Home Theater Amp Noise Fix

[Robin_M]

Originally posted by UPS 34:
How do you hear the humm. I did hear a hum when I had the water heater on elec. and speakers had a hum.

The "hum" is RF noise that you hear when just about anything else is on. Interference from the genset, the alternator, and the battery charger are the worst, but I've also heard it from forescent lights, and the water heater, like you said. I think it's getting in through the Winegard switch box and being amplified by the home theater amp. Monaco thinks it's coming from the 12v amp power feed (and has developed a "fix" for that), but I'm not sure that's correct.

[Murphee]

Thanks--we found the subwoofer cabinet below our dining table as well, although we have never heard a peep from it to date :-) Will work on that and the noise issue when we return home and post what OUR particular noise cure will be.

[Robin_M]

I just learned from Mike Becker (Customer Service Manager at Elkhart) at the Monaco East Coast Homecoming Rally, that they have yet another fix for this home theater noise problem that is less obtrusive than the "converter box kit" described in SB 07-07-08. Anyone still dealing with this problem should get ahold of customer service in Elkhart for more info.

[bkphotog]

Robin_M

Thanks for the new info. I have the same problem with our new unit and after reading all the ideas and comments on this tread, I have been sort of waiting till a newer correction apeared. I will be calling Elkhart early next week to find out more. Thanks again!

[tjy]

Robin;
I have been following this thread and have two
magnadyna ac12k2 boxes..must be suppressors next to the a/v selector box..Is this part of "the kit" your speaking of?
Question 2 on my kvh r5 dish in motion,If it loses 12v for a second can it lose programing?
I'v read somewhere someone put a perment 12v power supply to it..your thoughts!
tom

[MonacoMama]

HOLY GEEZ... you forget how BAD this system is until you have something that is only slightly better - but slightly better in in this case is HUGE!
I have hooked my laptop into the 32" LCD ...You can go here to see some pics...but while doing this - I decided to hook up the "computer surround" speakers - WHAT a difference!! (OK..so if any of you call my phone now...I may not hear it - one speaker is right by my ear!!

[Robin_M]

Originally posted by tjy:
Robin;
I have been following this thread and have two
magnadyna ac12k2 boxes..must be suppressors next to the a/v selector box..Is this part of "the kit" your speaking of?

Tom,
No, the Monaco kit does not contain any Magnadyne parts. The original kit consisted of a supplemental audio switch box, a 110v converter to feed the amp power supply, and a relay hooked to the ignition. It's been modified now, I understand, and am not sure exactly what the modifications are. (I'm guessing it's the elimination of the converter as that was not needed to resolve the problem.)

Sorry I can't comment on the satelite dish question. I don't have one of those in my coach and therefore have not kept informed on them.

[UPS 34]

Ours will be in for repair next week. I will let you know what is done to fix it.

[Robin_M]

Originally posted by UPS 34:
Ours will be in for repair next week. I will let you know what is done to fix it.

Thanks, I'd appreciate the update. I'm very curious about what Monaco is doing about this problem currently.

[MonacoMama]

OK...I can tell you that the "Home Theater" that Monaco installs is the worst excuse for a home theater.

I can tell you that we tryed to have this taken care of at the rally - but it would require too much time to take care of the issues. We did gget into the Diamond Hills location to have it taken care of. What was done was as follows:
1. Replace the "Magnadead" with another. The DVD does not seem to freeze - but then, I have not tryed to watch a full length movie on it yet...
We could not turn the sound off from the bedroom area. The fix......
2.Change the wires on the back of the "Magnadead" so that the front and rear speaker wires are reversed. What this DID do was give us the speaker/amp noise!
One quick way to stop the amp noise when stuff is turned off....unplug the RCA jacke to the amp OR the "home theater rocker switch" should be flipped to the opposite direction. These are UNACCEPTABLE solutions ... but it may help so you do not shoot the system to "smithareens" from the pure irritation of the "bzzzzzzzzzzzz"

One of the other things I complained about was the "switch box" I told them I thought it was not working properly as we would lose satellite for no reason. I could go up and press buttons and I would eventually make a connection that would work. I can tell you that I am sure the problem with this is on the video side. I say this because I can get the sould from the XM channels - but cannot get normal channels with video - or I get JUST audio from those channels.
My problem now... I get NO video..not even with the "pressing the buttons" off and on for it to come in eventually.

OK... I am through with listing problems with the POS stereo system for tonight ...

Just beware of switching the speaker wires on the back...it will just give you another headache!

[Gordon]

MonacoMama:

Your post kind of reminds me of the video in this LINK

If you like, I can help supply the cure! I'm sure you would feel better.

I've been thinking of getting one of those Bose wireless music systems and just ignoring the built in system. I do get a slight "hum" out of the speakers when I am standing right under them. It's slight and frankly I don't notice it much. That said - these coaches ain't cheap and I always hate it when I spend money on a cheap system like the Magnadyne. One of the reasons I ripped it out!

[MonacoMama]

LOL Good one, Gordon!!
I have to tell you that I do have those cute little "U-clips" that remove the head unit from the dash...so it won't be a problem removing it from the coach ... cuz I do love my coach...but the sound system is junk!

We will have to arrange a "date" for my "mental therapy" when I have found a suitable replacement!!!

[Robin_M]

Originally posted by MonacoMama:
One of the other things I complained about was the "switch box" I told them I thought it was not working properly as we would lose satellite for no reason.

Mama,

If you think you have a problem with the Winegard switch box, you might try calling Winegard directly. That's what I did when my Tecma toilet wasn't working. I bypassed both the dealer and Monaco and went right to Thetford. They sent me a new control unit and it was the easiest warranty fix I have accomplished so far. (After you told me which way the wires went on the solenoid valve. )

If Monaco doesn't fix the sound system correctly for you, and you want to spend money to replace the system, you might try taking the coach to a good automotive audio shop. I did that with my last coach, and they replaced the entire system, speakers and everything, with a Sony system that was "state-of-the-art" at that time. I loved it. Wentworth may even work with somebody who would give you a great deal.

Also, If you find a replacement you really like for the Magnadyne radio/DVD, let me know. I don't have any serious problems with the Magnadyne, but I know it's a pretty cheap unit, and I'm always looking for "something better".

[Tony2]

I just had this service bulletin done on my 07 Cayman 36PDQ, I noticed a couple of things.............

After reviewing the installation I think they have it all screwed up, they left the relay out of the harness for whatever reason which causes the system to think it is in "drive mode" all of the time and not allowing the amplifier to turn on. So I dug in further and inspected the wiring, parts, what they did, etc and decided to add the relay where it is supposed to go, that being done all works as advertised. However when you park and turn off the ignition and the amplifier comes on it also feeds 12volts back through the coach chassis somehow as my stairs will retract whenever I shut the coach's door thinking the chassis ignition (Key) is turned on, so I am sure that also affects other things too.

The speaker selector switch does not work in the cabinet, though I didn't play with that long so I cant recall the particulars, but I believe it was when ignition is on and amplifier is bypassed you now have to use the fader and that works fine if you don't want the rear speakers on or the front for that matter by simply fading fully to the front or rear. However when the amplifier is on the fader does not work as in one direction all speakers are on and in the other they are off.

What else bothers me is when ignition is on and you are driving down the road the subwoofer does not work as the amplifier is bypassed.

So that being said I think it is a poor fix. I believe this is all due to a cheap radio, as if you unplug the rca cables behind the radio going to the amplifier the buzz goes away, so it must be the radio that is inducing the noise!!


Tony2