No audio out of one amp - 2006 342

Dan_342

Hey all - I've read through a bunch of the posts here (super helpful), tried a number of things and am low on ideas.

I have a 342 with the clarion 455 head unit. The head unit amplified outs appear to go to the cabin speakers which work great.
One set of RCA outs go to a 2 channel amp that power the cockpit speakers on the electronics arch.
The other RCAs go to a clarion apx480m amp that runs 4 other cockpit speakers and a sub.

I can't get any audio from the apx480 amp

It has a blue light on it that is on when the amp should be on. I believe this means power/fuse/etc are all ok.
I have alternated RCA connections and verified that they both work on the 2 channel amp, and neither work on the 480. So I think wiring from the head unit is fine and cables are fine
None of the cables appear to be loose.

Suggestions on what I can try next? I have not yet checked each of the speakers to ensure the wiring is sane there, but  would expect if one speaker has an issue then only that speaker would stop working. All of the cockpit speakers, including the two working ones, are a bit worse for wear.

F1100

amp might have crapped out

turn it on and probe the amp leads for voltage to see if its outputting anything

if not.. replace

they are so cheap now throw a nice 6 channel in

reneechris14

On my boat the 6 cockpit speakers run on the top amp and just the subwoofer runs off the bottom amp the 2 in the cabin come of the head unit. Just changed the amp for the sub last week. Did as @F1100 said probed speaker no voltage. My amp was a Sony and had a red light so it went in the trash.

LaRea

There's a remote-on lead (single 16-AWG wire) from the head that tells the amp to turn itself on.  Maybe that has been damaged.  Find that lead and verify that it's getting 12 volts when the head is on.  

Liberty44140

Have you played with the switches and dials? I've also got a 2006 342 with the same set up. I find it odd that the two channel amp powers speakers and the sub is powered with a separate amp. Thank you for the info that the two channel powers the arch speakers, have wondered which two it powers. Anyway after the long winter I had some issues with crackling and hiss coming from the speakers in the very rear of the cockpit. I was able to fix the hiss with gain adjustments and then the cracking went away by literally flipping the amp switches back and forth. Maybe a little corrosion, I dont know, worked great since. Also on that note one of the arch speakers started producing no sound last spring and it magically came on after an hour of listening to tunes and has stayed on. I think that there is something in the amp that triggers/kicks on the channels and it was stuck (I read about it). I replaced all 6 speakers with brand new Clarion 6.5". sorry to report that the direct clarion replacement does not fit the hole perfectly, you have to cut the fiberglass a half inch or so wider and then on the arch I bought trim rings to bring them out a half inch and they then fit. Also replaced the sub with a new Clarion 10". 

JonnyM

Also check the fade on the head unit.  If the head unit has RCA outputs for the front and rear they may also be controlled by the front and rear fade settings on the head unit.

davidbrooks

All good suggestions.  I only have one amp that powers my cockpit speakers and it will not work if the house batteries get too drained.  Worked fine on shore power then for only about 20 min on battery.  This was the indicator last summer i needed new house batteries. 

Dan_342

Thanks for all of the great pointers. Just looping back with the verdict and a few other things I learned for the next person who searches.

Amp has no output from any of the speaker outs. Settings don't matter. Fuses are good. Fader was centered. Blue light is on the amp, but i'm calling it dead and will buy a replacement. Will probably buy a set of speakers at the same time, just to get to a known good state.

Pulled the head unit out. As previously determined the amplified fronts go to the cabin speakers. The front RCAs are capped off. The rear RCAs go to a splitter, one part goes to the 280 that powers the speakers on the arch, and the other goes to the 480 which runs the rest of the cockpit. Done this way so fade-front gives you cabin only audio. While I was there I hooked up a BT receiver to the aux in - totally worth it. 

The 480 is wired as seen on page 9 of the manual (2 channel stereo with low pass bridged mono). Not shown is that they doubled up speakers off the rear channel on the amp, since they are driving 4 6.5" and 1 sub. So the fronts outs are bridged mono to the sub, and the rears have 4 speakers connected, two to L and two to R.