Thursday, June 18, 2015

Genesis Technologies GT-3.0 no audio no backlight

So I have one of these in my travel trailer and it started acting wacky after I plugged my Galaxy S5 into the front USB port to charge it. I thought I read somewhere you could do that. Well, all of a sudden the backlighting on the front panel doesn't work anymore and there is no more audio from any function (radio, DVD, CD, USB stick).
http://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5922&d=1306088852

Turns out there's very little (none) online resources for this unit and a few e-mails to dealers yielded only one response, to the tune of "there are no repair facilities for these units but we can sell you a replacement!".
So, not to draw this out, turns out the problem was a burnt BD438 power transistor inside the box.


The transistor is located on the upper board behind the sockets for speakers and 12V power. To get to the view you see above you'll have to remove the unit from the RV, remove the front control panel and remove the side plates. You'll have to remove five screws from the top board to access the underside to solder the new transistor (hint: the fifth screw is on top of the unit, under the sticker).
I ordered a new transistor from Digikey for $0.72 and I was good to go.

Good luck!






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25 comments:

  1. memobugAugust 16, 2015 at 8:50 PM

    Thanks for this. May be helpful if mine breaks! P.s. It looks like there are a few broken images here

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. reinsj2October 11, 2015 at 6:54 PM

      Don't know what happened to the pics. I reposted one of them.

      Thanks for the feedback.

      Delete
  2. memobugOctober 20, 2015 at 4:55 PM

    Perfect! I was able to open a GT-3 and discover Q3 (BD438) had left the building. I may have a few more pictures for you. I did find that the two screws that hold the I/O connector need to be loosened and there was a piece of gorilla tape holding the PCB down in the area of the ribbon cable connectors.

    Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMay 7, 2016 at 9:01 AM

    Hoping this is whats wrong with ours. Ours started acting weird last year then it just quit working. We have No backlight or sound altho you can turn the volume up and down and just no sound...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. reinsj2May 9, 2016 at 1:58 PM

      Hope it works out for you!

      Delete
    2. UnknownMay 12, 2016 at 2:24 PM

      After taking radio apart I found the same thing as you. Burnt bd438. removed and replaced. Now just waiting to get back to lake to install and see if it works!! Thanks for posting this fix. Will let you know how it turns out!!

      Delete
  4. UnknownJune 1, 2016 at 9:16 AM

    Finally got a chance to get out to the camper and install the radio. It works great!! Thanks a million for posting this up and helping fix these things. Very much appreciated!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. reinsj2June 2, 2016 at 11:15 AM

      Awesome!

      Delete
    2. reinsj2June 2, 2016 at 11:15 AM

      Awesome!

      Delete
    3. UnknownJuly 5, 2016 at 2:16 PM

      I have the same issue with my GT3. Can you post a link to the Digikey site where you bought the repair part needed? I can't seem to find a BD348. Thanks in advance!!!

      Delete
    4. reinsj2July 7, 2016 at 2:41 PM

      This is what I used:

      http://www.digikey.ca/product-search/en?keywords=497-14155-5-nd

      Delete
    5. UnknownJuly 8, 2016 at 8:23 AM

      Thanks! Have one on the way...will let you know the outcome once installed.

      Delete
  5. AnonymousJuly 9, 2018 at 2:36 PM

    Ours stopped working when using ANY of the buttons on the system!It can ONLY be used via the remote control. VERY FRUSTRATED, only 3 years old and only used MAYBE 8 weekends, 16 days!

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownAugust 4, 2018 at 12:40 PM

    Our camp ground got hit with lightening and fried our converter. We got that fixed and found out the radio won't work either. The power button won't turn it off and the rest is no sound coning from the radio but the buttons work and I can see the radio stations scanning. Any recommendations on where to start?

    ReplyDelete
  7. reinsj2October 6, 2018 at 12:58 PM

    Hmm. Only seeing these comments now. Anyway, I haven't had any more problems with mine so I haven't had to go digging inside again. Sorry, can't offer any help with these problems.

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownOctober 30, 2019 at 5:53 AM

    Our genesis won't turn on, any ideas?

    ReplyDelete
  9. reinsj2December 28, 2019 at 4:06 AM

    Sorry, not enough knowledge of the power circuit. Would have to do some testing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownApril 1, 2020 at 11:21 AM

    We can't get our GT3.0 to connect to Bluetooth we keep getting by error. Any setup suggestions?

    ReplyDelete
  11. UnknownMay 2, 2020 at 4:34 AM

    Just bought a 2015 Forest river with GT-3.0 system and guess what no sound at all static nothing but powers up fine.
    All of the buttons seem to display just fine, but no sound from speakers
    I think i will try the common fix listed in the forum.
    i will update later.

    1 to 10 how difficult is the resistor replacement???

    ken

    ReplyDelete
  12. M. LagaceJuly 14, 2020 at 3:42 PM

    Can you tell me how you knew the part was burnt? Does it show like a fuse?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. memobugJuly 15, 2020 at 9:47 AM

      Sometimes it is discolored. Sometimes burnt or broken. Sometimes it gets hot enough to discolor or delaminates the PCB board underneath it. It is not always obvious from inspection when a semiconductor fails. Comparing it with similar devices may be helpful. If your symptoms are exactly as described, particularly if you plugged a high load item like a phone into the USB port, this is probably it.

      Delete
  13. UnknownOctober 27, 2020 at 5:03 AM

    no sound on cd or picture when try play movie on gt-3.0

    ReplyDelete
  14. UnknownJune 17, 2021 at 9:48 AM

    Is there a telephone number.for Genesis GT-3 I can call and get help setting on the blue tooth?

    ReplyDelete
  15. UnknownMarch 28, 2022 at 4:27 PM

    How do you get the speakers to work

    ReplyDelete
  16. UnknownMarch 29, 2022 at 9:05 AM

    How to get speakers to work

    ReplyDelete

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