Hello,

I recently purchased a Rio Car, and upon inspection of the car
mount, I noticed that the output rca jacks have some of the
wire stripped off near the connection block, and the copper
inside the red and white wires touches the wire with no
sheathing(I'm assuming to be ground).

I haven't installed the deck in my car as it would be difficult to
remove and it's been my experience that this sort of thing would
cause really loud noises that could potentially damage my stereo system.
The other wires appear to be fine, it's just the rca input/outputs.

I emailed customer support the day after I got it and I haven't gotten a reply,
I've also tried the phone support, but the queue has been full, so I can't even hold.
I'm afraid that they will run out of sleds before I can get a replacement, does anyone
have any ideas on how I can fix it myself or expedite the process of getting this RMA'd?

Thanks,
-elph

PS: I'm including some shots I took w/a digital camera.

I'm pretty sure that's just a shielding cable and is normal. All mine are the same way. If you are concerned make sure you email [email protected] and not sonicblue.

Details of how to contact support are here.

I'm not sure you need to call support, though. If you just make sure those things are correctly insulated yourself, you should be able to install it with little trouble. Some bits of electrical tape, cut to the right width, should do the trick.

As with all installations, you should test the sound when the player is "loosely tethered" to make sure that there's no problems. If all is well, go ahead and fasten it into your dash. If there are problems, support can get you fixed up quickly.

I'm pretty sure that's just a shielding cable and is normal.

I agree that the center pins are definitely shielding and that part is normal.

However, if you look closely in the photos, the "tip" wires are also partially exposed. He's worried that the positive leads may contact the shielding if the wires get moved or bent as he is installing it behind his dash. He is correct to worry about it, as it will definitely cause problems if that happens.

It's so easy to take care of with a little electrical tape, though, that if it were me, I wouldn't even bother support with it.

sorry didn't see that. Tony you got good eyes! (or mine are bad)

This isn't right; you should be able to get carsupport to send you a new loom if needed (returning the old one to us; you'd keep the same sled), though insulation tape would give the same fix with less hassle involved.

Hugo

I've come across a couple of looms with this problem - the plastic looks like it's been melted - I think someone at the factory attacked them with a soldering iron.

Maybe they were 'fixing' those notorious loose crimps?

Thanks for pointing out the correct way to contact support. I had e-mailed sonicblue support not carsupport. I shot off an e-mail to carsupport earlier today. I'll let you know how it goes.

thanks,
elph

I received my sled in the same state. I ended up removed the wiring loom from the sled and cafefully removing the pins from the connector. I did this by finding a paper clip of the right size to slide under the pin and compress the barb that is holding the pin in place. Then carefully removing the pin. I then cut the heat shrink off of the wires, heat shrinked each audio wire individually and then replaced the heat shrink over the entire audio cable. Then gently bend the barbs back up and reinsert the pins. Really not as hard as it sounds. Just be careful, take your time.

I got my replacement loom today-- Thanks David!!!