Audio Controller Intermittent Problem

[rumboogy]

First off... I have a 2009 RSV. I have really grown to love this bike (finally), although I still have a few minor complaints.

 

But I am having an electrical issue that is DRIVING ME NUTS (kinda). The audio controller locked up after only having the bike for about 3 months. None of the buttons or switches worked at that time. I believe when it happened the FIRST time...I did something with the CB switch and it started working again, but that was about a year ago now.

 

It happened one other time...very similar...turning the bike all the way (turning the KEY all the way off) and then back on...made the unit work.

 

Now today, while on a 200 mile ride...the audio cutout, and when I looked at the audio controller, the HEADPHONES icon was on (top right corner of controller)...AND the controller was going dim, then blank, then back on again. So I thought maybe it could be a loose wire or power issue.

 

I pulled off the road, turned the key/bike off...turned it back on and it worked fine again. Started riding again, and the AUDIO STAYED PERFECT...but the LCD on the controller started getting dim and disappearing and then coming back clear...the AUDIO STAYED PERFECT during the time the LCD kept dimming and disappearing.

 

So now I am thinking it is a defective controller or something since the Audio did work even when the LCD was blank.

 

Problem is that now it's working again and...most of you know how hard it is to FIX SOMETHING THAT AIN'T BROKE!!!

 

Anyone else have this malady going on...

 

Wally

[MikeWa]

With the fairing off and radio on wiggle the connectors . The one from the controller to the mcu sometimes has bad pins.

Mike

[bongobobny]

***SIGH***

 

Yet another victom of the dreaded poor connection on the controller connector syndrome!! Yup, split your fairing, get some contact cleaner, disconnect the connector from your controller, spray the living crap out of it, blow it out with compressed air, apply dielectric grease to all the pins, and reseat it a couple of times. Fixed!!

 

Or, battle with the dealer and have him do a poor job of fixing it and have it happen again in a few months...

[rumboogy]

Thanks guys...I'll do that.

 

OK...for someone that was a little afraid to crack the fairing a year ago...seems lately I have taken it off more than my GAS CAP. LOL

 

Thanks guys...I'll try that...sure can't hurt!!

[BigDawg]

Wally, first off, thanks for this post! I had a problem last weekend with the radio, first long trip, 315 miles each way. Worked fine all the way to Laughlin from Carlsbad, CA. I had been having some headlight fuses blow, and sure enough, we go out to the bike on Sunday morning and I ask my wife to check the signals, lights, etc. She's standing in front of the bike and its running, and says, "turn on the headlights honey". What? the bikes running, the lights gotta be on. So I pop off the cover, put in a fresh 15 amp headlight fuse, and still no lights. So we get on the bike and ride home 315 miles with no lights and no running lights. So back to the radio. On the way home the radio started doing weird things. It froze up on one channel, wouldn't go up or down, wouldn't shut off. I got it stuck on some weird channel and ended up just turning the volume all the way down. At a fuel stop, I tried it after starting back up and it worked, some CB static and finally I got it to a working channel. Made it home, spent my Friday this week pulling the wires for the headlights and passing lights. Seems a couple of them were loose connections, so I shrunk wrapped it all, put a fresh fuse in and waa-laa! Turned the front end back and forth and no problems. So now I guess my next task will be, as you say Wally, pulling apart the fairing and playing with all the audio cables. I've only had this bike for 6 weeks, but I love the ride and my wife loves the backseat, so I'm learning so much from this site and all you great venture owners! I guess my Friday this week will be in the fairing playing with audio!

 

Again, I want to say this is a great site and I would have never had the confidence to pull all those wires to fix the lighting problem, and with all the info on here about the fairing removal I'm sure I'll be good to go!

 

THANK YOU VENTURERIDERS!!!

 

Brian

'06 Midnight Venture

 

--one more quick question, when I plugged my MP 3 connector into the outlet next to the cassette deck it blew the headlight fuse, this was before I re-wired it all up. Any ideas??

[MikeWa]

Brian

Sometimes passing lights are installed with the wires routed so they can be pinched when steering is turned to the stop. This can blow the light fuse. If you have passing lights check this.

Mike

[rumboogy]

OK...cracked the fairing and started messing with the connections and adding dielectric grease to each of the connections.

 

I was able to do the 4 MAIN booted connectors (one of which was the audio controller cause I saw it go off when I unplugged it). I also did the grease thing on all the audio connections (those were acting fine though).

 

So MAYBE this problem will go away.

 

Fingers crossed!

[MikeWa]

The wire harnesses are wire tied for support under the fairing. I think if the ties are above the connectors the constant bumping and vibration of the harness tends to pull the heavy connectors apart. I try to wire tie mine below the connector. Can't prove it but a suspicion I have.

Mike

[rumboogy]

OK...I think that did the TRICK. I have rode the bike over 50 miles without as much as even a flicker.

 

Just to summarize...I took the fairing off, and used dielectric grease on ALL of the booted connectors and also on all of my audio connectors for my GPS.

 

The light on the audio controller looks MUCH brighter and now the text looks darker...my conclusion was that indeed the connectors had a loose connection.

 

So if anyone has problems with their audio controller freezing up, flickering, going blank...then you might try this before taking it to the dealer.

 

I assume I will need to do this periodically, so I plan on doing this every spring.

 

Thanks to all the helped with this thread...your insights and suggestions were invaluable.

[DanC]

First off... I have a 2009 RSV. I have really grown to love this bike (finally), although I still have a few minor complaints.

 

But I am having an electrical issue that is DRIVING ME NUTS (kinda). The audio controller locked up after only having the bike for about 3 months. None of the buttons or switches worked at that time. I believe when it happened the FIRST time...I did something with the CB switch and it started working again, but that was about a year ago now.

 

It happened one other time...very similar...turning the bike all the way (turning the KEY all the way off) and then back on...made the unit work.

 

Now today, while on a 200 mile ride...the audio cutout, and when I looked at the audio controller, the HEADPHONES icon was on (top right corner of controller)...AND the controller was going dim, then blank, then back on again. So I thought maybe it could be a loose wire or power issue.

 

 

I pulled off the road, turned the key/bike off...turned it back on and it worked fine again. Started riding again, and the AUDIO STAYED PERFECT...but the LCD on the controller started getting dim and disappearing and then coming back clear...the AUDIO STAYED PERFECT during the time the LCD kept dimming and disappearing.

 

So now I am thinking it is a defective controller or something since the Audio did work even when the LCD was blank.

 

Problem is that now it's working again and...most of you know how hard it is to FIX SOMETHING THAT AIN'T BROKE!!!

 

Anyone else have this malady going on...

 

Wally

See my Post "Audio Totally Dead" 12/3/2010 as it will shed some more light on the problem and possibly help you to solve it before it blows the amp. DanC

[DanC]

First off... I have a 2009 RSV. I have really grown to love this bike (finally), although I still have a few minor complaints.

 

But I am having an electrical issue that is DRIVING ME NUTS (kinda). The audio controller locked up after only having the bike for about 3 months. None of the buttons or switches worked at that time. I believe when it happened the FIRST time...I did something with the CB switch and it started working again, but that was about a year ago now.

 

It happened one other time...very similar...turning the bike all the way (turning the KEY all the way off) and then back on...made the unit work.

 

Now today, while on a 200 mile ride...the audio cutout, and when I looked at the audio controller, the HEADPHONES icon was on (top right corner of controller)...AND the controller was going dim, then blank, then back on again. So I thought maybe it could be a loose wire or power issue.

 

I pulled off the road, turned the key/bike off...turned it back on and it worked fine again. Started riding again, and the AUDIO STAYED PERFECT...but the LCD on the controller started getting dim and disappearing and then coming back clear...the AUDIO STAYED PERFECT during the time the LCD kept dimming and disappearing.

 

So now I am thinking it is a defective controller or something since the Audio did work even when the LCD was blank.

 

Problem is that now it's working again and...most of you know how hard it is to FIX SOMETHING THAT AIN'T BROKE!!!

 

Anyone else have this malady going on...

 

Wally

See my Post "Audio Totally Dead" 12/3/2010. It may help to shed some light before you possibly blow the amp. DanC

[DanC]

Wally, first off, thanks for this post! I had a problem last weekend with the radio, first long trip, 315 miles each way. Worked fine all the way to Laughlin from Carlsbad, CA. I had been having some headlight fuses blow, and sure enough, we go out to the bike on Sunday morning and I ask my wife to check the signals, lights, etc. She's standing in front of the bike and its running, and says, "turn on the headlights honey". What? the bikes running, the lights gotta be on. So I pop off the cover, put in a fresh 15 amp headlight fuse, and still no lights. So we get on the bike and ride home 315 miles with no lights and no running lights. So back to the radio. On the way home the radio started doing weird things. It froze up on one channel, wouldn't go up or down, wouldn't shut off. I got it stuck on some weird channel and ended up just turning the volume all the way down. At a fuel stop, I tried it after starting back up and it worked, some CB static and finally I got it to a working channel. Made it home, spent my Friday this week pulling the wires for the headlights and passing lights. Seems a couple of them were loose connections, so I shrunk wrapped it all, put a fresh fuse in and waa-laa! Turned the front end back and forth and no problems. So now I guess my next task will be, as you say Wally, pulling apart the fairing and playing with all the audio cables. I've only had this bike for 6 weeks, but I love the ride and my wife loves the backseat, so I'm learning so much from this site and all you great venture owners! I guess my Friday this week will be in the fairing playing with audio!

 

Again, I want to say this is a great site and I would have never had the confidence to pull all those wires to fix the lighting problem, and with all the info on here about the fairing removal I'm sure I'll be good to go!

 

THANK YOU VENTURERIDERS!!!

 

Brian

'06 Midnight Venture

 

--one more quick question, when I plugged my MP 3 connector into the outlet next to the cassette deck it blew the headlight fuse, this was before I re-wired it all up. Any ideas??

See my Post "AUDIO TOTALLY DEAD" 12/3/2010 It may really help to shed some light on your problem before you blow the amp like I did. DanC

[Caj]

OK...I think that did the TRICK. I have rode the bike over 50 miles without as much as even a flicker.

 

Just to summarize...I took the fairing off, and used dielectric grease on ALL of the booted connectors and also on all of my audio connectors for my GPS.

 

The light on the audio controller looks MUCH brighter and now the text looks darker...my conclusion was that indeed the connectors had a loose connection.

 

So if anyone has problems with their audio controller freezing up, flickering, going blank...then you might try this before taking it to the dealer.

 

I assume I will need to do this periodically, so I plan on doing this every spring.

 

Thanks to all the helped with this thread...your insights and suggestions were invaluable.

 

I took it one step further. I got some 1" diameter shrink tubing insulation from harbor freight and cut it into approximately 3" lengths. I worked it onto the connectors, (its tight but it will fit). Once I had the connector plugged in I heated the tubing and shrank it to the connector. Felt pretty solid.

[shikano53]

First off... I have a 2009 RSV. I have really grown to love this bike (finally), although I still have a few minor complaints.

 

But I am having an electrical issue that is DRIVING ME NUTS (kinda). The audio controller locked up after only having the bike for about 3 months. None of the buttons or switches worked at that time. I believe when it happened the FIRST time...I did something with the CB switch and it started working again, but that was about a year ago now.

 

It happened one other time...very similar...turning the bike all the way (turning the KEY all the way off) and then back on...made the unit work.

 

Now today, while on a 200 mile ride...the audio cutout, and when I looked at the audio controller, the HEADPHONES icon was on (top right corner of controller)...AND the controller was going dim, then blank, then back on again. So I thought maybe it could be a loose wire or power issue.

 

I pulled off the road, turned the key/bike off...turned it back on and it worked fine again. Started riding again, and the AUDIO STAYED PERFECT...but the LCD on the controller started getting dim and disappearing and then coming back clear...the AUDIO STAYED PERFECT during the time the LCD kept dimming and disappearing.

 

So now I am thinking it is a defective controller or something since the Audio did work even when the LCD was blank.

 

Problem is that now it's working again and...most of you know how hard it is to FIX SOMETHING THAT AIN'T BROKE!!!

 

Anyone else have this malady going on...

 

Wally

 

Wally,

I have an 04 RSV and mine is doing exactly the same thing. I am going to part the faring today and see if I can fix it. I will let you know how I make out.

 

Chris in Red Deer, Alberta

[rumboogy]

Chris (and others)....just an update. Since I did this to mine (grease it up)...I have not had a single issue (knock on wood) and that is with about 3500 miles since I check and greased all connections.

 

Before this...it would flicker from stop to stop, light to light and EVERYDAY.

 

I'm a happy camper now.

Wally

[V7Goose]

Just to summarize...I took the fairing off, and used dielectric grease on ALL of the booted connectors and also on all of my audio connectors for my GPS.

 

I assume I will need to do this periodically, so I plan on doing this every spring.

You should not have to touch those plugs again. The problem is that the pins get a surface corrosion that affects good contact. Just unplugging/plugging them several times cleans the pin connections and fixes the problem, but it can come back. That is why you used the dielectric grease - it should prevent moist air and other contaminants from ever reaching those pins again.

Goose

[shikano53]

You should not have to touch those plugs again. The problem is that the pins get a surface corrosion that affects good contact. Just unplugging/plugging them several times cleans the pin connections and fixes the problem, but it can come back. That is why you used the dielectric grease - it should prevent moist air and other contaminants from ever reaching those pins again.

Goose

 

Thanks Wally, I am in a bind.

I am in the process of parting my faring. I have it all dismantled except I can't figure out how to remove or if I have to remove the Passing Lamp mounting bracket that fastens using the two hex bolts. I don't even know what size they are and I don't know how to reach them because of the angle they are at.

 

Is it necessary to remove these in order to drop the passing lamps down enough to remove the front faring piece?

 

I'm stuck at this point and not sure how to proceed.

 

If you have any comments or suggestions I would appreciate it.

 

Thank you

Chris in Red Deer, Alberta.

[V7Goose]

Thanks Wally, I am in a bind.

I am in the process of parting my faring. I have it all dismantled except I can't figure out how to remove or if I have to remove the Passing Lamp mounting bracket that fastens using the two hex bolts. I don't even know what size they are and I don't know how to reach them because of the angle they are at.

 

Is it necessary to remove these in order to drop the passing lamps down enough to remove the front faring piece?

 

I'm stuck at this point and not sure how to proceed.

 

If you have any comments or suggestions I would appreciate it.

 

Thank you

Chris in Red Deer, Alberta.

Yes, you do need to drop the light bar unless your bike has one of those ugly aluminum brackets that move the lights way down and forward (well, the bracket is not ugly, but the position of the lights sure is). The stock mounting has the passing lights right up to the fairing.

 

You remove the mounting bolts with a ball-end allen wrench - that is the only way to get on them.

Goose

[rumboogy]

Chris...sorry, I answered you the first time while I was at work...and just now checking this since I got home.

 

Like The Goose has said...yes, you'll have to drop the light bar and yes those bolts are a BEOOTCH to get to...easy to strip out too.

 

Good luck.

 

Wally

[Jakbag]

I need a little help with my 2001 RSV. My radio controller will not shut off, change channels and none of the buttons work except the volume control. I reviewed a boat load of previous posts and therefore split the fairing and checked the connections and all were fine. On Weds I installed new speakers, removed the CD changer and installed an AMP and everything was working just fine. Today, I go out and about 2 miles into my ride the radio controller starts to malfunction. Here's a very interesting thing: the rear push to talk for the passenger will change the radio station when it's pressed. Now that's VERY ODD to me, especially when the radio controller won't do anything except adjust the volume. I will ateempt to trouble shoot again tomorrow. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

JAKBAG

[Freebird]

When you removed the cassette, did you unhook any of the big cables other than the one that goes to it? I've never seen the problem that you describe but the fact that you can change channels by pushing the passenger push to talk button makes me wonder if you got the large cables mixed up and not plugged into the correct ones. I don't even know if that is possible and if the pin layouts are the same.

[Jakbag]

When I bought the bike used last Aug I was told by the previous owner that the CD player was disconnected inside the fairing. Up until last night I had never removed the CD, but had previously removed the cassette player last October. I've never had any problems with the radio controller up until yesterday. As far as the connections goe, I have taken them apart, cleaned, applied D grease and reconnected. After myself and a friend removed the CD and installed new speakers and an Amp everything was working perfect. I used the FM and aux input for my XM without any problems. Now the radio controller is only able to adjust volume up & down and nothing else. It's very weird that the rear push to talk changed the FM station??? I only found that by accident while leaning across the back of the bike and pushing the button. I do understand what you've said about getting the connections mixed up, but why would it work fine then stop? I also installed the Buddy Rich cable and thought maybe that caused the issue, but no because I removed the cable and it didn't make a difference.

 

I'm completely baffled by this dilemma!! I've read thru a ton of old posts and most said it was a loose cable marked RED, but that wasn't it either. One old post even said that they were experience the issue with the passenger push to talk and found that wiring was being crimped in the fairing. I will go over again today in more detail.

 

Any help would be much appreciated because I'm at a wits ends!!!

 

Jakbag