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Radio audio problem... normal then insanely quiet...
Off and on now my Type III is booming along, and then it goes to a VERY VERY quiet level as if muted, I mean so quiet that the bike has to be off, and your ear pretty close to hear it.

Okay, okay- I can hear it already... Did you mess with the wires, maybe its the mute switch malfunctioning, what did you do in general.

I did absolutely nothing. Funny thing is, I got so frustrated with it that I decided to start randomly pushing buttons. AH- HA a new symptom. The AM/FM switch just to the left of the LO switch seems to re-set the problem temporarily and only sometimes.

IF I cycle that button a few times, the radio is back to normal and will either stay on for the rest of the ride - or - It just turns right back "off" again.
IF I cycle the power "knob" for the whole system it does the same thing as above sometimes.

Needless to say this is getting quite annoying, and I would like to alleviate the problem ASAP, I love the radio feature of this bike... without it-it seems to just be another bike.


HELP!!!!! please

If you have had a similar problem, or have a solution or both perhaps, please email me at
<!-- e --><a href="mailto:fire_darkness_shadow@yahoo.com">fire_darkness_shadow@yahoo.com</a><!-- e -->
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#1 11-19-2008, 02:18 AM,
bump, noone has any ideas???
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#2 11-22-2008, 05:26 PM,
It does sound like it is a problem with the innards of the radio.
I would have a talk to Sierra. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sierra-mc.com/">http://www.sierra-mc.com/</a><!-- m -->
They do repairs to these radios.

You say you havnt touched any of the wires, It does sound like a radio problem rather than wiring anyway but maybe you could make sure that the wiring in the inner left pocket is in good shape and that the contacts are OK.
I wonder if the contacts at the back of the radio are a little loose and that you even touching the radio is making them contact.
Pull the radio and close the contacts on the radio a little you can do it with a tiny screwdriver or needle. Sometimes the jarring they receive opens them a little.
The only stupid questions are the one's that are not asked.

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#3 11-22-2008, 05:46 PM,
I agree with Tricky that the problem could be the contacts, so as he says pull the radio, open the contacts a bit then coat them with dielectric grease.

The other thing i suggest is that with a unit of this age the pots are dirty, so take off the knobs so that you can spray contact cleaner down inside the pots. do this and work the pots. repeat several times. Dirty pots will cause all kinds of problems.

good luck.
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#4 11-22-2008, 06:02 PM,
Took the radio out, and took it apart to see if there was moisture in it... etc..

Everything *seems* to be fine in there... I dont understand. The radio does this ever so abruptly, and without any kind of warning.

If I turn it off and let it set awhile, then back on... it seems to work for awhile again.
If its on when I start the bike it goes from... key in to start, wait, radio works, start engine, radio then quiet.

It is just really FCKING with my head. lol

Could it be the amplifier???? If the amp goes bad wouldnt it make the audio quiet??? I wonder how I could test this...
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#5 11-23-2008, 01:04 AM,
It can be a pain trying to find out radio problems.
Does our bike have a CB?
It might be the AVC (audio volume control)
You can by pass it and see if that is causing it by taking the radio out lead DIN (blue tape) and plug it directly into the amplifier DIN (red tape)

Does the problem still happen in all modes AM/FM or tape?
The only stupid questions are the one's that are not asked.

Reply
#6 11-23-2008, 06:39 AM,
Tricky...

Yes it has the auto volume... I will give that a try
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#7 11-23-2008, 12:14 PM,
Its not the auto-volume module... I bypassed it yesterday, didnt see anything awry in the rats nest of wiring either... I left the radio on while I jiggled, wiggled, greased, cursed, and pulled at the wiring. ALL TO NO AVAIL!!! this is kinda upsetting... I am wondering if its the radio itself, or if its the amplifier...

I need someone with a TYPE III to lend me their radio for a few hours to troubleshoot the damn thing.

My thinking is... If its the radio, then if I borrow one from someone, and the problem goes away, then its the radio unit, if not then its *something* else, probably the amplifier IMO. I dont know what else would cause it to still play music, just very very very quietly???
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#8 11-27-2008, 10:28 AM,
I wonder if the mute switch is playing up?
Spray some wd40 into the switch and give it a work out.
The only stupid questions are the one's that are not asked.

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#9 11-27-2008, 07:07 PM,
Didn't do a damn thing... (the WD-40). I am really beginning to wonder about this 23y/o system. I might just put a clarion marine radio in the saddlebag, and put a remote unit in place of the current radio. Is there a "filler" for where the radio is on non radio-ed bikes??
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#10 11-29-2008, 12:21 PM,
Send it to Sierra they will fix it. probably less than it will cost to buy another radio and the "filler piece" that comes with the Interstate.

If you dont use the intercom and cb you could take out the original put on a bezel (available) and install a marine radio with cd and mp3.

your choice.
The only stupid questions are the one's that are not asked.

Reply
#11 11-29-2008, 03:19 PM,
Does the CB radio go through the audio amplifier? IF it does go through the amp, then its the radio that has the problem.

I just casually had the CB on the other day, and the radio was very quiet as usual, and then came a BLAST from the CB from some trucker talking. Then the radio came back on in its usual annoying quiet self.

I sent Sierra an email to see what they would say, and they havent replied.
Reply
#12 11-30-2008, 08:29 AM,
Without going into a lot of detail and technical terms, the voltage that drives the speakers is AC voltage. For some, it's kind of hard to get
your head around since the voltage supply to our radio is DC. The speaker has to see positive and negative reference voltage to cause the speaker
diaphragm to move in and out. I said "reference" voltage. If you send six volts of DC current to the speaker, any thing below that would be considered
"negative",(even though it's not).
This makes it relatively easy to test the output of the radio.
With your voltmeter set on DC, check the voltage of the radio output at the 5 pin din connector. You should have a constant DC
voltage. (On mine, it was almost non existant, but it was there.)
Switch the meter to AC. As you increase and decrease the volume control on the radio, you should see a corresponding increase and
decrease in the AC voltage.
If you don't get these variations, or they are intermittent, the problem lies in the radio.

And yes, anything that is heard on the external speakers must go through the amplifier.
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#13 11-30-2008, 02:01 PM,
USAF85aspencade Wrote:Does the CB radio go through the audio amplifier? IF it does go through the amp, then its the radio that has the problem.

I just casually had the CB on the other day, and the radio was very quiet as usual, and then came a BLAST from the CB from some trucker talking. Then the radio came back on in its usual annoying quiet self.

I sent Sierra an email to see what they would say, and they havent replied.


If you follow the diagrams you will see that the CB go to the main amp via the multichanger

[Image: accesories.jpg]

The multichanger and the cb and amp seem to be working OK

I would have the radio checked.

When the CB has incoming or outgoing signals the multichanger mutes the radio
The only stupid questions are the one's that are not asked.

Reply
#14 11-30-2008, 04:59 PM,
fun fun fun!!!

The CB is still working strong, and the radio worked all day today. Oddly enough...

anyhew... I will take the advise on the voltage testing, however, can you specify which DIN connector I will be testing...

Seems to me its the radio then, because the CB powers over those speakers like its supposed to - then you have the stupid radio that just randomly goes so quiet that you cant hardly hear it... I think that sounds like its the radio.


Im glad I turned on the CB that day, thats for sure.

Sierra still has not given me a call or an email back yet... I dont think they like me very much.
Reply
#15 12-03-2008, 03:22 PM,


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