Clarion CDM4 Sirius Question

[Stray Cat]

Trying to be a good boater, I checked my water and cleaned the posts on my batteries. Now my radio has lost its ability to pick all the Sirus stations I had prior to cleaning my batteries.

When I turned the stereo on the first time after cleaning, the display read "Invalid Signal"

I called Sirius and they did their magic by disconnecting and reconnecting my service. They had me press my reset on the stereo, turn off the battery switches thinking it would power the radio down....I still only get a select group of stations, all of which stink! Sirius suggested I contact Clarion to see if they could tell me how to do a "Hard Reset".

I callled a Clarion service department and they claim it is a Sirius problem. (no pun intended)

Anyone ever had an issue like this?

 

[Cocktail Time]

I have a CMD3 and there is a very small recessed button near the cd slot that you push in and hold for a few seconds with a pen or paper clip that resets the unit to factory settings. I beleive the CMD4 has the same function. Go to the Clarion website and pull up the manual and it should show you the location of the reset button. This is the only way I know of to do a hard reset. If you have access to the sirius module that plugs into the receiver, you could pop it out and bring it to a Clarion dealer to troubleshoot if the reset doesn't work.

Good luck...

Dan

 

[teekster]

I have had similar things happen to the JVC Sirius module in one of my cars. Resetting the radio doesn't necessarily fix it. Try disconnecting the cable from the Sirius tuner. I'm not sure where yours would be. Mine was behind the AC/DC panels.

It always works in my car. Good luck.

 

[Stray Cat]

Dan - I found the little reset button and tried it a couple times when I was on the phone with the Sirius Tech.

Teekster - which cable(s) do you refer to? The cable between the Sirius tuner to the CMD4?

The only way I could pick up any channels was after I scrolled through a feature on the radio that picked up on certain Station categories...Like all Elvis ALL THE TIME :smt089

We went back to CD's real fast! :lol:

 

[estebanj]

I have the CMD4a and the Sirius "black box". To reset the blackbox, disconnect the cables at the blackbox.

I have had to do this on mine a few times b/c of a bug where it locks up. Just today I was able to get my dealer to order a new blackbox under warranty. They said they have had to replace a few.

My blackbox model is SIR-CL3.

Esteban

 

[Cocktail Time]

Jeff,

Resetting the Sirius tuner by unplugging the power and interface cables is super easy and should only take you a few minutes. There are four philips head screws that hold the radio in place under plastic covers that snap on and off, there is one black cover on each side.

http://www.clarion.com/us/en/MungoBlobs/420/778/CMD4(Install),0.pdf

Above is the link to the installation manual that shows you what you will need to know. Behind your radio should be the Sirius tuner module connected to the radio by a black CeNet cable. It will also have a red and black wire pair (power and ground) that can be disconnected from the tuner unit itself. If you disconnect both of these you should clear the memory of the Sirius tuner. I would disconnect them and let the unit sit unplugged for about 5-10 minutes then plug them both back in. You can check to see if it worked before putting the head unit back in place.

By the way, if you ever have to reset the cd changer, it is routed through the sirius tuner module if installed, I've had a friends CeNet cable come loose and he and the dealer could'nt figure out why the changer wouldn't work.

Hope this works...

Dan

 

[Duke's Addiction]

Dan,

The above link does not work, do you know where or why that is?

 

[estebanj]

In your browser, copy/paste the text including the characters at the end... .pdf

Copy the entire string into your address bar and that should work.

Esteban

 

[Duke's Addiction]

Thanks Esteban....that did it

 

[wkearney99]

Pay close attention to the catch on the CeNet cable connector. It has a release pin that has to be squeezed in order to disengage it. That and the pins inside the square connector can be easily bent. You want to avoid trying to push or pull on it without a clear angle.

 

[Stray Cat]

Thanks! You guys nailed it! I was listening to Nascar Radio just in time for the Sharpie 500 :thumbsup:

If only all things could be unplugged and replugged to get them going again :lol:

CSR once again proved invaluable

 

[RanAmok]

I have the same problem now on my 44DA so I hope this information is still valid.

 

[Stray Cat]

I have the same problem now on my 44DA so I hope this information is still valid.

Yes it is....I replaced all of my batteries this summer and had to repeat this procedure and it resolved the same problem as before.

 

[magster65]

Hmmm... mine has "antenna" scroll across the screen. I unplugged it all and let it sit... I even followed all the wires to make sure they're in the right place... which they seem to be.
So I called sirius in case it's because I don't have an account and we couldn't get it to go. Everything else works. The boat sat with the battery switch off for quite a couple months. Is it possible it needs a 'reset'? Any ideas?
I need my sirius radio!

 

[Stray Cat]

If Sirius has checked your account & signal, and if it is OK, I would try powering the Sirius box down by pulling the power feed to it, wait about a minute and plug it back in. It has worked each time for me. My remote would display "Trying To Connect" and flash a satellite on the screen.

edit - I think I disconnected 2 cables from the Sirius unit when I reset mine. One was power, and the other was the Cnet cable from the head unit.

 

[magster65]

The tech I talked to said the radio should display channel 184 with all the advertising and commercials for "Sirius" radio (account or not). He also sent a signal to my radio ID number (which we triple checked for accuracy) and nothing happened. I'll try the reset / unplug tricks one more time I guess.
If that doesn't do it I'll pull the tuner out and take it in to the shop for them to test it.

 

[Cocktail Time]

Hey guys, I am now having the same "invalid channel" message coming up. I'll let you know if unplugging and doing a hard reset works. As info, a buddy that belongs to a Chapparral site let me know that there were posts reporting an issue with older Clarion Sirius tuners. Not sure whats going on....

 

[magster65]

Nobody around here knows anything about or can check anything with these systems. Luckily I have another boat with the same Clarion set-up in it. So I pulled the head unit out of the other boat and tried it... same results. I know that head unit works fine. So I've narrowed it down to either the cables, the tuner or the antenna. Since it says "antenna" on the screen I ordered an antenna from West Marine. I told them my situation and they said if the antenna doesn't fix it they'll take it back... that's pretty good service I'd say.
Oh... I'd try swapping out the tuner too but where they installed it in the other boat I'd have to take most of the interior out to get at it... typical non-Sea Ray...

 

[Cocktail Time]

Ok, went to the boat this weekend and fixed the sirius "invalid channel" issue. All I needed to do was unplug the cnet cable and wait a couple minutes before plugging it back in. When I did, the head unit reset, read "press pwr" and when I pressed the power button, it then read "system update" and the Sirius tuner works again! Easy fix...

 

[Stray Cat]

If only all things in life were as easy as unplugging it, wait....., and plug it back in.