Okay gang...here's what I have happening right now- any suggestions/ideas could be useful:

First some background: I replaced the handlebars and handlebar switches in September of 2014. I had been running Santee 11" mini-apes with stock switches. In Sep, I changed to Yaffee Modular apes (13") and Drag Specialties lighted Chrome switch kit. The kit includes all the wiring/switches, and is LED - backlit for the top 3 switches on each side (audio/cruise switches aren't lit). This change happened AFTER a lot of issues with my previously installed stereo during a trip to the OBX in August 2014: my Sony MEX-GS610BT wouldn't work (sources jumping, no power-on at times, no button control on the radio itself, and the hand controls just never wanted to work properly). I decided that my "mode" switch might be faulty, as I was seeing some weirdness even with the HK earlier in 2014. The DS switch kit includes a new 'mode' switch. And since the hand position of the Santee's was JUST wrong for me (made my right wrist ache), I decided to change the whole interface between me and bike in one shot. During the bar swap, I reinstalled the HK radio that I had modded by Iron Cross (added pre-amps and BT) /XM interface/HDPDPlus. I kept the PA Razor as my amp. All seemed to be okay, but I finally decided to try the Jensen offering. At the beginning of OCT, I swapped out the HK for the Jensen HD1BT. All seemed well, but I only had a few more miles of riding season left, as I parked the bike following the Albany Veteran's Day parade and didn't get to pull it out again until April. During the winter, I did purchase a BT4180 amp and BT speakers for the back of the bike (BT477s for the Tour Pak pods and BT479s for the Hog Tunes lids). I installed the BT parts in March, and hoped for a season of loud tunes with no new work to do!

Alas, around mid-May, my Jensen HD1BT started losing it's mind: the sources were changing randomly, from iPhone, BT, XM, FM and just rolling through each source, about 2 minutes or so each source, then moving on. Also, the iPhone (connected to the USB cord of the Jensen through a 6' Lightning cable into my Tour Pak) would play for about 30 seconds to a couple of minutes of a song, then let out an ear-piercing screech of noise- and that would continue until I changed to another source. So...I call Jensen, and they want the deck pulled and sent to them. Fine, too easy. Ahh...but what to stuff in the big hole in my inner fairing?

Well, I pull out my Sony MEX-GS610BT that was acting weird last summer, and decided to give that another try. When I put it all together, I got the same result I had last summer in the OBX: no control of the radio via the front buttons, and the hand controls didn't react AT ALL. So I called BT, talked to Robin, and we did some troubleshooting. The first step on their troubleshooting sheet says to disconnect the switch controls and jump the bike side of the switches for some of the functions to rule out the BT1005x having any negative effect. Everything worked as expected on the left hand switch side, and the channel up/down, but I jumped the "Mode" function (source change)- that DID NOT WORK. Robin said that was an indication that the BT1005x rev c.2 must have some form of issue, so a replacement was sent out on Friday (29MAY). Also, a new issue arose with the installation of the Sony/BT radio: now I am getting a loud POP through what seems to be only the REAR speakers when I turn off the bike. That hadn't happened at all with the Jensen (or even the HK which I reinstalled for about a day) and the BT4180 (grounded to the neck, per BT's instructions). So today (1JUN), I ran the ground from the BT4180 directly to the battery, and waited for the USPS to drop off the new BT1005x.

Well...got the new BT1005x. Plugged it in. And nothing. ZERO hand controls. And despite grounding to the battery directly, I'm still getting the explosion of noise from what appears to only be the four rear speakers when I turn the key off. The BT1005x is set to "0" for '13 and newer Sony radios. All the connections SEEM to be tight (though the spring-clip connections BT uses on all their stuff is somewhat frustrating to be sure about). I'm confounded, confused and irritated to read of others here using the same deck, hell, the same system I have with great success. So what could be the problem here? I haven't sent back the Jensen yet. But the BT1005x/Sony isn't working right (though I can control the Sony from the faceplate). I ordered a new set of switches; I am intending on pulling the bars off the bike Thursday (4JUN) when they arrive and make sure the mode switch is not damaged during the swap, but...I'm truly lost. The only good point is the weather is supposed to be rainy most of the week.

 

Damn Mike.. when it rains it pours.. no pun intended.... ok maybe a little pun intended.

Ironically enough I was going to email you this evening to ask about the Jensen. Guess I have my answer now. lol

So, let me ask you this. Are you sure there are no issues with the Sony head unit? Reason I ask is I just bought one of the newer models that just came out a couple of months ago, MEX-GS810BH. Installed it and started having issues with the left hand controls. Called up Hill Country Customs as I had narrowed it down to the mode switch being bad. They sent me a complete set of new switches for both left and right side. Replace everything on the left side, put it all back together and I'll be damned if my problems didn't still exist. Unplugged my 1005x and reset it and plugged it all back up. Worked perfectly fine for a couple of days then once again started doing the same stupidity your setup is doing. I had Bill replace the 1005x and once again worked fine for a couple of days then back to doing the same thing. So needless to say and as much as I dislike Alpine, I've got a 149BT on the way. I've had nothing but success with Sony products over many a years on these bikes but I'm now starting to question the quality of the products.

 

Ultra,

I've got a new set of switches arriving tomorrow; my intent is to install them, then check the Jensen- I have a feeling that there is a problem in my right hand switch assembly, specifically the mode button, but I will need to do the swap (JOY!). Needless to say, my Thursday night is gonna be a long one!

I would really rather the problem be with the mode switch because I frankly liked the Jensen. It sounded good despite only having bass/treble tone controls (there are some preset sound settings as well), it had all the functionality I want (rear USB, SiriusXM ready, BT, got good FM reception too), and the display was pretty readable (most glare issue was really the reflection of the console onto the faceplate which obscured the clock readout in the lower right corner of the screen). In fact, when the sun was directly ON the screen, it had similar readability to the HK's face. And it's fully waterproof, so I don't have to be concerned about weather. Also, it is nice to be able to set "preset only" tuning for FM and XM bands, and I like the ability to turn off the AUX function so it was one less source to flip through. Lastly, the red matches my gauges well! The few nitpicky issues I have with the Jensen such as the fact that the 23-pin plug needs to be transposed with their connection harness since it causes a lot of stretch on the radio wire harness (though that's mitigated with the smaller footprint of the BT4180 vs. the PA Razor), the USB extension could be longer, and there's no AVC weren't dealbreakers.

As for the Sony, I'm not sure if it's actually functioning properly or not. Sony's tech support is garbage: the tech told me to do a "reset" procedure (available ONLY in the Service Manual, btw): hold the Source button for 20 seconds, and it supposedly re-writes the ROM with a fresh copy of it's software. Not sure I believe that though. Anyway, it is only after you try that then they would consider doing any sort of return for checking it.

So I did the reset function off the bike, then connected it, and the BT1005x didn't work. So I called Robin at BT, and after some efforts at troubleshooting (specifically jumping the switch connections on the bike side of the switch plugs), we seemed to find that the BT1005x wasn't duplicating the "mode" switch functions. So Robin sent me a new BT1005x, and I swapped that in. I'm still not getting the Sony to react- so I highly doubt the BT1005x is the issue. I suppose I have a bad deck as well, and considering the Sony was behaving poorly last summer (with different bars and the original factory switches), I have a sneaking suspicion that this new generation of Sony is lacking quality as well.

I think a Kenwood or Pioneer (I've always liked the Pioneer stuff I've used) might be on tap. First things first; I have to make sure there's no damaged wiring in the bars/switch housings. Besides, I want to go back to black switch caps, since the chrome switch caps and chrome housings seem to be a touch too much for my liking. And really, if the switches work right, I am hoping that the Jensen will play nice again, which would suit me just fine.

 

Just a slight update: I pulled the right switch apart and lo and behold, the violet/black wire was crushed and the sheathing was cut/chafed away exposing the copper. Guess I know why the "mode" button was playing hell with everything.

Now I have to terminate all the wires and rebuild the plugs since I swapped out all left and right switches, then re-mount the bars. Hopefully this time the mode switch wiring SHOULD be safe (I wrapped the switch's wiring for both the mode and cruise select). If I'm feeling froggy, I'll go back out tonight and reinstall the bars on the bike, then I'll test the Jensen AND the Sony/BT1005x to see which is working.

Ugh...now to crimp all these wires (at least the TBW plug isn't new, so no need to terminate those wires)...this should prove maddening, since my crimp tool isn't the greatest.

 

glad you got her figured out Mike. Sometimes they can be a literal biatch to troubleshoot especially when you have different/multiple mods as you and I do.

My 149BT arrived today and once opened, the serial number was ground off the unit, the back right side was bent up to the point the harness could not be plugged into the back of it. I was livid. Got another coming on Tuesday from Audio Savings. Don't ever buy anything from A&A Online through Amazon.

 

Holy crap! That sucks!! I hope Amazon is helping make that right! Sucks that there are disreputable sellers in Amazon's ecosystem, but it isn't shocking- too many crooks around, and they all can't stay on fleabay!

It's true though, what a PITA this was! One pinch in those god-forsaken handlebar switch housings can cause SO many issues...and of course, being as roomy as they are and as easy to work with, I don't know how a pinch or cut is possible!

It appears that all is back normal now though- the Jensen is doing exactly what it should when I push either the face buttons or the thumb controls, so I'm happy. At least this time I ran a good quality 6' USB extension from inside the fairing to the Tour Pak so any future radio swaps will be much more straightforward. HOPEFULLY I got the switch housings together in a way that nothing was pinched and can't break again. I really don't want to pull the fairing again for a long time...unless the mythical Aquatic AV AQ-MP-5UBT-H is SO superior to the Jensen (or AQ-MP-5BT-H) that I have to switch to it.

I did NOT test the Sony/BT1005x combo after the wiring fix, but I still feel that the MEX-GS610BT has problems itself, and NOT the BT1005x. Considering it was acting screwy last summer BEFORE the switch swap, I don't think I'm going to try it again any time soon either. We'll see how durable the Jensen is, and if I NEED to go back to a car deck, I'll probably go with a Kenwood or Alpine.