Sub-Woofer not working after service apt & new batteries installed. Help

[Shaddow350]

I have a 2017 242XE with 29 hours on it. I am a new boat owner as well as the boat is new to me. Purchased last October 2021. I took it to my local certified Yamaha dealer for an oil change yesterday and to put two brand new batteries in it since it has sat for so long, hence the low hours. The batteries are the exact same part numbers from interstate, so I know that is not the problem. What happened is tonight I decided to go out and play with the connext system again to get familiar with it before getting it on the water. Two nights before I was doing the same thing before my service appointment. So they were working fine.

I now have two speakers now not working at all. I was thinking a fuse of some sort. From what it appears my amplifiers are working fine. The lights are blue and seem to look the same as before the service from my memory. Full brand new batteries charged with 13.8 each. I have checked the fuses on the actual amps and the little ones by the batteries. They all are fine. Somethings else has happened. I would like to see if anyone could please guide me on what to check out to see if some other fuses have blown by accident and or help me diagnose this. My local dealer is two hours away from me and with gas prices today I wanted to check here first for help. The two speakers that are out are the sub-woofer and also the port-side tower speaker. The middle tower and starboard speaker works fine on the tower as well as all the other surrounding speakers. See my photos for reference with my finger pointing at it. I also checked the stern and transom little sound system as well as the connext system for an on and off switch for the sub-woofer. No luck or even a setting, just bass and treble up and down etc.... I also have reached out to my local Yamaha dealer as well but I so many of you have tremendous knowledge that I lack so I also wanted to check here before having to drive it so far again for probably something simple to fix. Thank you for your time and reading this. Let me know if you have any suggestions. Having only two speakers out when all the rest work find seem quite odd to me and especially when they worked find before my service appointment. Anyone else have this issue?

 

[Hoyt]

My guess is the dealer accidentally unplugged one or two connections from the Amps. I would check that first. Then chase wires to see if all are connected at speaker. That's a good start

 

[sunbyrned]

After checking connections, check out the balance settings. The fact that you’re not getting much of anything from the stern speakers makes me think this.

 

[Dave burke]

2017 - you have one 5 channel and one 4 channel Polk amps, right?

I’d check the amp settings first. The 5 channel amp includes the sub and sometimes the switches on the amp get messed up. Or the gain gets knocked down.

Are the tower speakers connected to their own amp? I would check the gains and other settings here as well.

If you didn’t get the manuals for the amps from the previous owners? You can download from the Polk site if not, or let me know and I can post them here.

Otherwise, I would check the speaker connections as others have suggested.

Lots of info on this forum.

 

[Shaddow350]

My guess is the dealer accidentally unplugged one or two connections from the Amps. I would check that first. Then chase wires to see if all are connected at speaker. That's a good start

Chased the wires. All are connected. Thank you for the reply.

 

[Shaddow350]

After checking connections, check out the balance settings. The fact that you’re not getting much of anything from the stern speakers makes me think this.

I also thought of this on the balance settings. They are all in the middle so all speakers should work. I am getting sound from the other two stern speakers the rear and the front just not the middle sub-woofer and also top speaker. Thank you for taking a moment to try to help me.

 

[Shaddow350]

2017 - you have one 5 channel and one 4 channel Polk amps, right?

I’d check the amp settings first. The 5 channel amp includes the sub and sometimes the switches on the amp get messed up. Or the gain gets knocked down.

Are the tower speakers connected to their own amp? I would check the gains and other settings here as well.

If you didn’t get the manuals for the amps from the previous owners? You can download from the Polk site if not, or let me know and I can post them here.

Otherwise, I would check the speaker connections as others have suggested.

Lots of info on this forum.

I should have posted a photo of the amps. I will when I get off of work tonight. Two amps are on top of each other. I have checked all wires and they are connected and fuses are not blown. The funny thing is two of the tower speakers work fine. The one I am pointing at does not as well as the sub-woofer is all. The entire other system works fine. I knelt down to put my ear to each speaker and the all work except these two. Odd. Especially when they worked before the batteries were changed out. I know they all worked 100% for sure. My wife even made a comment. "Wow this boat has nice bass"... Now no bass and one other speaker as well out.

I do have all manuals for the boat I thought. But I looked through them as well before posting on here. But I do not have the manuals for the polk system. If you have a moment of your time. That would be great. And yes you are correct on the two polk amps. I am guessing one if 5 channel and one is 4 channel. I don't know. I also have checked the speaker connections. This situation completely stumps me. I am no master mechanic. However little things like this in my younger days would be a easy fix. So I am stumped. I will see what my local Yamaha dealer says when they call me back. My guess is I will have to drive it back to them and have them repair it. Hopefully at no charge. But again, I wanted to weed out anything and everything I could on my own before going that route due to it is a long distance for me and gas is fun to pay for now days. Thank you for your time to help me with this. I truly appreciate it.

 

[Dave burke]

Here’s the two manuals. I thought it would be easy to send from my library but no such luck since I had saved them as Book files on my iPad. No matter, I found one Crutchfield and the other on Sonix.

When you send the pics of amps tonight, please all send a closeup of the settings on the two amps so we can see what they are.

I’d ask the dealer if there’s any chance they hit something when they installed the batteries? I think they are close together, no? They are on my boat and it’s the same year.

A couple of other thoughts:

- the only difference between your setup and mine when it was original is that you have two amps (I just had one) and you have the two cone tower speakers which I don’t.
- I’m guessing the 4-channel powers the two cones on the tower. Why one would work and not the other is puzzling but I think once you send pics of the amp setting and connections, that might help with the troubleshooting
- I learned a ton on this forum when I first got my boat and then when I upgraded the stereo. I had some problems with the initial set up. Here’s that post but there are many others out there

https://jetboaters.net/threads/2017-212x-stereo-settings.14632/

 

[Shaddow350]

Here’s the two manuals. I thought it would be easy to send from my library but no such luck since I had saved them as Book files on my iPad. No matter, I found one Crutchfield and the other on Sonix.

When you send the pics of amps tonight, please all send a closeup of the settings on the two amps so we can see what they are.

I’d ask the dealer if there’s any chance they hit something when they installed the batteries? I think they are close together, no? They are on my boat and it’s the same year.

A couple of other thoughts:

- the only difference between your setup and mine when it was original is that you have two amps (I just had one) and you have the two cone tower speakers which I don’t.
- I’m guessing the 4-channel powers the two cones on the tower. Why one would work and not the other is puzzling but I think once you send pics of the amp setting and connections, that might help with the troubleshooting
- I learned a ton on this forum when I first got my boat and then when I upgraded the stereo. I had some problems with the initial set up. Here’s that post but there are many others out there

https://jetboaters.net/threads/2017-212x-stereo-settings.14632/

Thank you will do. I just had the dealer call me as well. They reached out to Yamaha and are stumped as well. My guess is they accidently bumped something and / or unplugged something when installing the new batteries.

I agree with you is why is one cone and the center speaker working but not the port-side cone and only sub-woofer. Very odd. But hopefully we can figure it out. Thank you for taking the time for the manuals.

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

Is the speaker that’s not working and the sub on the same amp? I would give the wires at the amp just the slightest tug and make sure they are connected. Do you have a multimeter? You can start testing stuff and narrow down the problem. If not they are $10-$20 at your local hardware/auto parts store, I don’t use mine often but I’m always glad I have it when I need it. Plenty of YouTube videos on what to do as well. It will let you know if you have a amp problem or a wire/speaker problem

My two suspicions with the boat having sat for a long time (assuming the amps are set correctly) some connections came loose either at the amp or on the speakers on the long trip to/from the dealer, or there is some corrosion on the speaker wires.

Some other trouble shooting options without a multimeter, find the speaker wires for the speakers that aren’t working, and swap them for a channel that is working. If the speaker that wasn’t working now works, and the speaker that was working now does not work, you know it’s a amp problem, if everything stays the same it’s a wire/speaker problem.

If it’s a factory system not sure if you can do this. I know they can have some weird harnesses and such that aren’t as plug and play friendly as aftermarket stuff.

 

[Shaddow350]

Update. I came home and randomly tried it again. Did nothing but but look again at fuses on the amps. They again are fine. Oddly enough. The tower cone speak is now working. But still no sub-woofer. Any chance there is a turn off switch for the sub he accidentally hit or something? This has to be simple. Everything seems tight on the wires. All clips in and secure. I'm stumped. But at least the one cone speaker is now working. Makes me wonder if I have a short somewhere. ?....

 

[Shaddow350]

Here’s the two manuals. I thought it would be easy to send from my library but no such luck since I had saved them as Book files on my iPad. No matter, I found one Crutchfield and the other on Sonix.

When you send the pics of amps tonight, please all send a closeup of the settings on the two amps so we can see what they are.

I’d ask the dealer if there’s any chance they hit something when they installed the batteries? I think they are close together, no? They are on my boat and it’s the same year.

A couple of other thoughts:

- the only difference between your setup and mine when it was original is that you have two amps (I just had one) and you have the two cone tower speakers which I don’t.
- I’m guessing the 4-channel powers the two cones on the tower. Why one would work and not the other is puzzling but I think once you send pics of the amp setting and connections, that might help with the troubleshooting
- I learned a ton on this forum when I first got my boat and then when I upgraded the stereo. I had some problems with the initial set up. Here’s that post but there are many others out there

https://jetboaters.net/threads/2017-212x-stereo-settings.14632/

 

[Shaddow350]

I believe I have figured it out. I found the amps speaker wires and pulled them and put them into two separate other working outlets for other speakers. The sub-woofer is not working at all. I believe the tower speaker was a simple loose connection that is now fixed. Any clue what the part number is for a new sub-woofer speaker? I will call the dealership tomorrow and I think that is the issue. Unless there is another fuse somewhere simply for the sub-woofer alone. I tried to take out the sub-woofer by itself but can't get it out. I removed all the 8 screws and it is still stuck and not going anywhere. Do I pull hard? Does it have a glue around it too ?? Maybe when he changed out the batteries he blew the sub..... only thing I can conclude...

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

I would do the multimeter test and verify the outputs on the amp for the sub are working, and a ohm test on the sub to make sure it’s good before you order another. If it’s a Wetsounds sub that ain’t going to be cheap. Anything is possible but I don’t think a battery swap fried it. I think it’s a amp settings/wire issue.

 

[Dave burke]

A few thoughts:

- I agree with @Inthrustwetrust that it’s unlikely the sub has fried because they bumped something. The most likely issue is that they probably bumped one of the amp connections or settings on the amps.

- one of the things I learned early on is that Yamaha builds these systems but the amount of tuning of the amps is very hit and miss, mostly miss. So even when you figure out what the problem is, your amps will likely need to be tuned and you should see a significant improvement. It did for me (see the link I sent you earlier as well as the polk manuals - they do a good job of summarizing the tuning steps)

- the Polk subs are really not great subs. I replaced mine with a JL Audio which was about $300 if I recall. Wetsounds are also very good as well as some other brands. But regardless of brand, you need to make sure it’s Marine grade and an infinite baffle type. Those are the ones designed to be installed in the bulkheads.

- having a DMM is a good idea although you can do some troubleshooting until you get one.

Now that I see where the amps are, if I were you, I would:

- make sure all the speaker wire to amp connections are tight. You’ll need a couple of Allen keys to do this. Good chance they hit something on the four channel amp because it’s sitting up higher and I’m pretty sure this is what controls the cones. Take before and after pics if you can

- remove the top amp ( easy, just four screws), and take pics of the two end panels. I apologize, when I said please send pics of the amp settings, I meant on the amp itself, not the Connext screen. Here’s the first pic I took when I removed my amp for the first time:

- do the same for the lower amp.

- do you have an old car speaker and wire lying around? an easy way to test the sub is to remove the connections to the amp and wire your old speaker in its place. If it works (which would surprise me), you know the problem is the wire to the sub or the sub itself. If it doesn’t work, you know the problem is an amp setting or the amp itself. You can test this with a DMM but I find it more complicated.

 

[Shaddow350]

I want to thank you all for tremendous help and education on this matter. Tonight after doing everything that was mentioned. Minus actually pulling out the sub. I decided to simply remove the 3 cup holders from the top of the sub. Shined a flash light down the holes. BINGO!!! One of the wires was off and laying on the carpet. I reached way down cutting up my arm in the process and bam. Reconnected the speaker wire and it was back to normal. My guess is. It bumped loose from the battery install. OR I've heard many people complain about this issue after it happened to me. Yamaha simply has them as little push on's when they should be screw in. Please see the video link below that helped me diagnose this most likley happened randomly and simply fell out. Or since my boat only has 29 hours. Maybe it simply was not put firmly on from the factory. I'll need to keep this in mind if it falls off again. This was an extremely simple 5 minute fix. I wish I started with this before doing all the other stuff I did. Again, there are wonderful people on here and thank you for not chastising me for the issue due to I am a new boater. ?. If I continue to have issues. I'll need to change the connection on the sub to no let it fall out. So glad it was this. After three nights of hours and hours of chasing and checking everything I could think of. Simply. It was this. I made an appointment with the dealer now I can cancel it and move onto the next thing. Actually get it on the water and enjoy it. ?.

 

[Dave burke]

Glad to hear it. Amazing that was the problem since I don’t think the sub is close to the batteries unless your boat is different from mine. It could have shaken lose on your trip to/from the dealer.

If you’re interested in doing more down the road, you now have lots of resources available.

I learned though all my tribulations that Yamaha does a terrible job of tuning the amps. Two things I would do, one for sure:

- tune both your amps. I bought my boat new and the tuning was all wrong. Chances are yours is as well unless the previous owner did something

- if you want better, cleaner bass sound, replace your sub with an infinite baffle sub. This will also make a big difference.

Let us know if you need help down the road. Good luck

 

[Shaddow350]

Glad to hear it. Amazing that was the problem since I don’t think the sub is close to the batteries unless your boat is different from mine. It could have shaken lose on your trip to/from the dealer.

If you’re interested in doing more down the road, you now have lots of resources available.

I learned though all my tribulations that Yamaha does a terrible job of tuning the amps. Two things I would do, one for sure:

- tune both your amps. I bought my boat new and the tuning was all wrong. Chances are yours is as well unless the previous owner did something

- if you want better, cleaner bass sound, replace your sub with an infinite baffle sub. This will also make a big difference.

Let us know if you need help down the road. Good luck

Thank you. My guess is it randomly shook loose. As the dealer was quite surprised as well.