Stereo issues

[AsLan7]

When I scroll down to download the zip file for the PMX-1R it says that this model has to be updated by RF themselves. Which update file did you use? Or did you call that number and send in your head unit?

Sorry to revive an old post. Having the exact issue as mentioned in the original post. Thanks!

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Hey J555…welcome to the Cobaltchat forum. So glad you found us!

My dealer has access to RF update capabilities. If I see him I’ll ask if it’s possible for consumers to do this update.

Any pics of your Cobalt?

Again welcome aboard mate!

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Thanks for the info! Just spoke with the service department and they said they should be able to update it easily. I'll post in here with the result.

Appreciate the welcome message as well. That inspired me to make this thread in the "member intro" section: viewtopic.php?f=45&t=5364 Didnt want to hijack this one haha

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Thanks J555….and no worries on the hijack. It’s what we do here.


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[SAB220]

So I installed RF head-unit and remote (punch units) do I have Bluetooth SW updates I need to be concerned about?

[Krob1114]

I have the PMX-1R at my helm. I started researching to find why I can't get the zones to work. Then I go to Rockford Fosgate website and find none of the controls look like mine. Where I have a button for zones, the others have a "sun" emblem to control brightness...which I also have a problem with.
I contacted RF and their response came today:

Thanks for contacting us. How many Zones do you have? The PMX-1R is just a remote, you either have a PMX-5CAN installed or the PMX-8BB. The following link will take you to the manuals:

2 Zone unit: PMX-5CAN
4 Zone unit: PMX-8BB

I then sent them my picture.
I sure would like my system to work the way I thought it should.

[Jab555]

I have the PMX-1R at my helm. I started researching to find why I can't get the zones to work. Then I go to Rockford Fosgate website and find none of the controls look like mine. Where I have a button for zones, the others have a "sun" emblem to control brightness...which I also have a problem with.
I contacted RF and their response came today:

Thanks for contacting us. How many Zones do you have? The PMX-1R is just a remote, you either have a PMX-5CAN installed or the PMX-8BB. The following link will take you to the manuals:

2 Zone unit: PMX-5CAN
4 Zone unit: PMX-8BB

I then sent them my picture.
I sure would like my system to work the way I thought it should.

I have the same as yours though I don’t know if my speaker zones are set up the same way. I found it not very intuitive to adjust settings or enable/disable zones from it. I press “zone” and 4 different zones will show up to select from. I select the one I want to adjust settings for then it tells me to select a source (not sure why). So I just select Bluetooth. After selecting this I press and hold menu button and navigate to audio settings. It shows the zone I am adjusting settings for on the top. Somewhere in those settings you can enable/disable the he zone.

[Krob1114]

I have the PMX-1R at my helm. I started researching to find why I can't get the zones to work. Then I go to Rockford Fosgate website and find none of the controls look like mine. Where I have a button for zones, the others have a "sun" emblem to control brightness...which I also have a problem with.
I contacted RF and their response came today:

Thanks for contacting us. How many Zones do you have? The PMX-1R is just a remote, you either have a PMX-5CAN installed or the PMX-8BB. The following link will take you to the manuals:

2 Zone unit: PMX-5CAN
4 Zone unit: PMX-8BB

I then sent them my picture.
I sure would like my system to work the way I thought it should.

I have the same as yours though I don’t know if my speaker zones are set up the same way. I found it not very intuitive to adjust settings or enable/disable zones from it. I press “zone” and 4 different zones will show up to select from. I select the one I want to adjust settings for then it tells me to select a source (not sure why). So I just select Bluetooth. After selecting this I press and hold menu button and navigate to audio settings. It shows the zone I am adjusting settings for on the top. Somewhere in those settings you can enable/disable the he zone.

Thanks. What about brightness or dimming?

[Jab555]

I have the PMX-1R at my helm. I started researching to find why I can't get the zones to work. Then I go to Rockford Fosgate website and find none of the controls look like mine. Where I have a button for zones, the others have a "sun" emblem to control brightness...which I also have a problem with.
I contacted RF and their response came today:

Thanks for contacting us. How many Zones do you have? The PMX-1R is just a remote, you either have a PMX-5CAN installed or the PMX-8BB. The following link will take you to the manuals:

2 Zone unit: PMX-5CAN
4 Zone unit: PMX-8BB

I then sent them my picture.
I sure would like my system to work the way I thought it should.

I have the same as yours though I don’t know if my speaker zones are set up the same way. I found it not very intuitive to adjust settings or enable/disable zones from it. I press “zone” and 4 different zones will show up to select from. I select the one I want to adjust settings for then it tells me to select a source (not sure why). So I just select Bluetooth. After selecting this I press and hold menu button and navigate to audio settings. It shows the zone I am adjusting settings for on the top. Somewhere in those settings you can enable/disable the he zone.

Thanks. What about brightness or dimming?

When I press and hold “zone” it will lower the brightness. Then press and hold again and it will go back to full brightness. There seems to be only two brightnesses on mine.

[Krob1114]

Thanks

[Norris_Boating]

Resized_20190810_093415.jpeg
That is my current version I updated from their site. Nothing in their release notes talks about this issue.
It isn't that hard to update as it is via USB port where you would plug in your phone.
http://rftech.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1205

When I scroll down to download the zip file for the PMX-1R it says that this model has to be updated by RF themselves. Which update file did you use? Or did you call that number and send in your head unit?

Sorry to revive an old post. Having the exact issue as mentioned in the original post. Thanks!

Sorry for the late reply haven't logged on in a bit.
The update file is for PMX-8BB, the PMX-1R is the remote but the actual thing you need is the PMX-8BB.
With that being said they have a high "random" failure rate with these units. It was replaced by Cobalt twice as the first one (came with the boat) and the second one (first replacement) the the same issues. After trying to find other causes it was replaced a second time and haven't had any problems since.

[SAB220]

FYI - RF has a pretty good FAQ section and a better customer service... don't be afraid to contact them. I just contacted them to find out what size the security torx bolt is on the tower speakers (T45) Wanted a spare

[Norris_Boating]

I think if you press and hold the round volume button you can change each zone individually. I think you tap the circle button again to change zone selection. Granted it has been a year since I have messed with it.
It should (depending on settings) keep each zone higher or lower than the rest. I keep my stern (swim speakers) zone up higher so people floating in the water can hear better but doesn't blow out people sitting in the boat. So If I spin the dial that zone will go to 15 while the rest go to 10 or that zone will go to 20 while the rest go to 15. If I go to 0 the stern goes to 5 before the others start playing sound.
You can lock the zones so they operate like mine or set them to change on a more individual level.
The reason for source selection is because you can set two different sources, so the bow could listen to one while the stern listens to a different source. Not sure why you would need/want this on the typical size boat.

[Norris_Boating]

I have the PMX-1R at my helm. I started researching to find why I can't get the zones to work. Then I go to Rockford Fosgate website and find none of the controls look like mine. Where I have a button for zones, the others have a "sun" emblem to control brightness...which I also have a problem with.
I contacted RF and their response came today:

Thanks for contacting us. How many Zones do you have? The PMX-1R is just a remote, you either have a PMX-5CAN installed or the PMX-8BB. The following link will take you to the manuals:

2 Zone unit: PMX-5CAN
4 Zone unit: PMX-8BB

I then sent them my picture.
I sure would like my system to work the way I thought it should.

PS you likely have the "4 Zone unit: PMX-8BB"

[Jab555]

Just following up here related to the hard reset issues. Took the boat into the dealership for service. They replaced the head unit and the issue was still present. They continued to diagnose and said there was a short in the wire that connects the head unit to the stereo remote next to the steering wheel. Replaced that cable and said the issue was resolved. Took the boat out and the speaker system worked great for about 3 hours until the same issue came back and it hard reset. Took the boat out again yesterday and the frequency of hard resets increased to the point where we couldn’t even listen to music.

A bit lost here considering what the dealership said they replaced. Will call them again today to see what next steps are. At this rate I just want a new head unit and stereo remote set up from a brand other than RF. Can’t seem to track down this issue!

Any other thoughts as to what the issue might be?

Here is more detail on the issue:
Stereo system hard resets while listening. Hard reset occurs after continued use anywhere between 5 minutes - 30 minutes. Hard reset increases frequency after initial reset. Remote loses functionality and speaker zones/volume are sporadic.

[AsLan7]

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Sorry to hear that J555.
Ours has been working flawlessly since the update.

Hope you get this worked out. Keep us apprised my friend.

[Norris_Boating]

Just following up here related to the hard reset issues. Took the boat into the dealership for service. They replaced the head unit and the issue was still present. They continued to diagnose and said there was a short in the wire that connects the head unit to the stereo remote next to the steering wheel. Replaced that cable and said the issue was resolved. Took the boat out and the speaker system worked great for about 3 hours until the same issue came back and it hard reset. Took the boat out again yesterday and the frequency of hard resets increased to the point where we couldn’t even listen to music.

A bit lost here considering what the dealership said they replaced. Will call them again today to see what next steps are. At this rate I just want a new head unit and stereo remote set up from a brand other than RF. Can’t seem to track down this issue!

Any other thoughts as to what the issue might be?

Here is more detail on the issue:
Stereo system hard resets while listening. Hard reset occurs after continued use anywhere between 5 minutes - 30 minutes. Hard reset increases frequency after initial reset. Remote loses functionality and speaker zones/volume are sporadic.

100% that you need a new head unit.
I went through the exact same thing you are. They replaced the head unit right away on mine, problem persisted, they replaced both remotes and the "Y" Connector for the remotes. The problem still persisted. They replaced the head unit again and the problem went away. This took all summer the first year I had it.

My guess is RF checks head units that come back and send them out as refurbished to be used in warranty replacement.
Demand another new head unit. If you still have problems with the new head unit have them put in another new head unit. Don't let them stop until the problem goes away. In my experience 2/3 of the head units that went into my boat were bad. Once you get a good one you should be good though. I didn't have any problems last year or this year, just the entire first summer.

If you can get them to install the Fusion radio they are using today that would be great but I doubt they will do it.

[Jab555]

Just following up here related to the hard reset issues. Took the boat into the dealership for service. They replaced the head unit and the issue was still present. They continued to diagnose and said there was a short in the wire that connects the head unit to the stereo remote next to the steering wheel. Replaced that cable and said the issue was resolved. Took the boat out and the speaker system worked great for about 3 hours until the same issue came back and it hard reset. Took the boat out again yesterday and the frequency of hard resets increased to the point where we couldn’t even listen to music.

A bit lost here considering what the dealership said they replaced. Will call them again today to see what next steps are. At this rate I just want a new head unit and stereo remote set up from a brand other than RF. Can’t seem to track down this issue!

Any other thoughts as to what the issue might be?

Here is more detail on the issue:
Stereo system hard resets while listening. Hard reset occurs after continued use anywhere between 5 minutes - 30 minutes. Hard reset increases frequency after initial reset. Remote loses functionality and speaker zones/volume are sporadic.

100% that you need a new head unit.
I went through the exact same thing you are. They replaced the head unit right away on mine, problem persisted, they replaced both remotes and the "Y" Connector for the remotes. The problem still persisted. They replaced the head unit again and the problem went away. This took all summer the first year I had it.

My guess is RF checks head units that come back and send them out as refurbished to be used in warranty replacement.
Demand another new head unit. If you still have problems with the new head unit have them put in another new head unit. Don't let them stop until the problem goes away. In my experience 2/3 of the head units that went into my boat were bad. Once you get a good one you should be good though. I didn't have any problems last year or this year, just the entire first summer.

If you can get them to install the Fusion radio they are using today that would be great but I doubt they will do it.

Following up on this thread to help with others that have this issue. After frustration with our local dealer service department I went and bought a new head unit and replaced it myself. The issue is 100% resolved now. Thank you for your help!