Delphi SkyFi 2 power problem
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=44001
Printed Date: July 14, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Topic: Delphi SkyFi 2 power problem
Posted By: FYRHWK1
Subject: Delphi SkyFi 2 power problem
Date Posted: November 28, 2004 at 9:32 PM
I was hoping I didn't have to ask about something so simple on here, but I honestly can't seem to figure out an answer. We installed a skyfi 2 into a customers car, a civic Si, recent year, with a wired delphi FM modulator and new car kit. The original installer had some issues with the power to the unit cutting out whenever the unit was moved, but thought he had fixed them. She came back today and we decided to try a new car kit, that solved nothing though. When the unit is plugged into her cigarette lighter and powered through the cord that comes with the car kit, everything is fine. But even with a new wired modulator, which she insists she wants, the power still cuts out when swiveling the unit from the left ot the right, even with the receiver locked in place and making sure it doesn't lift up. The receiver works perfectly fine when plugged in through the cigarette lighter adapter, I'm stumped as to what the problem could be, I know its something to do with the wired modulator, but what that is I can't imagine, i couldnt see 2 being bad though I suppose it's possible. Any help anyone has would be much appreciated.
Replies:
Posted By: brianrwebb
Date Posted: November 28, 2004 at 11:55 PM
i had this same problem but with a SkyFI 1. the problem was the board, that the Aux Out and Power plug into was or had become desoldered from the board. i just took a Torx6 and took out the board, and solder the one loose connection back to the board. however, you could have a problem with the power jack itself coming from the modulator unit, which is a P15 power connector, which, if a new one is needed, i found it easiest to take one from an existing cig lighter adaptor if i had pictures of the thing i'd post them, however i never thought to take any when i disassembled the thing. i'd be curious to know how it went, either board or plug, the only 2 choices i would think you have to deal with. could it be anything to do with the Auto-On feature within the menu system?
Posted By: raydawg357
Date Posted: November 29, 2004 at 10:45 AM
I've experienced this same problem. Here's the deal. The cigarette adapter has an inverter built in that drops the voltage to 6v. To hard wire this setup, we had to solder wires to ground and power tip of the cigarette adapter, then connect the wires to your desired source. Whenever the skyfi 2 receives 12v it will shut off. You have to utilize the provided adapter.
------------- Do it right the first time
Posted By: brianrwebb
Date Posted: November 29, 2004 at 3:16 PM
raydawg, could you explain this in a more detailed manner. the SkyFi2 must act differently from the SkyFi1 in regard to its power configuration. i've hardwired near 20 of the XM's via the cig lighter adaptor, feeding off of the car's +ACC wire, and i've never experienced a problem with them. (these were all for use via the HeadUnit's Aux input, so no FM Mod existed.) i know their cig adaptor drops the volts from 12Vto6V, but i do not understand the grounding of the cig lighter tip, that is the postive lead, no? also, i think neither of us have solved his problem, he had 2 different car kits, and 2 different FM Mods, which provide power to the SkyFI car adaptor, with no luck what-so-ever. thanks for the help, Brian.
Posted By: raydawg357
Date Posted: November 30, 2004 at 7:13 AM
You are correct, the tip is the power side and the sides are the ground. I've found that leaving the adapter intact elliminates the power failure problem. I've also noticed that delphi has a lot of bad units also. You can't always fix something that's shipped to you bad.
------------- Do it right the first time
Posted By: brianrwebb
Date Posted: November 30, 2004 at 5:31 PM
raydawg357, I cannot say that either of us are wrong, however, you and i have both experienced two diiferent ways of using the cig lighter adaptor. of the 19 installs where i have modified the XM power adaptor to suit my needs, it was always to connect an external XM plug-and-play SKYFI receiver to a Head Unit via its Aux Input connector. instead of creating my own voltage regulator to downstep the incoming 12V to 6V 1000mAh, i would just disassemble the cig adaptor and remove the side ground plate and positive wired tip piece from the enternal board, and solder a black for ground and a in-line fuse adaptor to hold the existing fuse that was once in the tip before stripping it. i must have been lucky so far, as i have never had one come back to me as of yet; i did have a problem with a bad input connection on the car adaptor side, but was able to fix... i guess you can do what i do, or just go and buy a voltage regulator from a place like xmfanstore.com, to get the 6V, or just make one yourself, but, as i've said, i've been luck enough not to run into a bad power adaptor yet. thanks for the info, Brian
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