Ok, so Stereo issue -- revisited

So, the stereo issue. You know ....... FM doesn't work, blah blah blah.

Well I went out and bought Sirius XM, thinking bang, there we go, I will have something to listen to now. Only to find that the FM issue actually cancels out the Sirius XM too. Yippi Freaking Skippy!!

So, I got mad.....called Polaris to get this crap radio fixed. (actually not complete crap, sounds ok when it is working, lol)

Had my Sling booked for a service anyway, and the Mechanic was taking a look at the stereo too. I showed him how the FM works just fine while in the Aux position, but when turned to the Run position, it was nothing but static. That got his brain going and he was like a dog with a bone. He started pulling fuses to isolate the system that was causing the static.

Know what he found??

The static from the FM is coming from the Headlight / Horn / Turn signal relay. That is the PRI Light fuse 30 amp.

Well, I am not sure just what got accomplished today as at that point, he went inside and grabbed the keys to the Demo model and said, here, you may as well go home, lol.

So, I have had a 2017 SLR all day! I actually really love the seats! Depending on cost difference, I may just lean that way vs the PRP ones. That is one fat assed tire on the rear too. Love the painted Lightning panels rather than the rough plastic in my Sling. May have to upgrade those.... Did they change the suspension in 17? Seems like a smoother ride.

Anyway, once I find out exactly what the issue with the stereo turns out to be, I will relay that info here for those who continue to have this issue as well.

Quote from Street Doc

I received a recall notice from polaris for that issue a few months back. The dealer swapped out the back-up camera and problem gone.

Exactly. And so did I, but the fix did nothing whatsoever. No difference in the signal.

So, I began to play with it, and I found this.....

This little bit of playing around got the Mechanic thinking differently than Polaris. He has found that what we had going on was not related to the camera at all. In fact, Polaris simply assumed that the radio issue was just the same as everyone else's Slingshot and would only invest the time to do the "standard fix".

It wasn't until I recorded this and sent it to my dealer, who then sent it to Polaris, that they started to think I might have a different issue. Polaris has been feeding me the rhetoric of, "Well you need to understand that these radio's are not of the same quality as those on our Victory Motorcycles"

My response to them first off was, "Why not? You designed a machine that does the same thing. You advertise it to do the same thing. You have the proper technology, why did you cheap out on the stereo."

They said, "The Slingshot does not cost the same Victory. Therefore it is unreasonable to expect the same quality of product"

Me," I don't have an issue with the quality of the Stereo. I have in issue that the Stereo doesn't work. You can see that the quality is present, and I am happy with it, but there is something preventing it from working."

This back & forth has had my machine in the shop for the day. I am hoping they get done today, but I'm kind of fed up and my dealer knows it. They are too.

The mechanic even is considering running the stereo it's own power and ground, just to avoid any issue with feedback. It is amazing home many systems in the Sling utilize a common power junction.

Mine was swapped out about the end of May. The dealer placed the order for the new camera. They mistakenly thought it was a plug & play item, but the housing changed too and they didn't order that part. So they scavenged one off their showroom Turbo Silver, and placed the whole thing on mine.

All that effort for nothing. Zero difference.

After that, Polaris closed the file. They considered the issue resolved.

Then I put in the Sirius XM and found out that the same issue that was preventing me from hearing the FM radio now prevented the Sirius XM from working. This is what got me so mad with Polaris, and allowed me to find the issue with the key position.

Well shit......

They had it for a day & a half. This poor guy had an external battery sitting on the top of the motor and was using jumper lines to try and isolate each system as he disconnected it and gave it power to see if each item that shared a relay was causing issues along the way.

At the end, the service lady came out, just to see how he was doing as she was told he was getting frustrated. He gave her the run down how he's bee isolating everything and he still can't find the issue. She randomly asked a question, "Any chance that the new camera was faulty right from the start?" They went to their storage and pulled one off the shelf and bingo, the local channel popped in nice & clear. The mechanic throws his hands in the air and closes up the unit.

Now I get my call to come over, Unit is ready for pickup. They are all excited. The stereo issue when switching between the run & aux position seems to be non-existent and I can take my machine home.

I'm excited, I am expecting to be able to hear all my radio channels that I enjoy in my car. I get in and scroll through the list ..... static......

Yes, the local channel comes in clear, and yes, the interference from the aux & run key position seems to be gone, for that channel. But .... the rest of the channels are not there. I didn't have the heart to go back in and say we are still at square one. And because the issue remains, the Sirius XM still doesn't come in. BAH!!!!

Quote from Street Doc

All I can say is that once the camera was swapped out it worked well. I know others had their cameras and head units swapped out with no improvement until they got the updated camera installed and then their stereos worked properly. Good luck.

Also, if you decide you might want to try the powered antenna, let me know. I'll send you mine. Easy install. I just grounded to the frame and took switched power off the Aux power in the glove gox.

At this point, I am pretty much ready to consider running a new antenna myself. Never heard of the powered option before. I am willing to try anything because if I can just get to the point that I can get Sirius XM operating, then I am going to do what I can to get there.

Quote from Chefjohn

I tried one of the antenna that tapes to window, nothing. I will trouble shoot system further. If you pull out the horn fuse, reception is better. It is for horn and the camera. If it is the camera, I am going to install switch on dash to cut power to it.

Yeah, it was the horn/daytime running lights/turn signal fuse. Once pulled, instant reception. It was that relay that my mechanic was isolating.

Quote from Street Doc

Why not put a manual switch inline with the camera power

Thing is, the camera I think, wasn't in that relay. I really think that the issue is deeper and they stopped looking when a minor change occurred and they thought the issue resolved.

They only tested the one local channel which is broadcast in the same community. They didn't look through more.

Now, yes, I do have improved reception here now at home, for that channel. However, the rest don't pick up. They should.