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Hello,

I have a 2005 Vista 288 and the deck speakers are not working. How do you remove the radio/CD/DVD players to check the wiring?

Thank you!

If it's a clarion then you pop off the two side panels. Open the CD panel and the two protruding parts of the bezel can then be popped outward and off. There are four screws under there. Remove the screws and the radio slides out. Whether it has enough wire on the back to slide far enough is the question.

Does sound come out of the cabin speakers? Have you checked to make sure the fader control hasn't been set wrong? As in, sending sound only to the F (forward) setting?

Don't know if your 288 has an amp, but if you're talking about the COCKPIT speakers (the ones above deck, not below in the cabin) then those are usually driven by an amplifier (in addition to the radio itself). If that's not getting power then check it's breaker or an in-line fuse near it.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

It is the speakers cockpit speaker and not the cabin speakers. I did check the fade to see if that was the issue and also checked to see if the amp was receiving power and both are ok.

I did pull the two tabs from the side of the radio and removed the screws but there is no way the radio is coming out as the wires are too tight.

I was wondering if there is a way to get to the back of the equipment? It does not appear that there is but I thought I would check.

Thank you for your reply

I don't know if the 288 has easy access to the back of the radio. I know the 348 makes it a bit of a hassle. You can get to 'some' of it from the breaker panel above it. The panel is hinged and can be opened. Just turn off ALL POWER (both DC and AC) so you don't short anything out, or kill yourself on the live AC voltage present... But getting to the bottom of the cabinet is hard from there. So you have to pull the AC inlet grate (a wood panel) to gain access from below. You practically need to be a circus performer to wiggle in there but it's do-able.

The wiring is tie-wrapped down. This is necessary as the constant motion of a boat would eventually cause any loose cabling to get worn and break. Broken cables mean risk of spark and that's a serious no-no in a gas powered boat. So if you do pull the radio and have to loosen any cabling BE SURE to secure it again. Never leave it just dangling.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Your comment on how to reach the rear of the Clarion was very helpful. I've been racking my brains trying to figure out how to get an ipod hooked up to the back of the Clarion in my 06- 318. I tried to pull it out but suceeded only in disconnecting the am/fm antenna. I could not pull it all the way out, It must be held in by the wiring. I quickly pushed it back before I pulled any more cables out. I'm at a loss as to how to get to the rear of the radio. Now I need to reconnect the antenna. Thankfully, the Sirus still works. I will try the air conditioner access idea as my next option.
Thanks

John Moore

I don't know how the setup works in a 318 but in my 348 the breaker panel is on a hinge. You can unscrew the panel along one side and open it. This lets you reach down behind to get to the wires leading to the radio. I seem to recall seeing newer models having everything on the same panel, instead of using wood shelf pockets as it does on my 348. You can also get to the back of the wiring panels and radio from below through the AC grille panel. I don't know if the 318 has the same option. The wires do need to be tightly secured. Wave action is a killer for wear. If the wires aren't secured they'll rub and chafe, eventually leading to their failure (if not an electrical fire). So if you do manage to get things connected make sure you secure the wires after the fact.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

With the cockpit speakers working off a separate amp there will be 2 RCA cables from the head unit to the amp. If you have 4 cockpit speakers there will be a Y plug off each of these and 4 RCA plugs going into the amp. It appears you checked the fuse on the amp, so you know the RCA cables are good there. With how those cables are run I'd be shocked if both RCA cables came off the head unit.

I think your problem lies elsewhere. Did you check the speaker connectors on the speakers themselves? Check there first. If the wires are connected I'd remove one cabin speaker and connect it one of the cockpit wires to see if the problem is the cockpit speakers themselves.

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-Tom
2003 298 Vista

You DID check to see how the Fader is set up, right? On my 348 the cabin speakers are all driven straight from the Front channel on the radio itself. The cockpit speakers and subwoofer are driven from the Rear channel from the radio through the amp. I can control how much sound goes to either space by using the Fader control in the radio. Higher front value puts more sound out down in the cabin, higher rear value puts sound up to the cockpit. I'd hate to think it might be THAT simple...

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

I just noticed Bill and I were commenting on a thread nearly a year old. I'll assume he has sound in the cockpit by now

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-Tom
2003 298 Vista