Shorted out radio/amp??
 

Hey guys...

I have a 6 year old little girl, who I love dearly, which is why she still lives.

I went into the house to grab my checkbook, and when I came out, she was all proud to tell me that she put all my change into my CD player's CD slot!!!!!

Well, about 2 hours later, it shorted out the radio, my parking lights, and I think my factory amp (if I have one??)

It started crackling and popping really load (without any volume) as if the speakers were directly shorted out.

I removed the head unit (factory unit) opened it up, and removed the 20 or so coins (sigh) out of it.

Re-installed it, put in my radio code, and all it does is poop, crackle, and pop. SUPER loud, separate of volume.

Something is fried.

The radio appears to work fine, changes stations, shows time etc.

No volume control, all crackle, and super (speaker unsafe) loud.

So..... Is my head unit toast?

Is there a factory AMP?

I did notice a tiny black box underneath where the head unit is, looked more like a noise eliminator than a amplifier to me, but .....

Not sure what can be fried here.

This may be a good reason to replace my head unit to a model that includes an aux input, such as the 6disc double din unit (factory model) that has the aux input on the face.

I like the look of the factory style. I don't need a super system here, and don't really like the look of aftermarket head units, they look so out of place to me. I like the polished, perfect fit of factory units.

Any ideas on what could be fried?

Do I have an external AMP, or is it in the head unit?

I don't want to buy a new radio (oem style or kenwood or otherwise) if I'm still going to have this same problem.

Thank you for all your help.

MRB

Re: Shorted out radio/amp??
 

The real problem isn't the radio. But you already knew that.



I have seen a variety of symptoms caused by little fingers stuffing coins in various radio/tape/CD players. Most cause issues between the ACC/BAT/ILLUM circuits, and if any of the coins bridge a powered circuit to ground, it CAN fry circuits and blow fuses. I have pulled out coins with burns and melted edges.

Tough to tell what could have been damaged, best you can do is look carefully at the circuit boards for evidence. Any damage should be within the radio itself, except for the fuses.
Most of the ones I have dealt with survived after getting ALL the coins out. I have had to take a few of them apart more than once to find all the coins.
And have had to take the same radios apart several times because the owners can't fix the real problem (the kids).

Pull the radio out and disconnect it.
Shake the radio real hard, make sure all the coins are out.
Find and replace any fuses that got blown.

Quick glance shows these fuses:
Dash fuse box #8
Engine comp fuse box #2, 9
Make sure all your dash lights and exterior lights still work though.

I see no external audio amplifier for this car.
I DO see a power out for the antenna amp near the rear window grid.

All else should be self contained within the radio (unless you have the accessory CD changer).


Plug your radio into an identical car, or swap theirs to yours as a test.
Now you can make a decision about what to do next?

HTH

Re: Shorted out radio/amp??
 

Thank you for your reply. I think I will just go buy a new upgraded radio unit off of ebay and see if that fixes it. Pretty sure I got all the coins out.... If I still have the problem, I know its more down the stream than the head unit, however, I don't know what else it could be if there is no amplifier.

I did see a little black box that may be a noise eliminator? It is right underneath the head unit. Is that a noise eliminator? Could that be fried? Do the speakers run through it? or straight out the head unit to the speakers?

Thank you so much for your help!

Re: Shorted out radio/amp??
 

There is nothing "downstream" if all is stock.
All speakers are wired directly to the radio.
All of your audio problems are inside the stock radio.

(Except for any fuses that might have been blown, and the dash lighting question that you didn't answer.)

No idea what the black box is.
Is it connected to the radio harness in any way? (Should not be connected in any way if all stock.)
Post a pic of it so I can see?
What are the wire colors and number of wires going to the box?

Re: Shorted out radio/amp??
 

I will take a picture of that black box next week when I put in my replacement ebay factory radio.

Thanks

Re: Shorted out radio/amp??
 

I will just go purchase another overhauled radio unit off of ebay and check whether that fixes it.
Pretty beyond any doubt I got all the coins out. In the event that I still have the issue I know its more down the stream than the head unit