Spectra A9 (VHF) in Toyota Camry..."light failure"

Elroy Jetson · Post by **Elroy Jetson** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:53 pm

I just installed my new A9 110 watt VHF Spectra in my car, a '92 Toyota Camry. The install went pretty smoothly and it's the best install I've
done yet.

But...there's an indicator on the instrument cluster that lights up when it
senses that you have a lamp out in the rear light clusters on the car.
Since installing this radio and powering it up, that indicator has lit up
but I can find no issues with any of the lights.

Has anyone encountered a problem of this type before and have you
figured out what happened?

I haven't even touched any wiring harnesses in the car that are in any
way associated with the lights.

But the Spectra is doing a great job, anyway. The receiver is very sensitive, it easily met its 110 watt spec with lots of room to spare,
the audio quality is superb, and it's a heck of a nice radio.

Elroy

High_order1 · Post by **High_order1** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 7:14 pm

Quick question...

Does the light go back out when you unhook the fuse for the radio?

-Shawn

PhillyPhoto · Post by **PhillyPhoto** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 12:08 am

Seeing as how it's the 110 watter, I'm assuming it's hooked directly to the battery, is there any ignition sense wire hooked up to anything that may be interfereing?

Elroy Jetson · Post by **Elroy Jetson** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:31 am

I'll pull the inline fuse later and get back to you on that possibility.

The green sense wire (receive enable) is hooked to B+ for anytime receive operation, and the orange sense wire (transmit enable) is hooked to the
accessory line to keep me from transmitting with the car not running, though
it really only has to be switched to ACC in order for transmit to be possible.
(I really don't want to run the battery down. That's a PITA.)

Elroy

spectragod · Post by **spectragod** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:42 pm

Possibly reflection from the concrete in the doors is causing the issue.

SG

Elroy Jetson · Post by **Elroy Jetson** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:19 pm

Definitely not. I chipped that out a LONG time ago. Besides, it's a V6 version and definitely gets out of its own way in a hurry if needed.

The problem seems to be solved.

I HATE mini UHF connectors. They SUCK. I found that even though the
shell is tight, the central section is a bit loose. And that looseness allowed
enough RF to leak past the shell to center section connection and send just
enough of a signal through the car's wiring to cause a false fault indication.

So it went away by itself, once I dealt with that connector.

I really think I'm going to evaluate the possibility of replacing the mini UHF
connector on the radio with something that doesn't suck, like a type N, or
at least put an SO-239 on it.

Elroy

d119 · Post by **d119** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 5:09 pm

Elroy Jetson wrote:Definitely not. I chipped that out a LONG time ago. Besides, it's a V6 version and definitely gets out of its own way in a hurry if needed.

The problem seems to be solved.

I HATE mini UHF connectors. They SUCK. I found that even though the
shell is tight, the central section is a bit loose. And that looseness allowed
enough RF to leak past the shell to center section connection and send just
enough of a signal through the car's wiring to cause a false fault indication.

So it went away by itself, once I dealt with that connector.

I really think I'm going to evaluate the possibility of replacing the mini UHF
connector on the radio with something that doesn't suck, like a type N, or
at least put an SO-239 on it.

Elroy

Uh... Your supposed to crimp the center pin as well...

Elroy Jetson · Post by **Elroy Jetson** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 5:12 pm

No, it was a really cheap connector in this case, or a defective one. I replaced it with an Amphenol connector, PROPERLY built, crimped, and terminated, and everything's quite solid now.

I'd still prefer a type N but it's not worth the work to do that mod.

Elroy

tvsjr · Post by **tvsjr** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 5:50 pm

If you're going to mod it, a BNC should work just fine.

Otherwise, NEVER use the factory two-piece Mini-UHFs. They suck. I prefer the RF Industries three-piece connectors (pin, body, ferrule). Properly installed, I've never had a problem beyond them being measurably lossier compared to a real connector (TDR/FDR one compared to an N and you'll see what I mean).

Post by **akardam** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 8:25 pm

tvsjr wrote:I prefer the RF Industries three-piece connectors (pin, body, ferrule).

Amen to that.

WA3VJB · Post by **WA3VJB** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 4:13 pm

I had this same problem with a 1995 Camry, a VHF MCX100, and a 100 watt amp.

No. 10 stranded teflon insulated wire right off the battery (through a waterproof marine fuseholder near the terminal), unshielded. No ignition sense.

Even though I fed a quarter wave antenna dead center on the roof through 1/4 inch heliax, something was getting "in" somewhere and lighting up that burned-out bulb indicator. And yes, it was the LED for the "rear" light cluster. (you have several indicating what section of the car to check)

Idiot lights being what they are, I ignored it. The light would stay on until shutting down the car at the end of a trip, and it would be out upon restarting until the first key-down.

Sold the car still running well at 240,000 miles, so I guess it was not a real problem.

BTW, its replacement is the Mazda 6 that I've just posted on here looking for installation advice, appreciated.

Jim202 · Post by **Jim202** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 7:41 pm

With the RX active all the time on the green wire, you will probably find your battery
dead after a weekend of not running the engine and just the RX going. These new
synthisized radios pull a considerable amount of current in standby over their older
crystal radios from the past generation. A Motrac with the pilot light in the head
shut off would pull about 20 or 30 milliamps. These newer synthisized animals pull
about 300 to 500 milliamps in standby. That's enough to drain a battery down in
several days.

Jim

Elroy Jetson wrote:I'll pull the inline fuse later and get back to you on that possibility.

The green sense wire (receive enable) is hooked to B+ for anytime receive operation, and the orange sense wire (transmit enable) is hooked to the
accessory line to keep me from transmitting with the car not running, though
it really only has to be switched to ACC in order for transmit to be possible.
(I really don't want to run the battery down. That's a PITA.)

Elroy

Elroy Jetson · Post by **Elroy Jetson** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 8:58 pm

I turn the radio OFF when I'm not in it unless I'm listening to it while I work nearby, like at my little workshop/storage unit.

I think there's no drain THEN. Not with it completely shut off at the control head switch.

Elroy

ke7joi · Post by **ke7joi** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 12:22 am

The A9 spectra use some power all the time you. I can this prove as I leave my radio in direct mode the radio was off. I unhooked the battery to install a new radio and when I hook the battery back up the direct lite was out this nevers happens when I just turn it off.

Post by Pj » Sat Jun 16, 2007 6:13 am

I figure 250ma per device in my truck. Just to be safe, I plug my maintainer in when I am parked in the driveway.

Spectra A9 (VHF) in Toyota Camry..."light failure"

Spectra A9 (VHF) in Toyota Camry..."light failure"

Re: Spectra A9 (VHF) in Toyota Camry..."light failure"

Re:

Re: Spectra A9 (VHF) in Toyota Camry..."light failure"

Re: Spectra A9 (VHF) in Toyota Camry..."light failure"

Re: Spectra A9 (VHF) in Toyota Camry..."light failure"