New rockford fosgate problems

[Bwilford]

I have a new R5 and its had numerous problems. I've had new Cobalts before and there is no doubt in my mind that the quality of the boat has plummeted since Malibu bought them. But so be it.

The latest fiasco is that the stereo system will not allow me to decrease the volume. It suddenly jumped up to 40 and will not turn down at all. If the radio is on, everyone between Birmingham and Nashville can hear it. Dealership is baffled as usual, and I suppose I will have to tow the boat 4 hours back to them to fix, reinstall or whatever they do.

Has anyone ever heard of this problem?

Completely frustrated.

[tgrace98]

Bad head unit. I had to have mine replaced. It would just randomly factory reset.

Besides that the quality on my R7 is every bit what it was on my 2002 262. So I’m not sure why you are blaming Malibu

[Big Block Power]

Bad head unit. I had to have mine replaced. It would just randomly factory reset.

Besides that the quality on my R7 is every bit what it was on my 2002 262. So I’m not sure why you are blaming Malibu

Cobalt didn't make the Stereo they just use that brand. It's one of the main brands on the market today. I agree Tgrace98 his R7 and his dealer is too notch. Glad I got to meet them. He had what 65 trouble free first year hours. I would take that all day long.

[Airbagguy]

Try a factory reset. I had a problem with the stereo on my 2019 CS23 and I would have bet money on it being a defective head unit (I use to own my own car audio shop). When the head unit was powered up, there was a huge amount of feedback that was extremely loud as soon as the volume was brought off of 0. I took a chance and performed a factory reset (its in the settings somewhere) and the problem was fixed. Not sure it will work for you, but worth a shot. My boat now has 21 hours on it and the stereo has been flawless.

Gary

[Krob1114]

Our 2019 R3 now has 75 hours with no problems at all.
Plus, we've probably got 3-4 more weekends on the lake.
Advantage of living in the South.
Maybe we're just lucky, but I prefer to say we're blessed.

[Mike in SC]

Please let us know how this gets resolved.
Sometimes people ask for input and then the thread dies.......
Thanks!

[trs23]

I had a similar error with our RF headunit where it would output sound for 30-50 minutes and then go quiet. We'd power off the headunit for ~20 minutes and it would work again for another 30-50 minutes. (Lights on the AMP were still on, headunit was response, just no sound output).

It's been at the dealer the last 48 hours to diagnose.

[SAB220]

RF Head unit eventually wouldn't work with amp. Head unit would work w/o amp. Sent amp back to RF under warranty to fix ($25 shipping). RF said amp is good and shipped amp back. Boat coming out of water this weekend w/o amp installed.

I guess I could install the amp out of the water to test, it's just that if I continue to have a problem, the other 50% of the warranty is under shrink wrap.

[jhnmdahl]

I had a similar error with our RF headunit where it would output sound for 30-50 minutes and then go quiet. We'd power off the headunit for ~20 minutes and it would work again for another 30-50 minutes. (Lights on the AMP were still on, headunit was response, just no sound output).

It's been at the dealer the last 48 hours to diagnose.

Amps used to do this all the time - they would heat up and a thermal sensor would trip, shutting it down until it cooled off. In rarer cases, an IC or transistor would get hot and fail to work properly until it cooled, but it's more likely to be an actual sensor. Not much you can do other than make sure nothing's blocking any vents without cracking it open,

John

[Norris_Boating]

I have had a lot of issues with my RF head unit doing weird stuff. Had the head unit replaced 2 times, remotes replaced and Y adapter replaced 2 times.
With that being said I got very familiar with the unit. Though no wear near it I will try to remember the steps to fix.
First I would change the zone source to something with no input so you don't get blasted while resetting.
At first glance I would say it is a simple setting that needs changed and not a factory reset (though the factory reset should work too). I assume that only one zone is at 40 and the other zones change as you try to adjust the volume.
First, long Press Menu button -> then click zones -> Audio (might be volume)
I believe this is where you should get two options "variable" and "Fixed", all zones should be on variable. Fixed will set the volume of that zone to 40 and leave it there.

If that doesn't work: Long press Menu Button->scroll down to factory default - > There are two options here, first one I would try is audio, if that doesn't work do the software option. After doing the software option you have to relock your zones so they stay in sync.
Long press menu button -> zones-> zone 2 -> "enable/disable/lock" should be set to lock. this will lock zone 2 to zone 1 so as you change between radio and bluetooth or Sat or what ever, all zones change. Repeat for zone 3 and 4. (my zone 4 doesn't actually do anything I assume it is for tower speakers that I don't have.)
You should also go in and set the internal amplifier to no. Since you have an external amp.
Long press menu button -> audio -> Internal amplifier
Good Luck!
Here is a manual but is is slightly outdated with the current version of the software.
https://www.rockfordfosgate.com/rftech/ ... bb-man.pdf

[AsLan7]

I have had a lot of issues with my RF head unit doing weird stuff. Had the head unit replaced 2 times, remotes replaced and Y adapter replaced 2 times.
With that being said I got very familiar with the unit. Though no wear near it I will try to remember the steps to fix.
First I would change the zone source to something with no input so you don't get blasted while resetting.
At first glance I would say it is a simple setting that needs changed and not a factory reset (though the factory reset should work too). I assume that only one zone is at 40 and the other zones change as you try to adjust the volume.
First, long Press Menu button -> then click zones -> Audio (might be volume)
I believe this is where you should get two options "variable" and "Fixed", all zones should be on variable. Fixed will set the volume of that zone to 40 and leave it there.

If that doesn't work: Long press Menu Button->scroll down to factory default - > There are two options here, first one I would try is audio, if that doesn't work do the software option. After doing the software option you have to relock your zones so they stay in sync.
Long press menu button -> zones-> zone 2 -> "enable/disable/lock" should be set to lock. this will lock zone 2 to zone 1 so as you change between radio and bluetooth or Sat or what ever, all zones change. Repeat for zone 3 and 4. (my zone 4 doesn't actually do anything I assume it is for tower speakers that I don't have.)
You should also go in and set the internal amplifier to no. Since you have an external amp.
Long press menu button -> audio -> Internal amplifier
Good Luck!
Here is a manual but is is slightly outdated with the current version of the software.
https://www.rockfordfosgate.com/rftech/ ... bb-man.pdf

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Hey thanks for posting NB. We’ve had no issue with our head units but this is a great resource for the site.

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[Big Block Power]

That's great info Norris. Now if you really pulled that out from your memory you bonded way to much with your head unit.

[MnLakeBum]

[/quote]

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Hey thanks for posting NB. We’ve had no issue with our head units but this is a great resource for the site.

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[/quote]

Yes, thanks for the info. I have Rockford head units in the Marker One and the R5 and so far no issues. I don’t love the brightness of the LCD display but since I play music from my iPhone 98% of the time I don’t really need to adjust the head unit very often. When they break I replace them with something different.

[Macarokks]

Bad head unit. I had to have mine replaced. It would just randomly factory reset.

Besides that the quality on my R7 is every bit what it was on my 2002 262. So I’m not sure why you are blaming Malibu

Should be a game on the forums and Facebook group; every time Malibu gets blamed or decline of quality since Malibu’s purchase is mentioned, the posting member owes all members $.50 and and smash the side of their boat with a hammer. I’d be rich and they couldn’t blame Malibu for the damage... lol

[Big Block Power]

Bad head unit. I had to have mine replaced. It would just randomly factory reset.

Besides that the quality on my R7 is every bit what it was on my 2002 262. So I’m not sure why you are blaming Malibu

Should be a game on the forums and Facebook group; every time Malibu gets blamed or decline of quality since Malibu’s purchase is mentioned, the posting member owes all members $.50 and and smash the side of their boat with a hammer. I’d be rich and they couldn’t blame Malibu for the damage... lol

I can see how it's Malibu's fault. Since they bought them they made them switch from Sony to RF. See its that easy.