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asindc · 11-01-2023, 07:48 PM

I just bought a new 2024 Bambi 16rb. Factory installed Clarion radio and adjacent USB seemed to be working fine until I took it boondocking when I couldn’t get any power to either it or the usb while on battery only. Everything else seemed to work fine, including the nearby lights and antenna booster. This stereo and USB plug SHOULD should work on battery only, right????

asindc · 11-09-2023, 04:50 PM

Hi All - I didn't get any replies to the original question so dug into the issue myself. Turns out that this brand-new, straight-from-the-factory 2024 Bambi 16 was incorrectly wired behind 12V fuse terminals 8 and 9. The installer actually connected the Grey DC wire (Radio) to terminal 8 and the Black / White (LP Detector) wire to Terminal 9. As you can see from my photos, it was supposed to be the opposite.

.....so this meant that the factory put a 1AMP fuse on my 15AMP radio circuit and a 15AMP fuse on my 1AMP LP Detector circuit.

Something interesting to flag here: The radio actually WORKED on shore power, but not on DC (which was why I posted the question to start this thread in the first place, confused about why in the world Airstream would produce a radio that only worked on shore power). So the radio worked on shore power despite the fact that the 1AMP DC fuse that it was mistakenly behind on Terminal #8 was completely blown. Strange, or totally normal????

I had heard that the LP Detector always runs, even when you turn off the main battery disconnect. I wonder if this could have had anything to do with it, or all of the DC wiring bypasses the DC fuses when shore power is connected?

Any insights here?

Wazbro · 11-09-2023, 06:40 PM

It's been quite a few years since I messed with car radios(which is what Airstream buys and installs, not produces). When I did there were usually 2 hot wires 1 fused at 1-3 amps for memory and 1 fused at 10 amps or more to power the radio. How Airstream managed to install a 12 volt radio so it only worked on 120 volt is weird and really hard to figure out how.

John Ware · 11-10-2023, 07:34 AM

The radio was working on shore power(12v) until it blew the 1 amp fuse which probably happened when it was turned on while on battery.

DarthBrader · 11-10-2023, 07:56 AM

Good sleuthing, thanks for sharing your find, and welcome to the forum.

The only way I can think of that you would get 12V power only when connected to shore power is if your battery disconnect switch is off, or a wiring problem. In that case, your 12V distribution panel would be powered by the converter, but not by the batteries. But that should affect the whole 12V distribution panel, not just the radio.

I think I'd try to confirm that your battery disconnect is working properly, the radio is actually powered by that gray wire, and that there's no other source of 12V connected to the radio. You might also try contacting Jackson Center. Others have reported that they can email you more detailed wiring diagrams than what's provided in the manual.