Fusion radio flaky & freezing up

guy48065

guy48065

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Messages
480
I replaced the old JVC am-fm-cd radio in my 2000 Bayliner with a Fusion MS-RA70 so I could have Bluetooth and a brighter display.
I love this radio but it keeps intermittently freezing on the "Fusion" screen on power-up and I have to pull the fuse to get it to respond again. It will also reset & freeze if I start the engine while listening.

The radio gets power from a fuse panel (factory) that's wired direct to the battery.
Battery is good, voltage at the radio fuse is solid. Problem happens whether running on battery or alternator. Seems to be worse when using Bluetooth.

Is this a known issue with either Fusion or boat power?
 
Scott Danforth

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
51,136
its not the boat side if the radio is stuck on a particular screen

call fusions customer support line
 
M

mike_i

Ensign
Joined
Jun 28, 2017
Messages
998
Before you call fusion measure the voltage at the radio while cranking the motor. if possible hook the radio to a house battery and non the starting batt.
 
Last edited:
Scott Danforth

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
51,136
OP said power up, as in first powering up the radio. vs start up.
 
guy48065

guy48065

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Messages
480
Scott Danforth said:
OP said power up, as in first powering up the radio. vs start up.
Click to expand...
Thank you.
And to reiterate: sometimes it works fine. Nothing is burned out (like an internal regulator circuit). It just does this quite allot and requires I remove the fuse to reset it. A major PITA.

This is the 2nd Fusion radio to act like this so my assumption is there's something not right on the boat side. I can't imagine WHAT since everything connects to the fuse block, and that is wired directly to the battery via 8ga wire. Fused power does not go thru the ignition switch, relay, or anything. The ordinary radio that was in there before worked perfect and I didn't change anything in the wiring.

When the 1st Fusion started acting up--a couple hours after the install--I called customer support. Their only suggestion was to disconnect power for 20 minutes. Like every other menu-driven support center I've ever called. This of course did nothing. I sent the radio back and ordered another. THAT one worked for an entire day before it started freezing up.

Very puzzling.

These suck to install because they are slightly smaller that a regular DIN-standard radio, and rely on 4 screws to hold them in place instead of a standard DIN sleeve.
I'll give customer support 1 more chance. If they have nothing more to offer than "reboot it" it's going back & I'm installing a standard Sony radio. Garmin can suck eggs.
 
Scott Danforth

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
51,136
Or Fusion just isn't a quality radio

If it was boat side, the radio would not come back
 
guy48065

guy48065

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Messages
480
So what I did today was this:

I hooked a long wire to the battery and measured the voltage drop on the + wire and the - wire... end to end. It was about 15mA on one and 2x that on the other... Radio playing at lowish volume. That seemed normal for a ~12 foot run. Connections at the battery were correct-sized lugs--clean & tight.

Then I pulled the radio fuse and measured the current to the radio. About 500 mA at low volume & peaking over 1A at medium levels. Still playing fine. Battery voltage 12.4 to 12.6. I'd prefer to see a couple tenths more voltage but I have had no cranking problems in the whole 2 weeks I've owned the boat. Lol

In fiddling about under the dash I wiggled the power wire to the radio at the fuse block and the radio cut out for a second. Then I wiggled the plastic fuse next to this terminal and again got it to cut out for a second. I pulled the fuse and it looked a bit chalky. Dampness probably causing some corrosion over 25 years. This is just a cheap, open, plastic fuse block. I cleaned the spade terminal and fuse socket with contact cleaner, then Deoxit, then added dielectric grease and a new fuse.

Can't get it to cut out anymore.
Hard to be sure since the radio refused to freeze up today but I'm hoping light corrosion was the cause of my intermittent issue.

Only time will tell. I still have 3 weeks to return the radio.
 
flashback

flashback

Rear Admiral
Joined
Jun 28, 2002
Messages
4,038
Corrosion is a bit like rot, so it would be good to clean up all connections. Glad you had success.
 
dingbat

dingbat

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
16,598
Evrything you described are classic incoming power issues. One of my plotters has a 10.6 threshold, more on that later, that I use as a bellwether to replace my batteries.

The 12 VDC is the supply, not the operating voltage of the unit. Most electronics operate off 5 VDC or below.

As such, you’re feeding a transformer, which in this case has an operating range of 10.8 -16.0 volts.

The 10.8 volts is very near the typical voltage drop seen on a start circuit. Wouldn’t take much resistance (as you have found) to drop below the 10.8 V threshold of the transformer and shut down the system.

From there the power is feed through a regulator to level out the dips, spikes and ripples in the incoming power. A unit freezing on boot has typically failed an internal voltage check and shut down to protect the circuitry

Enough rambling…the moral of the story is to look at the acceptable range of voltage input required by the unit. The wider is better. The fewer problem you will
 
S

StewartL

Cadet
Joined
Jul 23, 2025
Messages
7
The issue might be due to voltage fluctuations or noise when starting the engine. Even if voltage seems stable, marine electrical systems can have spikes. Try adding an inline noise suppressor or a separate marine-grade power filter. Also, ensure all ground connections are clean and tight. If the problem persists, Fusion may have a firmware update check their website or contact support. Bluetooth interference is less likely but possible; try relocating any nearby antennas or devices.
 
guy48065

guy48065

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Messages
480
Zero problems out on the water yesterday. Radio even played thru restarts.

I'm considering replacing the el-cheapo fuse block with a better one. What's the opinion on covered/uncovered? Does covered invite trouble by trapping moisture?
This boat doesn't sit on a trailer--it stays in the water and I leave it uncovered.
 
C

cyclops222

Commander
Joined
Mar 21, 2024
Messages
2,664
GREAT !!! I do the same with my small fish boat for about 40 years. Had a similar corrosion problem. I can live with humidity & rain. I did remove corrosion.Then lightly greased the fuses. Installed them. Bought some 3 M electrical tape. Cleaned all the in line fuse holders in wire runs. Very light greasing of fuses in fuse holders. The NEATLY covered the wire and fuse holder ends with ONLY 1 simple strip of 3 M tape. Lengthwise. I have not had any electrical problems in 40 years. The fuse panel is partially protected from windy rain. Open fish boat. Full horn lights and other electrical items. No problems.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top