Pioneer AVH-2300NEX Amp Error

2015 Southwind 34A

I recently had the original Jensen stereo/CD player control replaced with a Pioneer AVH-2300NEX. The Jensen had stopped providing any audio and the RV Repair Tech said it was most likely the box so he replaced with the Pioneer. All was well for a total of about 4 hours of use (both CD and radio). Then the screen went blank and the 'AMP Error' message appeared. Now whenever I turn it on everything looks and works fine (except no audio) for about 1 minute - then the screen goes blank and the Amp Error message appears.
Pioneer Tech Sprt thinks it is either a bad speaker or an overloaded amp. I unhooked and inspected all speakers and wiring. All looks fine.
Now I want to find any amplifiers or other units that are in the system. However I have no schematics or equipment location diagrams. I do not want to start blindly tearing out panels and dashboards looking for something that may not be there. I do know there must be some unit in the system because the speaker wires at the speakers are considerably larger than the wires exiting the control box.
The only wires exiting the control box are 1 coax (I assume the antenna) and several very small wires that connect to a single plug. All the A/V receptacles are empty.

I would appreciate any help in my search for a solution. Anyone with a similar vehicle may know where entertainment system units are located and how to get to them without tearing-up the motorhome. Any troubleshooting ideas would also be helpful.

Thanks,
John

If you had a tech install the Pioneer recently, wouldn't that be the place to start? I would assume some sort of warranty, no?

There have been issues with the AVH-series internal amps for years - four or so. Since yours is new, I would simply get it replaced.

However, it's also possible the installer did not install it correctly. The specific error references the speaker level outputs, so it could be you have a short between the speaker outputs (bad wiring on the coach, or a bad install). If you're lucky, there is some sort of harness adapter in use and it's not difficult to unplug the speaker harness from the chassis. Run the unit with no speaker output and see if it runs longer. Lots of installers are cheap or terrible and just splice wires together, so separating the head unit's harness from the coach's speaker wires may be problematic.

Also, with many if not most of the AVH-series units you can use either the internal amp or the pre-amp outputs, and using them both will overheat (presumably that's what happens) the internals and generate an amp error. This is sort of unusual in the car audio landscape - most head units will let you use both speaker and line level outputs, and lots of installers don't realize this limitation of the AVH series. To that end, do be sure you're not using both. I've never seen an audio install in a motorhome (other than mine!), but I could totally see there being both in use from the factory. You might be able to troubleshoot this condition by running the head unit muted or with very low volume an see if it lasts longer.

johntk said:

2015 Southwind 34A

I recently had the original Jensen stereo/CD player control replaced with a Pioneer AVH-2300NEX. The Jensen had stopped providing any audio and the RV Repair Tech said it was most likely the box so he replaced with the Pioneer. All was well for a total of about 4 hours of use (both CD and radio). Then the screen went blank and the 'AMP Error' message appeared. Now whenever I turn it on everything looks and works fine (except no audio) for about 1 minute - then the screen goes blank and the Amp Error message appears.
Pioneer Tech Sprt thinks it is either a bad speaker or an overloaded amp. I unhooked and inspected all speakers and wiring. All looks fine.

Click to expand...

Seems strange that your Jensen stopped providing any audio and now the Pioneer has too.  Do you still have the Jensen?  Possible to hook
some power to it and a couple of speakers to test it outside the RV?  Can you remove the Pioneer and try that?.

If no, to either or both of those I would be going back to the RV Repair Tech that worked on it.  4 hours use means either a defective unit
or shotty workmanship installing it.  JMO.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.