#283403 - 16/06/2006 19:45
Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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I'll try to be as complete with my info as possible.
Problem:
My empeg will not turn on with display in the car. It will at home. I put the empeg in the sled and turn on the car. The standby light comes on and starts to blink. I can also hear the drives spinning and reading. I hit some buttons on the remote and when I took the empeg in the house and plugged it in, it was obvious that I had done something with the remote.
No sound comes from the speakers and the standby light continues to blink. I have disconnected my amps from the battery and the result is still the same.
Other Info:
I just replaced an amp and rewired everything, as well as building a new sub box. I just put in an a/d/s amp for the front 2 speakers and used my current Blaupunkt amp for the subs. Everything seems to be hooked up properly.
Background:
I have build serveral different configurations for this same car (2002 WRX) over the last several years. I have had different amps and setups. This is the only time I have had this particular problem. The empeg was working properly in the car less than 2 weeks ago (the last time I had it in the car)
Shouldn't the empeg at least turn on no matter what amps are running in the car?
ugh. this whole thing is starting to drive me insane. I just want some music in my car again!!
thanks for any input.
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//matt
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#283404 - 16/06/2006 19:55
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: ithoughti]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
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First simple test: Use the Hijack menu to "Force DC Power mode" when in the house on AC power, and see what happens there.
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#283405 - 16/06/2006 19:58
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: mlord]
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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Quote:
First simple test: Use the Hijack menu to "Force DC Power mode" when in the house on AC power, and see what happens there.
crap, I knew I would forget to put in some pertinent info.
I have hijack set to force DC power, to fix the problem of the empeg thinking that it is on home power all the time. That problem arose sometime last year I believe.
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//matt
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#283406 - 16/06/2006 20:08
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: ithoughti]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
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Okay. When on AC Power, are you using one of the Docks I manufactured, or plugging the AC adapter directly into the Empeg?
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#283407 - 16/06/2006 20:25
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: mlord]
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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Quote:
Okay. When on AC Power, are you using one of the Docks I manufactured, or plugging the AC adapter directly into the Empeg?
plugging the AC adapter directly into the Empeg.
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//matt
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#283408 - 16/06/2006 20:49
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: ithoughti]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
I just replaced an amp and rewired everything
Did this procedure immediately precede the failure? Or did the player work for a while and then fail?
Anyway, check for this problem and this problem.
Check to see if you haven't somehow accidentally wired up something that is supplying 12 volts constant to the amp remote line.
Disconnect all wires except for 12v constant (yellow) and 12v ignition (orange) and see if the player boots that way.
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#283409 - 17/06/2006 14:03
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: tfabris]
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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Quote:
Quote:
I just replaced an amp and rewired everything
Did this procedure immediately precede the failure? Or did the player work for a while and then fail?
Anyway, check for this problem and this problem.
Disconnect all wires except for 12v constant (yellow) and 12v ignition (orange) and see if the player boots that way.
Yes. I installed the new amp and the problem started immediately after. It was never working with the new amp installed.
Quote:
Check to see if you haven't somehow accidentally wired up something that is supplying 12 volts constant to the amp remote line.
I also disconnected the power to the amps (from the battery) and tried to fire up the empeg and it still did not work. If the amps are taken out of the equation altogether, doesn't that mean that there is something wrong with the empeg itself? I didn't change any wiring to or from the empeg.
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//matt
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#283410 - 18/06/2006 19:21
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: ithoughti]
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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anyone have any other helpful thoughts for me? 
_________________________
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//matt
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#283411 - 21/06/2006 02:03
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: ithoughti]
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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ok, I dont mean to sound like an asshole or anything...but ....
no one has any more ideas?
*sigh*...
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//matt
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#283412 - 21/06/2006 05:22
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: ithoughti]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Did you try disconnecting everything but the 12 volt constant, 12 volt ground, and ignition wire and see if it boots?
Did you check for wiring trouble at the dock?
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#283413 - 21/06/2006 08:23
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 15/08/2000
Posts: 4859
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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Agreed. If the remote worked (or changed the state of the empeg) while in the car, it would seem that the player application loaded. So the disks would have had to spin up and read the player software / configuration correctly. The lack of sound and display seems like a wiring / power problem.
I know you were doing Force DC mode in the house, but you were still powering through the AC plug. Do you have one of Mark's docks or access to another installation to test the empeg on a DC power feed through the loom? It almost sounds as if something was either fried along that power path (causing trouble with the display and output stage) or that the wiring is a problem.
One last thought - have you tried all the dimmer settings / autoblank features? I know that you are getting no sound out as well, but perhaps you somehow got set to defaults of a very low volume (minus infinity) and screen brightness / blanked to zero. A thought...
_________________________
Paul Grzelak
200GB with 48MB RAM, Illuminated Buttons and Digital Outputs
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#283414 - 21/06/2006 17:14
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: ithoughti]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
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I would suggest that the current draw from the amps and any other devices you have connected on the blue remote enable line coming out of the sled/empeg is too high. Disconnect the blue wire at the amp/antenna/all the other connected places and see if the empeg comes back.
_________________________
One of the few remaining Mk1 owners...  #00015
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#283415 - 24/06/2006 13:21
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: schofiel]
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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Quote:
I would suggest that the current draw from the amps and any other devices you have connected on the blue remote enable line coming out of the sled/empeg is too high. Disconnect the blue wire at the amp/antenna/all the other connected places and see if the empeg comes back.
I think I found the issue, I'm not quite sure how to fix it though. I unplugged the remote line from the new amp and the empeg sprang to life, along with the sub amp. Then I tested the remote line with a multimeter. It was saying that it was at about 9.75volts. I am guessing that there is a short somewhere in the line.
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//matt
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#283416 - 24/06/2006 14:01
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: ithoughti]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
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Like Rob suggested (great idea, that!), the amp is probably just wired wrong.
The "amp remote" wire from the empeg is not supposed to POWER the amp, but merely to trigger an internal (to the amp) relay to turn it on. Main power to the amp should come from elsewhere. If the amp lacks a true "remote" turn-on line, then a relay may need to be added to the setup.
Cheers
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#283417 - 24/06/2006 14:54
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: mlord]
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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Quote:
Like Rob suggested (great idea, that!), the amp is probably just wired wrong.
The "amp remote" wire from the empeg is not supposed to POWER the amp, but merely to trigger an internal (to the amp) relay to turn it on. Main power to the amp should come from elsewhere. If the amp lacks a true "remote" turn-on line, then a relay may need to be added to the setup.
Cheers
Well... I know that.  This isn't my first time wiring up a car stereo system. The amp isn't wired wrong, so I'm thinking that there must be a short in the remote wire. As soon as it stops pouring around here I can go figure it out. (stupid apartment living!)
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//matt
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#283418 - 24/06/2006 15:44
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: ithoughti]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
Then I tested the remote line with a multimeter. It was saying that it was at about 9.75volts.
Heeeeee. I win. 
Something about the behavior had reminded me of another screwy situation when someone had voltage applied to their amp remote wire. Dunno if it was the exact same behavior, but it sounded familiar.
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#283419 - 25/06/2006 14:47
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: ithoughti]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
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OK: is this 9.75V coming out of the empeg remote line (blue) or the voltage at the remote enable terminal of your amp (both disconnected)?
_________________________
One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015
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#283420 - 25/06/2006 20:04
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: schofiel]
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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Well...  Thanks everyone for the unending patience. Turns out that I need to read directions more carefully in the future. I was hooking up the remote wire to the amp into one of the speaker terminals on the new amp. Usually the simplest answer is the right one. (ie. did you hook everything up correctly?) Sorry I let my ego get in the way.
Edited by ithoughti (25/06/2006 23:34)
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//matt
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#283421 - 25/06/2006 21:25
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: ithoughti]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Woopsie daisy. It's OK. Once upon a time, when I was a teenager and knew everything, I once took a car into the dealership because the fuse on the lights kept blowing. ... Because I'd wired the car's illumination sense wire to the ground on the car stereo.
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#283422 - 26/06/2006 02:18
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/01/2002
Posts: 3937
Loc: Providence, RI
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Quote:
Woopsie daisy.
It's OK. Once upon a time, when I was a teenager and knew everything,
Wait, you don't now? 
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#283423 - 26/06/2006 02:31
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: Daria]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Naw. Somehow, it seems you stop knowing everything in your twenties.
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#283424 - 26/06/2006 23:41
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
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Quote:
Naw. Somehow, it seems you stop knowing everything in your twenties.
Ah, so that would explain why you fill your printer with the photo paper upside-down.
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#283425 - 27/06/2006 00:35
Re: Am I broken or is my empeg? (<-- needs help)
[Re: canuckInOR]
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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Quote:
Quote:
Naw. Somehow, it seems you stop knowing everything in your twenties.
Ah, so that would explain why you fill your printer with the photo paper upside-down.
Oh SNAP!
_________________________
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//matt
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