Need Professional Stereo Voltage advice.

I will be returning to our trailer next week and will proceed as you have suggested. It's a simple place for me to start....my head is spinning a bit from some of the technical advice I've received.

And I do appreciate all the comments received concerning my problem. Thanks to you all.

Chuck_thehammer wrote:
remove the Land power (110v) does radio still misbehave.? over-voltage or ripple

place a volt meter on the 12 volt line... within specs? 11 to 15 volts.

to OP, if above check out... send unit in for warranty repair/replacement.

and locate a better electronic service provider...

retired Panasonic service technician..(warranty repair)

and the subject of micro-processors... a 5 dollar device can have a processor and firmware bugs..

even todays digital air pressure gauges has a processor

Yes....this is an expensive Pioneer Stereo Unit. AVH X2700 BS

Yes.....I did connect the Switched 12V line to the Unswitched 12V

Yes....unit does have Bluetooth

I will consider adding a switch to the Switched Ignition wire.

Thank you for this information.

Gdetrailer wrote:

SCVJeff wrote:
Just because the electronics run on between 5 & 9'ish volts doesn't mean thats what you power the equipment. While that voltage may seem a tad low, anyone reading this that did the early LED conversions will remember regulators that were burning up at 15V and sometimes below.

Those that design these things often do it with zero experience of where equipment is actually used and under what conditions. It's not a stretch at all to assume this is one of them.

Umm.. comparing electrical ratings between those dirt cheap $2 per Chinese import LEDs sold on Ebay to a standup well known home and car audio company like Pioneer is pretty much comparing "apples" to the brand of car you drive. No comparison.

We are talking about a pretty expensive car stereo.. Not cheap LEDs.

Although the OP does not state what model of Pioneer, you can get a pretty good guess as to what all of Pioneers car stereos will accept by looking at any of their manuals.

HERE is JUST ONE of Pioneers manuals..

In it it STATES ON PAGE 69..

Specifications

General

Power source ................... 14.4 V DC (10.8 V to 15.1 V allowable)

What that means is 14.4V DC "NOMINAL", but 10.8V TO 15.1V IS ACCEPTABLE..

I suspect the OP in order to make the stereo turn on he has connected the SWITCHED 12V (Ignition)line to the UNSWITCHED 12V.

This forces the stereo to stay in a "standby" mode rather than OFF when you hit the power button.

In other words the stereo is NEVER turned off.

Depending on model and features that stereo may have Bluetooth, video inputs or even a timer..

Since it is in standby bluetooth or any other feature could be "waking up" the unit..

Keeping in mind Bluetooth uses 2.4 ghz band to communicate which pretty much nearly all wireless devices now days use like portable telephones, Wifi access points, RF remote controls, heck even microwave ovens use that frequency band and even the old point to point terrestrial microwave phone relay systems which may still be in use..

Also these stereos are not like the ones of the 1990s and before.. They often make very heavy use of computer technology and often will need a FIRMWARE update to FIX "bugs" in the firmware.. The possibility does exist that the unit the OP bought has buggy firmware..

I would recommend if the OP wants to keep this unit they can add a switch to the switched ignition wire, this will allow the OP to ensure the unit is turned off when not in use..

remove the Land power (110v) does radio still misbehave.? over-voltage or ripple

place a volt meter on the 12 volt line... within specs? 11 to 15 volts.

to OP, if above check out... send unit in for warranty repair/replacement.

and locate a better electronic service provider...

retired Panasonic service technician..(warranty repair)

and the subject of micro-processors... a 5 dollar device can have a processor and firmware bugs..

even todays digital air pressure gauges has a processor

The voltages in the RV 12v system are well within specs of any automotive equipment.

SCVJeff wrote:
You can't single out one company and say essentially they'd never do that because they are Pioneer. Poor engineering is everywhere, we see it all the time in RV electronics, and the cost makes no difference. Where I was going with that was IF.. that is the case and he's banging up against an upper rail, its a $3 fix with one of those dirt cheap Chinese regulators from eBay.. :)

Chinese regulators do not have "firmware"..

Pretty hard to find any A/V equipment now days that doesn't have "firmware" (IE uses a computer processor). Try finding even a simple clock radio that doesn't have firmware bugs that don't cause them to lock up.. Pretty soon you will need new firmware to turn on or off a light bulb..

Anywhere you use firmware, bugs are bound to be there.

I highly doubt a voltage regulator will fix the OPs issue as I doubt it is too high of a voltage.. It could however be too much RIPPLE coming from the converter, some converters are a bit sketchy when it comes to filtering the switching hash on the output.. If that is the case I would vote for a NEW converter.

Not to mention if the converter is really exceeding 14.4V it would be approaching the voltage limits on the RV furnace and fridge boards.. I believe those top out around 15V, so I would think the OP would have a much more serious (IE expensive control boards)problem on hand above a stereo turning on by it's self.

You can't single out one company and say essentially they'd never do that because they are Pioneer. Poor engineering is everywhere, we see it all the time in RV electronics, and the cost makes no difference. Where I was going with that was IF.. that is the case and he's banging up against an upper rail, its a $3 fix with one of those dirt cheap Chinese regulators from eBay.. :)

SCVJeff wrote:
Just because the electronics run on between 5 & 9'ish volts doesn't mean thats what you power the equipment. While that voltage may seem a tad low, anyone reading this that did the early LED conversions will remember regulators that were burning up at 15V and sometimes below.

Those that design these things often do it with zero experience of where equipment is actually used and under what conditions. It's not a stretch at all to assume this is one of them.

Umm.. comparing electrical ratings between those dirt cheap $2 per Chinese import LEDs sold on Ebay to a standup well known home and car audio company like Pioneer is pretty much comparing "apples" to the brand of car you drive. No comparison.

We are talking about a pretty expensive car stereo.. Not cheap LEDs.

Although the OP does not state what model of Pioneer, you can get a pretty good guess as to what all of Pioneers car stereos will accept by looking at any of their manuals.

HERE is JUST ONE of Pioneers manuals..

In it it STATES ON PAGE 69..

Specifications

General

Power source ................... 14.4 V DC (10.8 V to 15.1 V allowable)

What that means is 14.4V DC "NOMINAL", but 10.8V TO 15.1V IS ACCEPTABLE..

I suspect the OP in order to make the stereo turn on he has connected the SWITCHED 12V (Ignition)line to the UNSWITCHED 12V.

This forces the stereo to stay in a "standby" mode rather than OFF when you hit the power button.

In other words the stereo is NEVER turned off.

Depending on model and features that stereo may have Bluetooth, video inputs or even a timer..

Since it is in standby bluetooth or any other feature could be "waking up" the unit..

Keeping in mind Bluetooth uses 2.4 ghz band to communicate which pretty much nearly all wireless devices now days use like portable telephones, Wifi access points, RF remote controls, heck even microwave ovens use that frequency band and even the old point to point terrestrial microwave phone relay systems which may still be in use..

Also these stereos are not like the ones of the 1990s and before.. They often make very heavy use of computer technology and often will need a FIRMWARE update to FIX "bugs" in the firmware.. The possibility does exist that the unit the OP bought has buggy firmware..

I would recommend if the OP wants to keep this unit they can add a switch to the switched ignition wire, this will allow the OP to ensure the unit is turned off when not in use..

Technician is lying , Voltage is plus/minus 20% on a good unit (might be 10% on a el-cheapo but should be 20$ or plus 10 minus 20 % in some cases.

Just because the electronics run on between 5 & 9'ish volts doesn't mean thats what you power the equipment. While that voltage may seem a tad low, anyone reading this that did the early LED conversions will remember regulators that were burning up at 15V and sometimes below.

Those that design these things often do it with zero experience of where equipment is actually used and under what conditions. It's not a stretch at all to assume this is one of them.

Gdetrailer wrote:

Harley Dude wrote:

SCVJeff wrote:
What's the spec on that head voltage?
We know that max, what's the minimum and what's the current draw if listed?

road-runner wrote:
Some converters do produce more that 14.4. Most don't. Please post the make and model of your converter.

Thanks All....can't answer these 2 questions for a week or so as our trailer is on a seasonal site 200 miles away and we won't be up to it for a while.

Perhaps you should read the Pioneer manual..

In the specifications on pretty much all Pioneers they are listed as 10.5V TO 15.1V RANGE of operation.

The 14.4V spec is what the unit is rated at for output wattage.

Unless your converter has bought the farm and is supplying a higher voltage or ripple on the output the radio you have is most likely DEFECTIVE.

I would suggest getting a replacement radio AND replace the "tech" you are dealing with.. They don't have a clue.

Agreed ~ you seem to have a defective unit. That's what warranties are for.....