Boat radio quit working

I have an 18ft center console boat with a Sony AM/FM radio that quit. Everything else on the boat works: engine cranks, horn, bilge pump, live well pump. Didn’t think about checking the lights so I haven’t done that yet. I looked under the console and don’t see an inline fuse on the wiring. There is a circuit breaker at the positive battery post at the back of the boat, but I’ve check that with a circuit light touching the negative post and the positive wire just before the plastic coating on the wire. Light glowed, so its getting current. If there is a fuse I don’t see it — except, there is a dark red square plastic thing sticking out of the back of the radio that looks like one of those flat fuses you see in cars. I tried to see if it would budge but couldn’t get it out so I left that alone. I “think” the electrical harness on the radio is hooked up to the control panel underneath the console because the only red & black wires I see go to the mass of connections behind the control panel; so I’m assuming that is the power source. Any ideas ?

Check again for current where your radio wires terminate and work harder at finding or removing that fuse.

I suppose I could try removing that flat piece with some needle nose pliers . Im just leery of breaking it. If its a fuse it should come out with your fingers though. I’ve pulled my hair out so much on this; and working underneath there lying on your back is difficult. I’ll try some needle nose pliers. I will try the circuit light on those two (red & black) wires. I think I tried that but got no light; yet all the panel instruments work, but I’ll do it again.

The thing that would probably be the most helpful is to check for power as close to the back of the radio as possible. That would tell you if it was an issue with the power getting to the radio or a problem inside the radio itself.

If you have a test light, usually you can push the point of the probe through the insulation to read the current.

If you have no power at the back of the radio, it’ll be the usual suspects, most likely a “quick fail”—errr, I mean “quick splice” connector has failed as those POS rigging job things always do.

As you always should, any splices that have to be redone should be done with either marine shrink-end butt connectors or standard connectors with heat shrink applied over the top. Obviously you could also solder the connections and heat shrink if that’s the way you like to do it, but all joins must be water and vibration proof.

Grouse

The Famous Grouse, my circuit tester light has a point on the red wire but an alligator clip on the negative. I can remove a small amount of insulation on the negative and stick the red wire point in and try that. The red & black wires coming off the radio are in a group of wires; so I’m “thinking” they’re the two. I’ll give that a try. That will tell me if power is getting to the radio. Thanks