stereo-battery connection

[Carl Crothers]

I'm stalling a stereo. I'm not an electrician. Do I need one to make the connections to the house batteries? Can anyone provide specifics? I realize it will drain some from the batteries to maintain the memory, etc. I assume my charger will handle that during my absences -- three weeks at a time. Thanks!

[Exodus]

you should probably wire it to the switch panel.  On a typical car stereo there is constant power and switched power.  The constant power will maintain your memory presets and other settings.  If you don't mind the default settings just wire both + wires to the switched power and you won't have to worry about the drain on your battery when the stereo is not being used.  This is how I have my stereo wired.  The only drawback is having to find stations again after it has been turned off.

[Ron Hill]

Carl : You can wire it direct to the battery/s.  Usually the stereos come with an in-line fuse.  If not - install one!!
I put a ON/OFF switch in-line on the positive wire.  That way NOTHING is drained from the battery/s while I'm gone.   A thought  

[Carl Crothers]

Thanks for the ideas. The stereo does have a in-line fuse. I like the on-off switch idea. Appreciate the help.

[Stu Jackson]

I have mine wired to the Stereo switch on the panel, with the memory wired directly to the house battery.  Just like a car, and I never have power "issues."

C'mon, think about it.  Your car battery is all of maybe 60 ah, and sometimes we go away on vacation for two weeks or more and don't use our car.  Have you ever had a car that wouldn't restart after a vacation?

Our boat batteries, even the tiniest house bank I've heard about here in 12 years, is twice the size of a car battery.  They ain't goin' anywhere and will power your radio memory just fine without killing your house bank.

I just hate having to reset the preset, which is an oxymoron.   It's like having all the benefits of a rental car radio: none!

[Michael Shaner]

I just hate having to reset the preset, which is an oxymoron.

Nice! Couldn't agree more...but being amp fastidious, (hey, I just did a bottom up electrical upgrade?! Gotta keep it new!!) I've been pulling the fuse while in pursuit of the "perfect" switch to disconnect that memory wire drain while I'm away...can't seem to locate one I fancy...

[Ron Hill]

Stu : You live in a Hi -Tech/Densely populated area.
  
I keep my boat on Virginia's Northen Neck.  It is commonly call "The Promised Land" - because they will promise you anything and never show up!   It's also referred to as "A Digital Wasteland".  The selections on the "dial" are somewhat limited - to say the least!!  I only have 1 station I enjoy listening to.
That's why I don't never use or need presets !!   It's not the amps so much, as the lack of stations !!  So why wastes even the milliamp?? - save them for the bilge pump - if ever needed!

I use a simple slide switch (on the + wire) that I can change with out even looking at it - ON is forward and OFF is back!!

Michael : If you wire the stereo power (+) into the main electrical panel (nav station), when you turn OFF the batteries the memory will also be shut off! 
  
A few thought  

[Stu Jackson]

I hear ya, Ron.  We do get those density induced multiple radio stations.  AM, FM, and now with iPods, and the cassette deck AND the 10 disc CD changer I installed on board, I get too much to deal with!  

Baseball games - two teams here Giants and A's, Click 'n Clack Talk Cars on PBS, local news and weather on AM, Rush Limbaugh and Rachael Maddow competing with each other, I NEED my presets to keep up with all that jazz (91.1 FM, by the way!!!).

Michael, a simple toggle switch somewhere in the memory wire line, taped up with a wire tie, would do for ya.  ACE Hardware is a best buy rather than West Marine.  Easier than the fuse, and you could put it right next to it, too.

[DarthOccam]

I'm troubleshooting a problem with the stereo on our 2005.  There's a Sony car CD/receiver installed, but it's only powered up twice in the couple of months we've had the boat.  Like most car stereos, it's designed to have the constant power to maintain memory settings, and turning off the "stereo" breaker on the panel shuts off all power.  I've tried reseting it, but it doesn't power up.  I've verified with a multimeter that the power cables to the unit are hot.  My working theories are:  1)  it's just broke or 2) the constant loss of power was something it was not designed for.

My question to the group is:  has anyone else had problems with a stereo failing due to the power cycling?  

I keep the boat in a slip with a charger, so I'm thinking of taking Ron's advice and wiring the constant lead to unswitched power and putting my own in-line switch in for those rare situations when I want it totally shut off.

[Exodus]

If your stereo has a removable face plate check to make sure it is on properly.  Hopefully could be the only issue.

[Stu Jackson]

Have you tried the unit's "reset" button?

[DarthOccam]

Good suggestions, but I've verified that the removable faceplate is installed correctly, the contacts are clean, and I've pushed the reset button many, many, many times.  I pulled the unit out and traced the wiring, and verified that I have voltage on both power leads into the unit.  I even broke down and read the manual--a testimony to my state of dispair.

I've pretty much resigned myself to replacing it, but wanted to see if the failure mode is common.

[Joe Kern]

Sounds like the same unit that came with my 2005.  Mine failed after about 3 years.  The contacts went bad and no matter how or what I cleaned them with most of the buttons and functions were all messed up.   Since it was plug an play I went with another Sony.  Prettty cheap supposedly marine grade.  Fit in the same hole, used the same wiring harness etc. so just was easier.   Been working fine the last 3 years or so.

[Ken Juul]

Michael,
Why don't you just wire both hots leads to the stereo switch.  Come down to the boat, battery on, stereo on, set your presets.  Turn the radio off and on at the head unit leaving the stereo switch on.  When you leave the boat the both the Battery switch and the stereo switch will kill the memory power.

[DarthOccam]

I realized I never posted the outcome of my stereo woes. I decided the Sony unit was faulty and replaced it with a new unit.  As a bonus, I got one that also plays DVDs, and was able to remove the stand-alone DVD player the PO had installed. 

When I traced the "memory" power lead as part of the installation, I found that it was run to the switched pole of the power distribution 1/2/both switch (which sort of defeats the point).  I reinstalled it on the non-switched pole.  I'm not too worried about the current draw.  So far, the until has worked perfectly.

Michael