Bel Rx65 Turning OFF and On

[Brn Rice]

I'm pretty new to the world of radar detectors...been reading a lot on this website.

But for some reason...my Bel Rx65 keeps turning off and on in the middle of me driving. It's so unregular, that I can't even daignose it...on some drives it'll function normally and then other times after 20 min. it'll start going off and on. I tried cleaning the smart cord and the cigarette lighter...but still. It's pretty annoying.

ANyone had any similar experinece? Is it my car's voltage problem? Is there a problem in Rx65 itself???????

[ES13Raven]

Turn on your RX65's "Pilot V" mode and watch the voltage. Does it fluctuate a lot?

If it doesn't, I would try a hard-wire kit (they are $10 from Roy) and see if the problem still occurs. If it does, and the voltage stays pretty regular, send your RX65 into Beltronics and have them take a look at it. :wink:

[Radar Roy]

Bel Rx65 keeps turning off and on in the middle of me driving.

Is there another device that you can plug in to see if it does the same thing?? Cell Phone, radio....

[compu44]

The way some lighter sockets are made, they can start to do that after a while. Try plugging something else in there that you can tell if it's going on and off. If that's the case, i'll try to walk you through fixing it.

[Brn Rice]

So I switched the programming mode to "Pilot V" - displays the voltage.

And I went to the store...on the way there, the voltage pretty much stayed the same 14.0 - 14.2 V. The unit never turned off/on during this time.
On the way back, the voltage was flacuating a lot, from 12.0 - 14.2 V.. On the way back it turned off/on several times.

Looking back, I've noticed this trend: If the car has been turned off for a extended period of time, the voltage doesn't flacuate and the unit works properly. If the car has been used for abt 30 minutes, the unit starts going off and on.

So is this a battery problem, or a car problem??? Tonite, I'm going to try the unit in my wife's car and ill know for sure if its the car or the unit. Any suggestions??

[stalker]

12 to 14.2V is normal, mostly should stick around 13 or so... id say it is the cigar plug...some are a little loose in the socket, maybee try a couple of looks of electrical tape around the plug to make it sit in firmer and see if that fixes it ;)

[RensoreK]

1) Make sure the Cig socket is clean, fine sandpaper to polish the contacts may be needed

2) Try another device and see if it goes on/off

3) Voltage seems fine

4) If this fails the socket may be loose or defective it's not too dificult to fix. Good Luck!

[Brn Rice]

Just a lil update....in my wife's car...the voltage stayed constant at 13.6 throughout the whole trip.

But since you guys are saying that 12 - 14 is normal, I'll try cleaning it one more time and try the putting some tape over it...hahah so ghetto!! grrrrr oh well. Thanks for everyones help.

[ES13Raven]

Just a lil update....in my wife's car...the voltage stayed constant at 13.6 throughout the whole trip.
Try another electronics device powered by your cigarette lighter and check for power issues.

And if you try a direct-wire kit for the detector, you will know for sure if you have a power problem and eliminate the cigarette lighter as a possibility (that could be bad too).

[vw242]

Your wife's car is normal. 13.6 -13.8 is standard voltage regulation when the car is running. Your cars alternator may need a checkup. When I hardwired mine with some 4 lead phone wire, the length of the wire determined the voltage to the RX65. Too long, low voltage and it would shutdown. The smartcord gave the best baseline voltage reading.