No power to radio

[Lt4vette]

The Fusion stereo in my Mark 5 won't turn on. There's no sign of power at all. Everything else in the Tvan is working fine. Before I pull the power box out, which I find quite difficult, I thought I'd ask if there is anything obvious I may have overlooked.
If anyone has had the same issue, what was the cause?
Is it powered from its own circuit breaker?
Thanks,
Russell

[three1four2]

Hi, Russell
I assume you have the StereoActive portable unit.  Did you hear a 'battery low' (or something similar) audio warning when it was on last?
Are you in a position to try charging it using the AC adapter?

[hulbyw]

You can remove the stereo in a Mk4 without removing the power box from memory. You will need the unlocking keys that came in the case for the removable face. Remove the face then slide the keys in both sides and I reckon you can then slide the stereo out. The unit itself likely has a fuse at the back. Otherwise you may have to see if there is anything in the owners manual about radio fuses or give TT a call
Cheers

[Lt4vette]

Thanks for that - i'll See if I have the keys🙄. No, it's not a portable unit - just a standard car radio type with a removable face ( and Bluetooth etc.
Russell

[three1four2]

Thanks for that - i'll See if I have the keys[emoji849]. No, it's not a portable unit - just a standard car radio type with a removable face ( and Bluetooth etc.
Russell

Ahha! I was reading off the Mark 5 description [emoji4]

[Wetjala]

I've had some "fun and games" with that damn radio in my Oct'16 MarkIV! Here goes . . . :

- When I was receiving the handover from Outback HQ at the factory in Bayswater the radio didn't work at all so the tech's were called out to fix it (and attended to a couple of other minor issues). I have no idea what they did other than dismantle the panel and "fiddle" around until it worked. I was more focused on the handover instruction I was receiving for my new $80k investment and I had my rose tinted glasses on and a silly grin on my face! (No longer I can assure you!)

- Fast forward a few months (summer time). I found that "on some occasions" no sound would come out of two of the four speakers in the cabin area on days when the T-Van was hot after sitting in the sun. In the evening when it was cooler all four speakers would be operational. (No it wasn't front/rear, left/right balance nor int/ext adjustments in case someone was wondering.) This continued well into the next summer before I "spat the dummy" and pulled the panel apart myself to fault find. For this particular problem I found the issue was due to the connector seating of the 8-way Molex style connector (see photo) which, if slightly flexed or twisted, would cause varying degrees of signal failure to the speakers. I disconnected the male and female connector, re-seated the individual pins, reattached the connector firmly and "hey presto" I haven't had a similar problem since . . . . touch wood!!

- I've also previously experienced a really weird power issue with that panel (switches OFF yet lights remain lit although not to full brightness) and where the radio would not power up at all and it occurred just prior to my "panel intervention" noted above which probably precipitated/added to my "dummy spit"! While I had the panel off fault finding the speaker issue above I re seated other connectors, untangled looms and released some of the wire-loom strain that was apparent when I dismantled the panel. I experienced this power anomaly once and just once.

- Ever since I have taken delivery of the T-Van the radio reception has been less than optimal. (I know this is probably a bit off-topic for this particular thread but I'm aware of other T-Van owners experiencing reception issues so this thread is kind of Fusion radio installation related, I figured I would tack it onto the end of this post.) My problem has been that the radio has never been able to received AM which most travelers know is about the only reception you are likely to get away from the big smoke. Again I pulled that panel apart, in fact just a couple of weeks ago, and I found that the Motorola style antenna connector (male) that plugs into the socket on the radio was "flaky" as the slightest touch of this connection would give some, none or total AM reception! After a bit of fiddling with the male connector (the conductive core of 75ohm 3c-2v antenna wasn't pushed far enough into the signal part of the connector) I now have decent FM & AM reception on the radio.

Anyway, from my experience and observation I would suggest you have a careful look at ALL connectors behind that panel but if you do, and I can't stress this enough, make sure the master switch is off before you dismantle the panel. The cables/connectors can be under stress which could cause issues and there's not much room between the back of the radio and the side panel of the T-Van. QA/QC ain't the best at Track!

Of course the simplest solution to your problem could be that the blade-type fuse on the radio is blown but to get to it you are going to need to take that panel off anyway (and then if was you I would want to know why the fuse blew in the first place!)

PS: There is a separate CB behind the panel for the radio (one of seven in with my T-Van configuration) however it is an type-1 automatic reset type (an over current will cause a thermal trip which then resets when it cools down, usually in seconds) and will cycle continuously if the fault condition persists. If this is happening you should be able to hear the faint relay action behind the panel (but I doubt this is your problem).

[Lt4vette]

Thanks Wetjala. That's good detailed info. My guess, based on what you say, that my problem is more likely a connector than a fuse. Like you, if the the fuse is blown, I would need to figure out why, and I'm sure that would be difficult - and likely internal to the radio.
I have the same am reception problem and have resorted to attacheing 3m of wire to the antenna base with a crocodile clip. So I'll check the radio's antenna connection too.
Thanks,
Russell