Cockpit Speakers don't work

[Tippy Canoe]

I recently purchased an '04 280DA. The first time I used the stereo I found that the cockpit speakers do not work. There is some sound coming through but it almost sounds like they are 80% muted. Could all of the tweaters be blown? The boat had one owner, a couple in their 60's so I don't think they abused it but it is odd that the cabin speakers work fine. Any ideas??

Thanks, KV

 

[ghuskin]

is there a "mute" button on your stereo?

who knows, just because they are in their 60's doesn't mean they can't rock out!

 

[gerryb]

What is the LPF setting? (Do a search on this if you don't have a manual and are not familiar with the term.) Should be set to Rear.

 

[Tippy Canoe]

I found information in a stereo forum that suggests that the stereo may need to be re programmed if the power has been disconnected for more than 48 hours on a Clarion XMD3, which mine has since the batteries were removed.

The instructions say "The following will restore the programming of the rear RCA pre-amp outputs to full frequency range"

1) Press and hold "Title/ADJ" button for two seconds.
2) Use "Search" button to scroll through the menu until the display reads "SW LPF".
3) Press the "VOL UP/DOWN" button to engage Rear full frequency range audio signal.
4) Once the desired adjustments are completed, press "TITLE/ADJ" button to exit program menu.

I am hoping that this will work as the symptoms described of the lost frequency sound identical to what I am experiencing. I am off to Block Island today but I will report back to let you know if this worked for me.

KV

 

[Cocktail Time]

You have probably tried this, but is your fader set to the front speakers? We do this at the dock sometimes to turn down the cockpit speakers. All you do is cycle thru bass, treble, balance and then you will come to "fad" if it says anything more than F3 it will significantly lower the rear channel output whether you have an amp or are running off the head unit. There is also a master reset button you can press with a paper clip that will reset the above and all other user settings. I have the same head unit.

 

[Tippy Canoe]

I did use the fader to the rear. My plot thickens as the boatyard says that the stereo was working fine while they were prepping the boat and adding rod holders. They told me to check the breakers. There is a breaker at the helm that says stereo but it appears to be engaged properly. I pulled the speaker near one of the installed rod holders on the port side and the wiring looks fine. The rod holder on the starboard side is not near the speaker and the speaker is forward of the rod holder so I don't think that that would be an issue. I am still hoping that something happened so that the stereo simply needs to be re programmed as anything else could be a royal pain.

KV

 

[In Two Deep]

This might seem like a stupid remark, but sometimes troubleshooting starts with the obvious. My boat has two switches in the cabin for the stereo, One for the cabin speakers, and one for the cockpit speakers. Check to see if you have a similar switch and, if so, make sure it is turned on

 

[Tippy Canoe]

I have a switch in the cabin that is on and I see a breaker on the starboard helm panel that appears to be on. There is some sound coming through but it is all bass and is very muted.

 

[MLauman]

Do the cabin speakers work ok? If yes, pretty much rules out a breaker issue and narrows it down to either an issue with the receiver (incorrect setting or defective) or blown speakers. You could swap a speaker from cabin-to-cockpit to check speakers.

Sounds like the boatyard crew might have been doing a little 'rocking' themselves!

 

[gerryb]

LPF first...that is your most likely problem on that radio model. Not a breaker if radio is getting power? might be a problem with the AMP (or the braker for the AMP). An Amp powers the cockpit speakers. Put your hand on it make sure it is getting hot after having the radio on for awhile. It will be cold if not getting juice. make sure the wiring harness into the amp is nice and tight. you'll see a couple of RCA plugs and a wiring harness which goes out to the speakers in the cockpit. The Cabin speakers work, right, so the radio should be oK. Mine blew out after three years.

 

[finchturf]

I had this same issue - down on the panel is a "stereo amplifier" breaker. This should get you sound out of the cockpit speakers.

 

[teekster]

I agree on the LPF. I forget about it every spring.

 

[Tippy Canoe]

I am happy to report that it was the LPF. The procedure that I described in this thread was the fix. When you get to the volume up/down step use volume down. It is amazing to me that the boatyard swears that the cockpit speakers were working fine when they obviously could not have been. That's a whole other issue.
Thanks for all your replies,
KV

 

[Thomas Molin]

Hi,
I had the same problem with mine. I guess you have a Clarion stereo? If you look behind the stereo you will find, I think three different RCA-outputs to the amplifier. Just try to change to another one. It seems like some of them only supplies the low frequency tones. I installed an extra amplifier for two of the cockpit speakers to keep the bass and used the other one for the other speakers for the higher frequensys. The sound will be a lot better. Good luck! //Thomas

 

[Uwe]

I had a similar problem. But I found out that the speakers just were..... but see your self.

 

[Stray Cat]

Too much Polka there Uwe? :grin:

 

[chris41483]

uwe, I just had the same issue. All 4 of my cockpit speakers looked just like that! man, those peakers really sucked!

 

[Lake Erie Boater]

Uwe,

Same thing here, launched the boat Friday, went to crank the tunes on Saturday and found the cockpit speakers all close to what yours look like. Must be eight years and out for the lifespan.

Oh well, I can think of far worse projects to have to be doing!

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

I have the same issue of very low volume, but only with the left channel pair of speakers in the cockpit. If I try and change the balance all to the left the little bit of sound that was coming out of them stops - of course the right speakers stop, but the sub drones on.
If I set the balance all to the right, the right speakers are louder, the left speakers are off, and the sub continues its drone.
This is all with the fader on full cockpit setting.

What I did to "cheat" the system was take the left speaker + wire off its terminal on the amp and added it to the right speaker + terminal (now there are 2 wires on that terminal). Speakers all now have the same level, but it's not true stereo - the left channel sound is missing.

Should the previous mentioned "fix" work with this situation. I was assuming that one channel on the amp was shot.

 

[Uwe]

Too much Polka there Uwe? :grin:

He he he Good one Stray Cat:lol:

But no, it was right after I have brought it from US- Florida to Germany. This speaker are in the arch and exposed the most time to all weather and humidity, Even when cockpit cover is on coz it not covers the speaker area.