Maestro Radio Replacement Solution - 2013/14 F150 with 4.3 Inch Screen
09-15-2016, 08:30 AM
#431
2014 fx4 5.0
Greetings- My setup: 2014 F-150 XLT Kenwood DDX9902S I've had the new head unit installed for a few weeks now. I did not drive the truck one day and boom - next day the battery is dead. I have done a TON of troubleshooting and testing and this is what I've discovered: Inserting my multimeter between the negative battery lead and the battery and reading amps, I am seeing a reading of 0.55 A (about 10 times what I would expect) after letting the truck sit for over 45 minutes. By pulling fuses, I was able to narrow it down to the Radio circuit. I then opened up the center console and looked at all the wiring for the Head Unit. I pulled the fuse from the Head Unit itself but still measured the same battery drain. I then disconnected the Maestro RR and the measured Amps went down to 0.01. I tested a bunch of other things like the GPS antenna, backup camera, microphone, USB and HDMI cables, but nothing made a difference except disconnecting the RR module. I also verified that the connector going into the RR with the Yellow, Red, and Black wires had 12 volts on the yellow wire when the truck was off, with no key in the ignition. The only thing I can think of is that the Maestro RR is just drawing too much power from the battery when the engine is off. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Here's the kicker - I have a buddy who also has a Maestro RR module. I flashed it with the firmware for my Truck, connected it all up, and basically measured the same battery drain with it. Am I missing something? Can battery drain occur if a wire doesn't have a good connection or there is a short in the system? The head unit has been working perfectly for me for almost a month and has been working fine during my battery drain testing as well. Any advice would be appreciated.
I've had mine in for a couple months, but I drive my truck every day.
Well, I went on vacation for a week and a half and when I came home my battery was deader than dead! I jumped it off and got it recharged, and I also did a parasitic draw test, and I have the same amperage draw that you have.
But check this out... My installer told me that anything under an amp is NORMAL. Lmao!!
I'm taking it in there today. I'm hoping they can come up with something better than what they've already explained to me, or I may be in handcuffs today.
09-15-2016, 10:35 AM
#432
Senior Member
I've had mine in for a couple months, but I drive my truck every day.
Well, I went on vacation for a week and a half and when I came home my battery was deader than dead! I jumped it off and got it recharged, and I also did a parasitic draw test, and I have the same amperage draw that you have.
But check this out... My installer told me that anything under an amp is NORMAL. Lmao!!
I'm taking it in there today. I'm hoping they can come up with something better than what they've already explained to me, or I may be in handcuffs today.
Well, I went on vacation for a week and a half and when I came home my battery was deader than dead! I jumped it off and got it recharged, and I also did a parasitic draw test, and I have the same amperage draw that you have.
But check this out... My installer told me that anything under an amp is NORMAL. Lmao!!
I'm taking it in there today. I'm hoping they can come up with something better than what they've already explained to me, or I may be in handcuffs today.
09-15-2016, 10:06 PM
#433
2014 fx4 5.0
Update: Installer finally listened to me and they found that my Maestro was the culprit of the parasitic draw on my battery. They also warrantied the head unit, because of the issues I had been having with it. Lastly, they updated the head unit with the new Kenwood update, which is supposed to fix some CarPlay, Navigation, and Bluetooth issues. Hopefully this is the last time I'll have to mess with this system for a WHILE. It's been a pain in the ace. I wish my truck would've came with the OEM nicer head unit!
09-16-2016, 10:31 AM
#434
Senior Member
I was thinking of upgrading with the same or similar unit. Now I'm having second thoughts. I don't need the grieve...
09-17-2016, 11:08 AM
#435
2014 fx4 5.0
Update: The installer was able to warranty my Maestro and my Kenwood DNX893S. They found the parasitic draw coming from the maestro module (like I told them), and my head unit was found to be faulty also. They installed the new stuff and re-accomplished the parasitic draw test- it's supposedly good now. My recommendation: If you're going to have ANY electrical equipment installed, accomplish a parasitic draw test on it before you accept it as a finished product. Lastly, after updating the new head unit with the newest Kenwood update, I HATE the warning message that now appears on the screen when I'm backing up. It goes away when you touch the screen, but that's just another annoying step that you have to take before you can back up. I called Kenwood about it, because in my opinion, their warning message blocks the screen so I can't see! They said their attorneys all but made them put that message on there because people were backing into stuff and blaming Kenwood for not having a warning message. If you're the kind of person who would sue somebody over something like that, I hope you realize that you're ruining America. 
09-17-2016, 02:28 PM
#436
Junior Member
Glad to hear it worked out (mostly) for you... I double checked my installations this weekend just to make sure and neither of them had the draw down like you mentioned.. I ended up actually returning my second Kenwood just because I didn't like the "new" updates they made from one year to the next.. UI changes / display messages etc.. luckily I bought them through Crutchfield and they have 60 day satisfaction guarantee and you can return for ANY reason.. I was skeptical but I just told them I plain didn't like it compared to the older model..they took it back and I bought another of the older models from their refurb selections... so i had the EXACT same thing in both vehicles...
Now if they would just come out for something for the 15/16 F150 --
Now if they would just come out for something for the 15/16 F150 --
09-18-2016, 11:52 PM
#437
Wow, I am late to the party on this, but thought I would put my $.02 in nonetheless. Had my Maestro with a pioneer HU for a few months now. Recently I had a drained battery requiring jumpstart. Ford replaced my battery the first time it happened. Then when it happened again I took matters into my own hands. After wasting time taking my dash apart a few times, I finally realized it was the Maestro causing the drain. I put my stock stereo back in for now. I bought from Crutchfield, and I plan on asking them for a refund on Monday. I just don't want to deal with an issue like this again. A drained battery in a nearly new truck is frustrating to say the least.
09-19-2016, 10:37 AM
#438
Just wanted to provide an update on battery drain issue; I just got off the phone with Idatalink support, and according to the rep that I talked to, firmwares 2.3 & 2.4 had a current draw bug, the current version is 2.6, and is supposed to have fixed the issue. I updated to 2.6 over the weekend, so hopefully no more dead batteries for me. Will report back if it leaves me sitting again.
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Hollie J. McCaleb (09-19-2016)
10-16-2016, 10:40 PM
#440
One Clean Machine
iTrader: (5)
Odd, I had a Kenwood 892 hu, with the Maestro RR, in my 12 xlt. Also installed a xm sirius 300 tuner, and oem style bu cam from the camera source. All of it was in my truck, for a yr, before getting my new 16.
Never had a single issue, with any of it. I recently sold my my kenwood setup to a forum member, no complaints from him either.
I installed 2 firmware updates on the 892, but never on the Meastro Rr. Odd...
Never had a single issue, with any of it. I recently sold my my kenwood setup to a forum member, no complaints from him either.
I installed 2 firmware updates on the 892, but never on the Meastro Rr. Odd...