OK, I picked up my tuner modules today. I installed one with my Montero's sled. I upgraded to Emplode 1.03. I upgraded my firmware to 1.03. I set my Tuner region. But when I dock, NO TUNER!

What am I missing? Should I be able to see the Tuner menu on the Empeg when undocked and connected to my PC? Or does it only show up when docked. I don't see it either way. I initially installed 1.03 from the CD. But I downloaded from the site thinking maybe my CD was bad.

I also noticed the "Tuner Power Indicator" on the module doesn't ever light up. Should it? If so, when? How can I tell if it's lit when I've got my Empeg docked because I can't see it.

I tried both tuners, thinking maybe one was bad. I checked my wiring, and everything looks fine (no loose wires). Is it possible one of them is loose even if it doesn't pull out?

And where is the the "Tuner Operation Indicator"? Is that on the Empeg itself?

As you can see, I have lots of questions, while neither the documentation that came with the tuner, nor the any on the support site provide any answers.

I'm hoping one of you can. So far, I'm not very happy with the tuner. And I have yet even try to install the second one into my S2K. With the limited space there, it should be even more "fun".

Did you try the tuner button on the remote?

I'm not that stupid. Yes I did. The player just "blinks".

Just trying to think about possible things that could be wrong given your account of what is going on. Not having a tuner myself yet however impairs my troubleshooting skills in the matter at hand.

A question, when you plug your empeg into the car. Do you have a fader option in the sound menu ?

See the only thing I can think of is that your empeg possibly might not recognize the fact that it is in the docking sled. On some rare occasions this has happend when the powerplug assembly was broken (broken as in not working correctly). A quick way to test if this is the case would be to check for the fader option. If it is not there then this might be your answer.

Mind you, like I said, I am just thinking out aloud, could be something entirely different all together.

cheers,
Hans


Mk2 - Blue & Red - 080000431

Just for info my tuner didn't show up at all first time the empeg booted up, that's when I noticed I now had no sound at all even playing files. Turns out my amp. remote wire had pulled out of docking connector ( possibly my fault), while trying to connect tuner. I fixed (soldered) wire myself, pushed player into sled & everything worked & tuner was present. So I'm not sure if it was a connection originally as to why the tuner didn't show up at first or because it was rebooted a couple of times.

#695-Mk2/Green/Amber/Neon Red/Clear/Smoke-12Gig/TUNER awaiting 2.x & VR

"No buyers regret"

The light should light up, yes. It's possible your tuner interface on your empeg is damaged (check all the wires to the tuner plug on the harness are ok) or there is a fault within the empeg itself - we've seen one like this, but as it was one of our dev units it's very possible I destroyed it by mistake when doing something else... :)

It's unlikely the tuner module itself is bad, but I suspect support will ask for both your head unit and tuner to be returned so we can check them together.

Sorry!

Hugo

"that's when I noticed I now had no sound at all even playing files"

Thanks for ideas. I do get sound. But it is possible that another wire is loose, though I checked them all. It was late when I finally gave up working on it for the evening.

"Do you have a fader option in the sound menu ? "

I'll double-check the wiring and also check for the fader option (Good idea). As I was frantically searching thru the menus for a Tuner option, I don't recall specifically seeing the Fader option. So, I'll have to check that for sure...

"The light should light up, yes. "

Hugo, I assume you mean the Tuner Power Indicator should be on all the time once it's plugged in. I guess part of my point is that the documentation for this is especially thin and vague. A little more specificity on terms and behavior would make this easier to troubleshoot. I know the Tuner is a newly available product, but it's not like it's a new concept. Just a suggestion.

Thanks again for the ideas. I hope its not a problem with my Empeg itself.

Well, I'm closer to thinking something is up with my Empeg.

I double checked the wiring. No problems that I can see.

I checked to make sure I saw "Fader" in the Sound menu. It was there. So it knows it's docked.

Still, no sign of the tuner. So, my questions are these:

Should I see the "Tuner Power Indicator" LED light up once it's plugged in, with car on, and Empeg NOT docked? Mine doesn't.

Should I see a Tuner menu item on my Empeg even without the Tuner module connected once I install 1.03? I don't.

Is the "Tuner Operation Indicator" on the Empeg itself upon bootup? And if so, what does it look like?

What else can I check before I end up shipping it back to Rio?

I know some of these questions are the same ones I asked originally, but I never really got answers to them. But knowing them might help isolate if it's a wiring issue, a firmware issue, or a hardware issue.

In reply to:

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Should I see the "Tuner Power Indicator" LED light up once it's plugged in, with car on, and Empeg NOT docked? Mine doesn't.

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I can't see mine anymore to check that , but don't see how it would be possible for the tuner module to get any juice w/o the empeg installed, maybe it's in the wiring to allow it, I can't say.

In reply to:

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Should I see a Tuner menu item on my Empeg even without the Tuner module connected once I install 1.03? I don't.

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When booting you'll have to look fast mine says loading tuner something something. Then in the menu where PLAYLIST SOUND & such are there's one that simply says RADIO. Like I said in another post I didn't see this the first time I hooked mine up. Have you install tuner mod w/o the extension to see if it's a bad extension or plug? Or one of the pins on the tuner plug is missing or bad or not seated or well I'm just trying to go through what I would do yself I know I'd be like you & not want to send it back unless I really had to.
Hope something here helps.







#695-Mk2/Many pretty faceplate colors-12Gig/TUNER-anxiously awaits v2.x & VR

"No buyers regret"

in the menu where PLAYLIST SOUND & such are there's one that simply says RADIO

Actually, on mine, it's in the "Source" menu, as I recall, next to Player and Aux.

JoMo25:

My first thought is that it was the home/car plug issue. But you've checked that one- the player know it's docked.

You asked about the indicator light. As I recall, the indicator light should turn on only when you've got the player plugged into the dash and the radio is activated.

I would say there are two possibilities: Faulty sled wiring or faulty tuner module. Check them both.

Note: You (or your installer) didn't cut off any plugs when installing, did they? For instance, I remember reading about an installer who snipped off the serial cable. This might adversely affect the installation if this had been done.

___________
Tony Fabris

Another thing...

What is the blue antenna-activator wire connected to? If you hooked that up wrong, I could see that it might mess up the tuner's ability to power up. Just for the heck of it, try disconnecting that blue wire and see if the tuner starts working.

___________
Tony Fabris

More good suggestions. When booting up, I did see it flash thru something like "Starting Radio Module". It did so even without it docked (and thus without the tuner module). But I don't see a "Radio" option in the menus.

As for bad connections, I am using the extension, but I tried BOTH tuners and extensions cables I bought. Thus, unless I got 2 bad cables or modules, that shouldn't be the problem. It still could be the one on the sled, but I don't see anything wrong with it. All the connections appear good.

I guess it's beginning to sound like either I have a bad sled or a bad Empeg. I don't want to try installing in the other car until I get this figured out. So, I may end up sending it back. (I guess I'll get the HD upgrade done as well while back at its birthplace.)

Hugo, were there any other "tell-tale" signs of the problem you mentioned in your post? I wonder if my unit also can't recognize the tuner module.

Tony,

As I mentioned above, I've tried with 2 different modules and extension cables. So for the moment, I'm lowering those on my radar.

I did this install myself. I didn't cut anything off from the original install. I only connected the module via the extension and connected the antenna. I don't have a Sony Stalk.

I didn't do the original install, so something could be missing there, but from what I can tell, all looks good.

And I don't need to use the power antenna activator, so I left the blue wire unconnected.

Hugo, were there any other tell-tale signs of the problem you described in one of the units not responding to the tuner at all? I worry that somehow I may have a similar or exact same problem.

- john

My install failed to work initially - it turned out that the tuner connector (on the sled) had been assembled incorrectly at the factory. The ground wire had been connected one position out, in the position which is intended to be empty.

We were rather worried about this for a while, but inspection of many other sleds in the office showed no repeat and this was taken to be a fluke construction mistake.

It's worth checking that this isn't the case with your sled - I don't have the correct connection details here, but I'll post them on Monday.

Rob

Well since my install is not done yet I have my sled laying around here. So here is how mine is wired, perhaps that helps.

The pin numbers for both the tuner connector and the sled connector are below the wires. Easy to find.

TC = Tuner connector pin number
SC = Sled connector pin number

TC 1 => Pink   => SC 4
TC 2 => Grey   =>
TC 3 => Empty
TC 4 => Black  => SC 13 (via ISO plug)
TC 5 => Brown  => SC 6
TC 6 => Red    => SC 7
TC 7 => Purple => SC 5
TC 8 => Blue   => SC 2 (via ISO plug)

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Hans


Mk2 - Blue & Red - 080000431

Why can't I edit my posts ?

Anyways the TC 2 (grey) is connected to SC 3

Cheers,
Hans


Mk2 - Blue & Red - 080000431

I seem to be having the same problem and will send in a request to support. Here is what is going on.

I plugged in the unit and the antenna to the connector, turn on the Empeg, the tuner light does not come on but the player boots up and plays as normal. I took the sled out and checked all conections/wires and they are solid. Since I got the sled from the UK only a month or so ago, I expected everything to be solid anyways. I checked the wires based on the pin out and the proper wires seem to be connected to the proper places. With the sled out, I hooked up the tuner again. Still no power light on the tuner and no recognition from the empeg even though it does boot and play MP3s fine. I still need to run diagonsitics on the boot up in car but so far it looks like a whole lot of dead. Is there anything else I can check before e-mailing support and sending everything back?

Greg

I suspect we'll probably want everything back yes; the problem is 99% certain to be in the player, but your tuner isn't doing a lot without the empeg so this way we can be more certain that everything is working 100% before sending it back.

Hugo

Sorry, I've been away and dropped this thread and haven't worked on my tuner problem since. But it sounds like others have been having similar issues. Is getting a new loom the answer? Has that worked for others?