radio question.

Greenmeanie5.9

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So my wife drives our lincolin and she called to tell me that the radio went out and it wont come back on and when it does it sounds like scratching in the speakers.

So i called my audio guy and he said you have to change out speakers head unit and everything. But if i just change the amp will that fix it?
 
So my wife drives our lincolin and she called to tell me that the radio went out and it wont come back on and when it does it sounds like scratching in the speakers.

So i called my audio guy and he said you have to change out speakers head unit and everything. But if i just change the amp will that fix it?

The head unit itself will turn on/off or the speakers will "Scratch" on/off?

I'd go with the headunit or amp, most likely the amp. Check all the connections/fuses first though. But yes, you can just replace whatevers broken and have a funtioning audio system again.
 
So i called my audio guy and he said you have to change out speakers head unit and everything. But if i just change the amp will that fix it?

He's either an idiot or a shyster. Sorry if you're friends with him but that's my take.
 
Curious how this is gonna work out. Same thing just happened to me. I have only gotten as far as removing the factory head unit. Hoping installing an aftermarket unit is gonna fix this problem.
 
It is almost guaranteed the JBL amp under the back deck. They fail with some regularity. I replaced mine about 10 months ago when it was displaying identical symptoms. As far as I recall, they're not terribly hard to replace, and about 60-70 bucks should land you a decent tested replacement on eBay or similar.
 
I guess since I was planning to upgrade the head unit, I can go with an aftermarket amp as well. Or I wonder if it might be best to wire around the factory one. Sorry I'm no stereo guru. I would love any suggestions or advice.
 
I guess since I was planning to upgrade the head unit, I can go with an aftermarket amp as well. Or I wonder if it might be best to wire around the factory one. Sorry I'm no stereo guru. I would love any suggestions or advice.


If you want a new h/u and amp you'll have to buy new speakers and wire them. Simplest would be to get a new h/u, install 4 speakers and then run the wire to the dash from all 4 corners. Baddabingbaddaboom.
 
That doesn't sound too bad, guess I'll take a big check to the stereo guys. Thinking of using best buy just for convenience sake. Any praises or horror stories about dealing with them?
 
That doesn't sound too bad, guess I'll take a big check to the stereo guys. Thinking of using best buy just for convenience sake. Any praises or horror stories about dealing with them?

They usually are a lot more expensive than stand-alone shops, and the guy working on your cars skill level can vary greatly from location to location.
I personally would find an independent car audio shop.
 
Well only had time to have a head unit installed today, and it of course it didn't fix the problem. Best Buy Guy wants to put speakers in and wire them, gonna be another week before I can drop it off to get it done. Oh well, so much for a simple solution, guess I shoulda bought an amp.
 
Well only had time to have a head unit installed today, and it of course it didn't fix the problem. Best Buy Guy wants to put speakers in and wire them, gonna be another week before I can drop it off to get it done. Oh well, so much for a simple solution, guess I shoulda bought an amp.

It's almost always the amp. The factory HU is a pretty rugged unit, save for the flaky knob and buttons. You'll know better next time. :p
 
If you want a new h/u and amp you'll have to buy new speakers and wire them. Simplest would be to get a new h/u, install 4 speakers and then run the wire to the dash from all 4 corners. Baddabingbaddaboom.

You can use factory speaker with aftermarket h/u just have to use amp bypass clip.most new units put out at least 40 x 4 , but it definitely sounds like your being lied to. Could be as simple as loose ground
 
I don't know if there are different volume/on-off buttons between the different years and radios, but I recently took one apart to see why the radio won't shut off (like so many 80s/90s era Ford radios with push on/push off).

I grabbed another one from a junk yard radio to possibly fix can't be turned off (which isn't a big deal for me or this car) and also to see if it would help with the inconsistent volume side to side (generally the passenger side lost nearly all volume).

The little pin on the end of the shaft that slides in the white plastic block is broken off, so it can't catch in the off position. Also it looks like the rotary encoder pins are incorrectly touching one of the sets of segments (causing iffy volume on one side for me).

one style of shaft, I have seen 3 or 4, but they all seem to work interchangeably.
15319527196_33b6881254_b.jpg

15319534336_93ee589845_b.jpg

15155990838_29da750a06_b.jpg


video showing that it can't "click" and stay in the off position, except at the very end, and it only takes a little bump and it turns back on: https://flic.kr/p/pnLHfc

the on/off section of the switch. The little pin at the bottom is broken off the button of the shaft, it should ride in the white block and one press be gated to one side, another press gated to the other. Similar to how the ashtray cover works (which is bigger and easier to see how it works).
15342273712_c512093f28_b.jpg

15155999918_2c19913c61_b.jpg

15339415281_558362b319_b.jpg


it is an "open" when the knob/shaft is extended/in the on position:
15156061957_ef8feffd59_b.jpg


and "closed" when the knob/shaft is not extended/in the off position:
15342593005_81407a983b_b.jpg


pin broken off the left side of the end of the shaft:
15342292972_eff0dbfce0_b.jpg

15339429491_ba45885e7d_b.jpg


rotary encoder segments (hard to get a good picture of, will try again)
15339431871_7b8b93c0ff_b.jpg


the wiper, the top one looks like the fingers are bent and not in the same configuration as the rest:
15339434151_6807ccc39e_b.jpg
 
Well my problem was the amp, I ended up replacing the head unit with a pioneer 2600 and some fresh speakers, sounds great. Haven't figured out how to get it to play DVDs yet.
 
My regular stereo guy finally got freed up and installed a relay so I can watch DVDs. What a butcher job Best Buy did on this install those guys were in way over their heads apparently on this. Totally the most unprofessional job I've ever dealt with.
 
My regular stereo guy finally got freed up and installed a relay so I can watch DVDs. What a butcher job Best Buy did on this install those guys were in way over their heads apparently on this. Totally the most unprofessional job I've ever dealt with.

Yr not the first person I've heard had a bad experience there.
 

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