Icom 7100 acting in a bad way

[Tallman]

I have it installed in my S-10. The power and ground is in excellent condition and all connections are tight and fuses are good. I bought this radio new and used it as my base for several months and it did the shut down once as my base. Only once. I can listen all day with no problems at all. The minute I key up the radio reboots and settles back on the frequency it was on when it shutdown.
Other radios that draw four times the power do not malfunction when tested on the same power hook up.

 

[Robb]

Tried a full reset yet?

 

[w9cll]

Had that problem with my 706, it was not getting enough amperage. Changed out the leads and all was better

 

[Road Squawker]

Icom in line fuses are notorious for becoming "resistive" and causing a voltage drop under load

 

[vkrules]

Yep common problem with icoms( and other hf radios)check fuses , have a look at the end of the icom fuse .If it's soldered internally replace with the type that has the wire passing through the end cap and soldered externally.Solder all the crimp connections and clean or replace all the pins on the icom plugs.
Quick check ..set the drive low does it still do it.?
Also stray RF in the cab can cause it to reset.

 

[vkrules]

Same fault can also present as low tx power or distorted audio.

 

[Tallman]

Had that problem with my 706, it was not getting enough amperage. Changed out the leads and all was better

We have a winner! I pulled the radio out of the truck and when I touched the Molex connector it was warm to the touch. I inspected the pins and the female pins were spread open a bit. I removed them from connector and cut them off and crimped on a new set of pins and soldered them as well.
It seems that the connector from the factory did not get soldered. After I reassembled and tested all was good to go. Sometimes it is easy to over look the obvious. This one is a four pin and my other radio I run in my truck is a six pin so the power cables are still attached to the same wiring harness but use different cables to the radio. I tried the radio out on the test bench and worked flawlessly. Made a contact in Arkansas with it.

 

[Tallman]

check fuses , have a look at the end of the icom fuse. Solder all the crimp connections and clean or replace all the pins on the icom plugs..

Just when I thought it was safe to install back in the truck, it shut down again!
I won't repeat the long string of profanities that spewed forth. I checked all power connections for tightness and as I was running my hands down the cable I found a warm spot on the cable. It turns out the fuse holders are now the culprit. I can't believe that a company like Icom would have problems like this.
I have decided to take the cable and just use it for a pattern and to use a heavier gauge of wire and eliminate all solderless connections. I know the fuse blocks were made into the cable by a vendor for Icom and cast in place. I am open to suggestions on how to fuse the wires without turning it in to a "Prop for a Frankenstein" movie.

 

[Road Squawker]

Icom in line fuses are notorious for becoming "resistive" and causing a voltage drop under load

Just when I thought it was safe to install back in the truck, it shut down again!....

they are "standard" Molex connectors available many places,

as far as fuse holders, just cut em off and replace them with "blade" type holders, but be careful if you use automotive fuses,... they may be rated at the same amperage, but, the "time delay" is usually longer.

 

[222DBFL]

RS nailed it. Those fuse holders do become a pain. Are yours the black screw together ones Tallman. Saw the new IC7100's come with a different power cable. It has two 30a blade fuses in it. And the wire gauge appears to be heavier. Or my friend bought it like that. I'll ask him, but am pretty sure it came like that from Icom. My 746 has the stupid screw together type ones that aren't worth a poop IMO. The blade type ones looked much better and no worry of having a bad or loose connection. Hope you get it resolved.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

It's not just Icom. My Yaesu came with a heavy power cable but the crappy large type glass fuses. I had problems with it and resoldered the wire to fuse holder connection as well as bent the contacts to make a better connection. No more problems.

 

[fourstringburn]

My IC-7000 had a tendency to shut down in my mobile install when I'm keying which obviously isn't a good thing. After installing a 8 gauge wire with terminal rings to the radio chassis ground screw and bolting the other end to a bolt on the vehicles chassis, I haven't since had any issues.

After switching vehicles a year or so later, I didn't ground the radio like before and after a couple weeks, it started doing it again. I went back to the ground wire and still haven't had a problem yet and it's been about 6 months now.

I'm not sure exactly why this is but this maybe relevant to your situation. Maybe it's the ground connection on the molex connector and the by using the ground screw directly to ground the radio to the vehicle chassis a better and more solid DC ground is being made.

 

[Road Squawker]

Had the same issue with my PRO III.

I took the case off, disconnected the ICOM power leads from the radio internal terminals, wired new wires to the terminals.

used a rubber boot where the wires exited the chassis case,and wired up new blade fuses and holders.

haven't had any problems since.

 

[222DBFL]

The newer Icom 7100's do in fact come with a more HD wire and blade fuses. Much better than the old ones. I hate those black glass fuse holders. They can be a bad area for sure. At any rate, you may be able to get a newer style cable by simply emailing Icom and letting them know of the issues you are having. Worth a try ecspecillay if the radio isn't that old. Or buy one of the new style cables. They definitely are better than the old ones.

 

[vkrules]

I like the glass fuses !,as long as they are good quality soldered through type, and you solder the crimps that is.
Seen this problem on many different brand radios not just Icom.
The cheap nasty fuses you get from the likes of Kmart don't help. Had a friend who had the problem, he soldered everything and replaced the fuses.Problem kept reoccurring every few weeks so he would replace with new fuses. Turned out he bought a box of 10 fuses from the supermarket ,gave him some decent ones and he never had another problem.

Glad we could help you solve the problem.