I purchased a sonichub 2 to replace the original Sonic hub that came on my beneteau. after finding the old unit, I plugged and the network cable into the new unit and it will not power on. it also does not show up in the network list. all help appreciated
sonichub 2 will not power on
- Thread starter JasonFromJersey
- Start date
I presume you mean you plugged in the network cable and the other connector that has the power wires, correct?
Did the old version Sonic Hub power on before it was removed? If yes then the problem is less likely to be wiring, and more likely the new unit.
I would use a multimeter to check the voltage on the pins of the power connector. The red to black should have 12+ volts. Also check the yellow wire, which is the power control wire, and should also have 12V. If the red wire is not 12V check for fuses. Our stereo (installed in the same place as your sonic hub) has fuses in the compartment in the aft cabin near the battery charger. There are two glass fuses in a holder toward the right side of that compartment. One is for the red wire and one for black. If the red wire has 12V and the yellow doesn’t then you might have some work to do to figure out what should feed that wire. It could be fed from the chart plotter, or there could be another switch somewhere. Worst case you could probably splice the yellow wire into another switched wire. If the red and yellow both have 12V then the unit should at least power on.
Did the old version Sonic Hub power on before it was removed? If yes then the problem is less likely to be wiring, and more likely the new unit.
I would use a multimeter to check the voltage on the pins of the power connector. The red to black should have 12+ volts. Also check the yellow wire, which is the power control wire, and should also have 12V. If the red wire is not 12V check for fuses. Our stereo (installed in the same place as your sonic hub) has fuses in the compartment in the aft cabin near the battery charger. There are two glass fuses in a holder toward the right side of that compartment. One is for the red wire and one for black. If the red wire has 12V and the yellow doesn’t then you might have some work to do to figure out what should feed that wire. It could be fed from the chart plotter, or there could be another switch somewhere. Worst case you could probably splice the yellow wire into another switched wire. If the red and yellow both have 12V then the unit should at least power on.
the old unit powered on, and after reconnecting, powered up again. the new unit doesn't power on.
Well that's not encouraging. Looking at the installation manuals for the original and version 2 the wiring looks pretty much the same. I can't see any reason why one would power up and not the other.
If no one else has any ideas in the meantime it might take a call to Navico customer support during normal business hours to find out if there's anything else that might be causing it. I haven't had much success with their e-mail support but on the phone they're usually pretty responsive.
If no one else has any ideas in the meantime it might take a call to Navico customer support during normal business hours to find out if there's anything else that might be causing it. I haven't had much success with their e-mail support but on the phone they're usually pretty responsive.
Ok. Just got of the phone with the Lowrance help desk. Classic help desk stuff - person answering records question and the puts you on hold while the find a tech who gives them an answer which they then rely back to you. The HD person said that the tech said that I need to use the new wiring harness that came with the new unit. When I asked why, he didn't know.
Before I go into the boat and start rewiring, does it make sense that the pin-outs on the new unit would be different from the old? Can I find that out by comparing wiring diagrams? Where would I find the diagrams?
(BTW, I am loving this forum and being able to crowd source help!)
Before I go into the boat and start rewiring, does it make sense that the pin-outs on the new unit would be different from the old? Can I find that out by comparing wiring diagrams? Where would I find the diagrams?
(BTW, I am loving this forum and being able to crowd source help!)
Looking at the installation manuals for both they look pretty much the same, so I'm skeptical. But maybe you could try without rewiring everything? Does the new harness have the red, black, and yellow wires exposed? If so, can you just connect them to a battery and plug the hub in to see if the power LED comes on?
To misquote an old song by the great Tina Turner, "What's Sense Got to Do With It?"
I was looking at the new SonicHub 2 wiring diagram. It looks like the yellow wire is intended as some sort of signal to switch the power. The old unit was connected to a control from a company called Fusion, fancy round LCD gizmo. I'm wondering if the old wiring was connected the Fusion device, which I removed and with it, cannot be switch on. I have a 12V DC power supply here at home I'm going to hook up the power and rig the yellow wire with the "alternative switched power control method." If it comes on, problem solved.
I will report back.
Relatedly, do I need that "switched power control" for anything? What I really want to do is source the music from bluetooth and be able to switch zones from the MFD. Do I need special electronics for that?
I will report back.
Relatedly, do I need that "switched power control" for anything? What I really want to do is source the music from bluetooth and be able to switch zones from the MFD. Do I need special electronics for that?
Yes, the yellow wire will need to be connected to 12V for the unit to power on. The idea is that the red wire can stay connected to 12V and provide the current, and the yellow wire can be connected to something like an MFD to control when the SonicHub2 should power on or stay off. Generally the MFD will put 12V on that wire whenever the MFD itself is on. In your case maybe the Fusion was provding that 12V signal, and when you removed it there was no more signal on that wire.
Going forward you'll want the "switched power control" yellow wire connected to the MFD's yellow wire if you want the SonicHub on only when the MFD is on.
So I plugged in my 12v 1A powersupply here at home. Checked it with a multimeter. Working fine. Connected ground to ground and red+yellow to red. LED indicator is still off. Does the unit need to be on the NMEA network to power up? Any other thoughts?
I’d be pretty surprised if the network had to be connected for the unit to power up, though I don’t know its internal workings. Do you have the old hub at home to check how it works without the network?
You and I think alike. Just after it wouldn't start, I thought I'd check the old unit, WHICH IS ON THE BOAT! Damn. I'm going to go get it tonight.
Spent an hour in a live chat with Navico yesterday. They said that both the SonicHub and the SonicHub 2 require a network be connected to the device to turn the LED power light on. I will verify at the boat later today.
I guess I learned something new. Hopefully now armed with the knowledge about the harness, yellow wire, and NMEA, it will work for you.
Sigh. I am adrift. The SonicHub had a port for a wired control unit from Fusion that was used to turn the unit on and off. The SonicHub2 does not have that port.
The tech support folks at Simrad said that it should be a "drop-in" replacement. But it doesn't work. I know the the yellow wire from the plug is used as an "on/off" switch and I suspect the old unit was wired to connect to the Fusion unit.
When I follow the wire harness, it leaves the SonicHub2 and then connects to another bigger bulkier wire harness and disappears into the bowels of the ship.
SonicHub2 ]]================[[ ]] =================>>> don't know where this goes or how it's wired.
unit & plug big junction to another wire harness
I suspect that the unit works, but I'm not sure, and that somewhere the mating wire of the yellow wire from the plug is expected to be connected to a switching device. Is there a way to get the specs of the larger wire harness?
I need to somehow close the circuit of the yellow wire and I'm not sure the best place to do that.
The tech support folks at Simrad said that it should be a "drop-in" replacement. But it doesn't work. I know the the yellow wire from the plug is used as an "on/off" switch and I suspect the old unit was wired to connect to the Fusion unit.
When I follow the wire harness, it leaves the SonicHub2 and then connects to another bigger bulkier wire harness and disappears into the bowels of the ship.
SonicHub2 ]]================[[ ]] =================>>> don't know where this goes or how it's wired.
unit & plug big junction to another wire harness
I suspect that the unit works, but I'm not sure, and that somewhere the mating wire of the yellow wire from the plug is expected to be connected to a switching device. Is there a way to get the specs of the larger wire harness?
I need to somehow close the circuit of the yellow wire and I'm not sure the best place to do that.
Google SonicHub or SonicHub 2. They are audio entertainment unit for boats. The old one was called SonicHub. The newer version is called SonicHub 2. They wire into an NMEA network, which is a standard for nautical devices to talk to each other.