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Sony radio quit working, again. 2013 model.

Dr. Evil

Dr. Evil

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Short version, we purchased a 2013 model 20SL in February of this year with an upgraded stereo, ipod hookup/mp3 player and usb port. All went well for the first 3 or 4 times out on the water till my radio quit working. It would still come on but was stuck in display mode. I've read the manual and tried to reset it several times with no result. As a matter of fact I can press any buttons in any order and nothing, it just scrolls in display mode with no sound. The dealership sent me a new one which worked great... for three weeks. Took the boat out today and the same thing. We keep the boat at our house and trailer to/from the lake 5 miles each way. We always use the playpen cover, close the cover on the radio and detach the face from the radio and store it inside the house, in the laundry room to be exact. Its either operator error because I'm missing something or this series of radios is crap. Sony usually makes great stuff. Has anyone else had this issue yet? I've done some searching on the web and I've seen quite a few other people complain about Sony radios going into a display mode of no return. I'm going to check with the dealer again but if they want to replace it I'd like another brand or model of radio. 2 chances with the same radio seems reasonable to me. Thoughts and opinions?
 
I did a quick scan of search results using keywords Sony Marine Head unit display mode, and the pattern I am seeing is that the head unit will return to display mode when powered down completely. In other words, when both the power cable and radio preset memory power connections lose power. You might want to verify that the {orange?} radio memory wire receives constant power, and is not switched.

From what I read the following steps may return the head unit to normal operation:

Press and hold the "Select" button until the setup menu appears on the display.

Push the "Select" button repeatedly until "Demo" appears on the display.

Turn the volume control dial until "Demo Off" appears on the display.

Press and hold the "Select" button to confirm. Supposedly the stereo is now ready to operate in normal mode.

Sounds like you've tried something similar to no avail, anyway hope this helps!
 
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I have the same radio no issues ( hopefully ) . I also remove the face and take it home .

I do turn off the batteries when I leave each time , so I do lose my settings .

There was one instance when I first removed the face, I didn't have it installed correctly .

I would also check the contacts ,on the face and the head ,possibly one could be off location , bent ?
 
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Jim, nice research, you are the man!

Jim_R said:
I did a quick scan of search results using keywords Sony Marine Head unit display mode, and the pattern I am seeing is that the head unit will return to display mode when powered down completely. In other words, when both the power cable and radio preset memory power connections lose power. You might want to verify that the {orange?} radio memory wire receives constant power, and is not switched.

From what I read the following steps may return the head unit to normal operation:

Press and hold the "Select" button until the setup menu appears on the display.

Push the "Select" button repeatedly until "Demo" appears on the display.

Turn the volume control dial until "Demo Off" appears on the display.

Press and hold the "Select" button to confirm. Supposedly the stereo is now ready to operate in normal mode.

Sounds like you've tried something similar to no avail, anyway hope this helps!
Click to expand...
 
If you have the wired remotes check those. I had the same problem and got to moving the remote wires and it would come back on like it should. There are a couple of boxes that just hang down. Make sure they are plugged together good and zip tie them to the main wiring harness. I have not had a problem since. Before radio would work fine until you turned power off then it would go to demo mode with only FM radio.
 
[Warning, rant on] I've tried the reset, turning demo mode off, taking power off completely and anything else you can think of. The radio is crap. I may not have purchased a $40 high end pontoon from TB but it is a 2013 with less than 20hrs and the radio has failed twice. We actually paid a bit extra for the upgraded sound system to boot. I guess I'll purchase and install a radio of my choice rather than have to deal with the wait and downtime. I like the boat but am not impressed with some of the details. [ Rant off]
 
Did you contact your dealer and express your displeasure, and request the chance of trying a different brand of radio as a replacement?

I understand your frustration, but venting here about the issue, before trying to resolve your wish of a different radio, by contacting the dealer (warranty issue) is not fair to them or to Bennington. Just my two cents.........
 
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Contact the dealer. I got my GCW home and there were a few things hooked up wrong, some not at all. Granted, the dealer is a reflection of the Bennington brand, however, if they don't know they did something wrong, or if the radio was a defective unit (this happens too) they can't make it right, or share their displeasure with their suppliers. That's just my opinion... I could be wrong.
 
In all fairness to my dealership: I was/am venting a bit. I did send them an email and will follow up this week. They were very helpful the first time this problem presented itself. BUT This is the second time in as many months. I also know that it will take a while to get a replacement radio mailed/delivered. Last time it took nearly 3 weeks to get a replacement. That said, I know that isn't the dealer or TB fault. I'd guess they have to file a claim with Sony and then get one sent to them from Sony so I understand they are limited in how fast they can respond. I really just want it resolved and am willing to work out what ever. FWIW, we cruised about 40 miles last weekend and about 30 today. We also tie up in a cove and swim quite a bit. We do enjoy the radio. It doesn't ruin the trip not having it as evidenced by our last couple of weekends but it is nice to have. I'm just aggravated at the whole situation and needed to vent. It could be worse I guess. I could have gotten a Sunchaser like a friend did and have cracked welds in the pontoons, day 3 on the water.
 
I had to replace the radio on my 07 under warranty but that was a cheap brand of radio can't remember what brand. The Sony on my 11 has been good except for the fact the internal memory battery goes dead over the winter and it takes about 8 hours of on time or about 3 days worth of outings to get it to recharge enough to hold clock and preset memory. Pretty annoying when you lose all memory every time I shut the accessory switch off.

Pretty small thing but I live with it. Not A Bennington issue they just get stuck with the issue.

This is the same issue as the sea star thread, people venting on Bennington over another companies component, no different than trying to blame Bennington for an engine problem.
 
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I have had exact same problem on my brand new 2575 RCWC - exactly the way you describe it. The way I got it to "snap out of being basically locked on demo" was to remove all the cables/power/everything - it was a pain. I think there is a bug in the Sony unit because I read the same instructions on how to reset - there is even a "reset" button on the device and none of it worked the unit was just plan locked on demo nothing made it budge. I have only had it happen once but I am worried. If anyone knows of a fix or if this is something Bennington needs to address - it would be nice to know.
 
URQFAM, I did disconnect the plug on the back of the radio with no effect. I may try leaving it unplugged for a day or two next time and see what happens. I'll also unplug everything else while I'm at it and see if that helps.
 
Well the last two outings I find my Sony will not remember anything preset even if it is not shut off, set the radio and look at it 10 minutes later and it changed, reset it again and the same thing next time I looked at it. Warranty Issue #3 for the dealer this fall.
 
My husband and I purchased a Bennington last year from a private party. The SONY system worked fine for the first couple times out and then got stuck on one channel. After looking through the paperwork we got I realized that the original radio had been returned to SONY due to problems with it and this was a "new" radio. The boat is only 2 years old. Not sure what to do? Has anyone had a better experience with another brand of stereo?
 
If the warranty was transferred to you then a Bennington dealer should replace the radio for you. And welcome to the forum. I was born in NY.
 
Let me point out the consistency here, a SONY radio! When we purchased our 22SLX and I saw that they were equipped with a Sony radio I knew then that an upgrade was in the future. We have had similar quirks with our radio. It will go into menu mode whenever and not come out until it is shutdown and turned on again. The radio receiver is the pits. Mostly all it will pick up is static and that is even after upgrading the antenna. Granted, we are boating on a mountain lake but the reception on the Sony is pathetic. A new radio is way down the list of priorities since we mostly listen to music on the iPhone or Pandora and connect thorough the Sony as an amp. I haven't experienced much of the marine radio market but it will probably become a Pioneer system in the future. I once had a Sony in a truck of mine and the face plate died on me. Would still play fine but everything was a guess when selecting something.

So take my word for it, forget calling the dealer since all they can do is put another Sony in, and go get a new audio system when the problem gets to be too much of an aggravation.
 
I have to use the remote to get out of the " menu/demo " mode .

I was able to improve the reception by unwinding the antenna under the helm .
 
Maybe not the right place but, I just bought a new 2013 24 SSRX (Hall Marine, Greenville SC) First time I took the boat out, one speaker did nto work, one nav light did not work nor did the anchor light. So, I crawlled under the hood..... what a mess. I really expected a cleaner set of wires than the mess I saw. My 15 year old Partry barge was much more organized than this one. No wire diagrams in any of my paperwork so I started poking around. I found that the pin was pushed back on one connector and it was the anchor light (fixed that) . Called the dealer for some help on the nav light, asked which wire to start with and they told me to start at the light and work my way back ( this baby is fully skinned on the bottom.) I will spend another hour on my back instead of on the water but if I don't find it..... dealer come fix it. As for the speaker, the way it is configured, any time you put the cover under the seat or put a life jacket in there, it is going to pull the wires of the speaker. My point, for a boat with a list price at $50k I am really disappointed with the quality of the electrical, the documentation, and basic condition of the boat as delivered.

I appreciate this forum, I downloaded the electrical diagram which will help. It is just a shame that within 3 days of my purchase I am on the fourm looking for help.

Thanks for being here my new friends.
 
VbChaz, rather than do it yourself why don't you just bring it back to the dealer, bet you will find he wants you to be a happy customer
 
Interesting, my last 2 Bennington's came with a wiring diagram for the stereo stuff. As for the speaker wire, all of my previous boats have a cover on the inside of the seat that completely covers the back of the speaker and all wire connections. As for the anchor light, I had trouble with mine right where the 2 wires plugged into the bimini frame. I think the playpen cover or if the frame gets over extended forward it bent the bullet plugs, just bent them back a little and worked fine. It is a heck of a disaster under the helm, but there is A LOT going on under there! I started to look at it to see how I could clean it up, but after spending all that time under there doing the stereo stuff, I just wanted out!!!! Hahaha
 
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