2009 280 EC Stereo remotes

Billyavenue

I recently purchased a 2009 Rinker 280 and neither of the sound system remotes work. I'm pretty sure this is the original equipment. Both remotes backlights work but there is nothing displayed and the buttons do nothing. Any suggestions?

jbschmalz23

Do the brand of the remotes match the brand head unit? A lot of boats upgrade and just leave the remotes as new technology allows remote control from a cell phone etc. and Bluetooth. My 07 280 has the clarion radio and remotes. 

Billyavenue

Yes, they all match.

skennelly

@Billyavenue Is the remote wire plugged into the receiver?  They might have a 12v source that provides the back lite but the data wire isn't connected.

Billyavenue

I'll have to check that. Is the remote wire typically marked in any way?

Cableguy Greg

If it is a Clarion system, the remote wire is a round DIN plug. It is about 3/4 inch in diameter. To get to the back of the radio, remove the floor inside the TV cabinet. There should be 3 or 4 screws holding it in place. @skennelly is correct that the backlight is a separate 12v source.

skennelly

On my old Kenwood there was a blue wire coming out of the Rinker stereo harness and then a blue wire that just came out of the kenwood receiver case...like it was an after thought no special plug or anything.  I took the new Kenwood wiring harness and spliced it in by  matching up the colors...blue seems to always be stereo remote.

Cableguy Greg

@Billyavenue , can you provide us with the brand of stereo? Rinker used Clarion, Kenwood and Sony in the boats. It will help us help you in troubleshooting.

Billyavenue

It's a Clarion M109 receiver. The remotes are Clarion. Apparently, this is not the original system. In any case, it seems it is not compatible with the remote units. There is no connection on the back of the M109 for the DIN plug.

Cableguy Greg

The original system is the M455. That is why the remotes don't work. If you upgrade to a more current system with remotes, you will need to fish new DIN lines to each location because Clarion added a pin, so the older lines won't work. You might be able to find a M455 on the internet to get everything going again.