually got rid of that boat so I don't have any pictures....

 

[Humbeglez]

Yeah, 5 is the ground (black wire) and 7 is the power (red) wire.

I didn't actually connect directly to those pins though. I still used the connector that plugs in there because it has all the wiring for all the speakers, etc. If you follow the wires that come out the back of the connector you can follow the power wire to the relay. I just cut that wire in the middle and connected it directly to the wire coming from the battery. Sorry we actually got rid of that boat so I don't have any pictures....

thank you so much!

 

[Humbeglez]

Yeah, 5 is the ground (black wire) and 7 is the power (red) wire.

I didn't actually connect directly to those pins though. I still used the connector that plugs in there because it has all the wiring for all the speakers, etc. If you follow the wires that come out the back of the connector you can follow the power wire to the relay. I just cut that wire in the middle and connected it directly to the wire coming from the battery. Sorry we actually got rid of that boat so I don't have any pictures....

Hello, do you recall by any chance, what gauge was the cable used from the battery to the back of the connector and the fuse amp?, thanks again for your reply!

 

[FLJetBoater]

I don't remember offhand. It wasn't huge, that head unit doesn't draw much power. I think max total output was like 200W. plus some for the unit itself. So say 250W. / 12V = 21A. Round up to 25A. Total run length of 40ft (I'm guessing, I don't remember at all) would put it at 4AWG.

You can adjust the numbers and re-calculate here....use the 3% voltage drop distances.

http://assets.bluesea.com/files/resources/newsletter/images/DC_wire_selection_chartlg.jpg

 

[Humbeglez]

Yeah, 5 is the ground (black wire) and 7 is the power (red) wire.

I didn't actually connect directly to those pins though. I still used the connector that plugs in there because it has all the wiring for all the speakers, etc. If you follow the wires that come out the back of the connector you can follow the power wire to the relay. I just cut that wire in the middle and connected it directly to the wire coming from the battery. Sorry we actually got rid of that boat so I don't have any pictures....

So from this pic I have the orange and black wire on one end of the connector (1) and tracing those wires they seem to be those ones in the relay (2), you just cut in at any point from the (1) position right, so the don’t go anymore through the relay, they just come from the battery directly to one end of the connector, o go to the switch and then to the connector right? Sorry to ask you so many questions, I am not really good at this and I have already spent to much money and the issue continues.

 

[FLJetBoater]

So from this pic I have the orange and black wire on one end of the connector (1) and tracing those wires they seem to be those ones in the relay (2), you just cut in at any point from the (1) position right, so the don’t go anymore through the relay, they just come from the battery directly to one end of the connector, o go to the switch and then to the connector right? Sorry to ask you so many questions, I am not really good at this and I have already spent to much money and the issue continues.

I have a couple questions....

1. Where is the speaker wiring plug? Did you just remove it for now? It usually goes on the right side of that connector. But you don't need it if you're just using the RCA outs and have an amp or something else.
2. Where the red/yellow connect together - where does that go? And where do the yellow and red wires end up? I always thought the yellow was after the connector block but yours looks like it bypasses it.
3. Is this your boat originally? It looks like someone was already messing around with these wires. Factory definitely uses the speaker wires not RCA's + amp. Do you have an amp?
4. Are there any wires coming out of the left side back of the connector? In line with where the current male adapter is plugged in to?

 

[Humbeglez]

I have a couple questions....

1. Where is the speaker wiring plug? Did you just remove it for now? It usually goes on the right side of that connector. But you don't need it if you're just using the RCA outs and have an amp or something else.
2. Where the red/yellow connect together - where does that go? And where do the yellow and red wires end up? I always thought the yellow was after the connector block but yours looks like it bypasses it.
3. Is this your boat originally? It looks like someone was already messing around with these wires. Factory definitely uses the speaker wires not RCA's + amp. Do you have an amp?
4. Are there any wires coming out of the left side back of the connector? In line with where the current male adapter is plugged in to?

No this is not my boat originally, I bought it like that, but all of the sudden I started getting that annoying stereo comm error and audio off message in the connect screen.

As per the wiring and configurations, yes I do have 2 amps installed, and I just noticed that the new radio that I just bought, the conector is different and it another side with all the speakers wiring, in my case, well as you already know all those wires are on the amps.

the red and yellow go to a Bluetooth device that is behind the connector that’s why you don’t see it, the orange and black wires that come out of the connector, both have a Y, from the orange I then have the yellow and red (3), and the other side goes to number (2) and from the black, one side goes to the Bluetooth and the other goes to number (2), as well. I hope I made myself clear.

 

[Humbeglez]

I have a couple questions....

1. Where is the speaker wiring plug? Did you just remove it for now? It usually goes on the right side of that connector. But you don't need it if you're just using the RCA outs and have an amp or something else.
2. Where the red/yellow connect together - where does that go? And where do the yellow and red wires end up? I always thought the yellow was after the connector block but yours looks like it bypasses it.
3. Is this your boat originally? It looks like someone was already messing around with these wires. Factory definitely uses the speaker wires not RCA's + amp. Do you have an amp?
4. Are there any wires coming out of the left side back of the connector? In line with where the current male adapter is plugged in to?

as far as I understand from everything I have seen so far and your explanation, this is how I think it is wired:

the current comes from the battery to the relay (2), then the orange (+) goes out to the head unit, just before the head unit there is a Y (3), then a yellow and a red wire go to the Bluetooth device, both positive, the yellow has a 15 amp fuse right before the device.
Also from the Y, the orange continues to the front of the connector in the head unit (1)
A black also comes out of the relay (2) (gnd), has a Y, one side goes to the Bluetooth (3) and the other side goes to the gnd of the connector in the head unit (1).
So if I understood correctly, I have to run a positive and a ground directly from the battery, to right in front of the head unit (1) or it could be to that number (3) where the Ys are, si I could either provide current directly to the head unit separately, or both the head unit and the Bluetooth device, am I correct?

 

[FLJetBoater]

as far as I understand from everything I have seen so far and your explanation, this is how I think it is wired:

the current comes from the battery to the relay (2), then the orange (+) goes out to the head unit, just before the head unit there is a Y (3), then a yellow and a red wire go to the Bluetooth device, both positive, the yellow has a 15 amp fuse right before the device.
Also from the Y, the orange continues to the front of the connector in the head unit (1)
A black also comes out of the relay (2) (gnd), has a Y, one side goes to the Bluetooth (3) and the other side goes to the gnd of the connector in the head unit (1).
So if I understood correctly, I have to run a positive and a ground directly from the battery, to right in front of the head unit (1) or it could be to that number (3) where the Ys are, si I could either provide current directly to the head unit separately, or both the head unit and the Bluetooth device, am I correct?

OK that's a bit clearer.

Why would you have a red and yellow both go to the bluetooth device?

But yes, I would run the red to just before #3 and split it off to the proper devices from there. I'd probably also use a proper terminal block since you'll likely have quite different sizes wires, plus the block just makes it easier to wire it up instead of crimping 3 wires together, etc.

Then I'd also run a ground into that area somewhere with another terminal block and ground the devices off that.

Something like this would be perfect. You wouldn't be able to use it for your amps because they're likely over the 30A sizing, but the other stuff would be OK.

Amazon.com

 

[Humbeglez]

OK that's a bit clearer.

Why would you have a red and yellow both go to the bluetooth device?

But yes, I would run the red to just before #3 and split it off to the proper devices from there. I'd probably also use a proper terminal block since you'll likely have quite different sizes wires, plus the block just makes it easier to wire it up instead of crimping 3 wires together, etc.

Then I'd also run a ground into that area somewhere with another terminal block and ground the devices off that.

Something like this would be perfect. You wouldn't be able to use it for your amps because they're likely over the 30A sizing, but the other stuff would be OK.

Amazon.com

Thank you so much for all your help, I will be doing all that this weekend, and let you know how it was.