When you are having issues with your car stereo, the first thing you need to do is to troubleshoot the problem to see if it resolves. You will find that in most cases you didn’t need to escalate the matter with the dealership or contacting a repair mechanic. A DIY fix can help save you money and time. In the following guide, we have given the simple steps one can follow to fix common car stereo problems, without breaking much of a sweat.
Car Stereo Does Not Turn On at All
When a car stereo does not turn on, a blown fuse is usually the culprit. A problem with the wiring can also be the reason behind this. Making wiring connections on the tight confines can prove difficult or your wiring could have become loose because of vibration.
To troubleshoot a car stereo that is not powering up follow these steps:
- Turn the ignition key to the accessory setting and press the “Power” button a few times to verify the condition.
- Check that the stereo circuit fuse has not blown. The fuse should be located in the centralized fuse block location with all other fuses. If blown, replace it with a new fuse of the same rating.
- Remove the car stereo from its slot in the car’s dashboard, take a look at the back of the head unit and you should see wires connected to the wiring harness. Take a close look and make sure there are no loose wires entering the harness. Make sure the harnesses are plugged into the car stereo.
- Traceback wiring from the head unit’s power harness to the fuse block and verify that all the wiring is intact. If you come across a fuse along the red wire, replace it. The black ground wire may well go straight to the car body. Check that the connection is good and not rusted out. Remove the wire and clean the connection using sandpaper. Replace the wire.
Why Did My Car Speakers Suddenly Stop Working?
Several issues could cause your car speakers to suddenly stop working. When all of the speakers in a car audio system all stop working at once, the problem is usually in the head unit, amp, or in the wiring.
In order to narrow down the exact cause of the problem, follow these troubleshooting steps:
Start with the head unit, while it may turn on just fine, it does not mean it is working properly;
- Verify that the head unit has not entered into anti-theft mode that requires a car radio code.
- Check the volume, fade, and pan settings.
- Test different audio inputs (i.e radio, CD player, auxiliary input, etc.).
- Test any onboard fuses.
- Check for loose or unplugged wires.
If the head unit is okay, then you would want to determine whether or not you have an external amplifier. In car audio systems that use external amps, the amp is the most common cause of this problem, since the audio has to pass through the amp on the way to the speakers. Follow these troubleshooting instructions:
- Verify that the amplifier is actually turning on,
- Determine whether or not the amplifier has gone into “protect mode”.
- Check for loose or disconnected input or output speaker wires.
- Test both inline and onboard fuses.
In some cases, the amp may seem fine even though it has failed. In such a situation, you may need to bypass the amplifier to verify that both the head unit and speakers are working, at which point you can either continue using your head unit’s internal amp or install a new aftermarket amp.
When you checked the fade and pan settings on your head unit, you may have found out that they were set to a speaker(s) that had failed and that you could get sound by moving to a speaker(s) that work. In that case, you are dealing with a car stereo wiring problem or a faulty speaker(s). To troubleshoot and fix this:
- Check the continuity between one end of each wire (at the head unit or amp) and the other end at each speaker. If there is not continuity, that means the wire is broken somewhere.
- If you see continuity to the ground, then you have a shorted wire.
- To test the speakers and rule out bad wiring, get some speaker wire and run new, tempory wires to each speaker.
If the speaker wires are not broken and you’ve ruled out everything, then you need to replace your car speakers.
Car Stereo Turns On but No Sound from Speakers
If your car stereo turns on but there is no sound coming out of the speakers, it could be that the volume is low. If so, adjust the volume to the optimum level.
To adjust the volume (00 to 35) on a Kenwood DDX396/DDX376BT, turn the knob to the right to increase and to the left to decrease. On Kenwood DDX2276BT/DDX419BT you can adjust the volume (00 to 35) by pressing the up arrow button to increase and pressing the down arrow button to decrease. Holding the up arrow button increases the volume continuously to level 15.
Bad/damaged cords and improper connections may also be the cause. If the volume is not the issue, check the cords and connections to make sure they are tight and in good condition. Check the continuity between one end of each wire (at the head unit or amp) and the other end at each speaker. If you don’t see continuity that means the wire is broken somewhere. If your speakers are mounted on doors, then a common point of failure is where the speaker wire passes between the door and the door frame.
Aftermarket Radio Turns On but No Sound
Many cars have built-in amplifiers that require a 12V signal to be sent in order to turn on the amplifier, most common being Infinity, JBL, and Bose. If you have any of these systems in your car, check your AMP TURNON signal wire for 12V. This is the blue/white wire located on head unit wire harness.
Constant Whine from Speakers when Car is Running
If you hear a whining noise that fluctuates with the RPMs of your car and lessens when the engine is turned off, this is an alternator whine. The cause of alternator wine is bad ground to either your head unit or your speaker’s amplifiers.
To fix this, check your ground wires and find a better place to ground them, like the body or frame of the car.
Why is My Car Display Not Working?
Your car stereo display will not work if it encounters various issues like a blown fuse, the dimmer turned down, or a faulty illumination wire. The connectors between the LCD and radio unit could be defective, or the backlight, LDC, or radio unit itself could be faulty.
To fix this issue, try the following troubleshooting steps:
- Check the dimmer setting or check the illumination wire. If the dimmer is turned down, then you will have to adjust the setting and turn on the brightness. If this doesn’t resolve the issue, there may be a problem with the illumination wire. If you remove the radio and check the wiring, you will be looking for an orange or orange/black wire. Check whether the wire is loose or damaged, and fix as necessary.
- Check the car stereo connectors. The display and actual unit is not one solid unit but are linked together via wires and connectors. Remove the display from the car stereo and check the wires and connectors, and replace broken or damaged parts. For soldering joints, solder back any loose wire or soldering point.
- Check all user mode settings and reset the radio. This fix only works if your display is not completely turned off. If the display is dimmed down and you still have power, the first thing to do is to check your owner’s manual and go through all the settings and presets that your radio offers to try find a setting that can be used to adjust the radio back to normal brightness.
- Check the fuse of the car radio. When a fuse is blown, not only display does not work, but the while radio does not function. In most modern cars, the car radio fuse is located in the fuse box with all other fuses that are grouped together. Typically, the fuse box is located on the dashboard close to the steering wheel or under the hood.
- If your radio is still working, but there is no display, then one scenario could be that the dimmer or a setting was turned down all the way. In this case, you can try resetting your car radio to the factory settings. Most car radios will have a reset button that is usually behind the removed faceplate of the radio.
- If after the above steps the issue doesn’t resolve, it could be that your main unit, display backlight, or LCD itself are defective and will need to be repaired or replaced.
Why I’m I Not Getting FM and DAB Stations on My Car Radio?
If you installed a new head unit in your car and you are noticing that your car’s radio has an abnormal amount of static, you may not have wired the unit correctly. Here is what you need to do:
- Pull the new car stereo to access the wires again. Look for a blue wire on the aftermarket head unit and ensure that it is connected to a corresponding wire within your car’s wire harness. The blue/white wire on your aftermarket head unit is what powers a powered antenna, without the power, your car’s antenna is significantly less powerful and will result in static.
How to Replace a Blown Car Radio Fuse
If the fuse blows, first make sure the wires are not touching to cause a short circuit, then replace the old fuse with one with the same rating.
- Locate the fuse panel. This is typically found under the steering wheel. If it is not there, check your owner’s manual.
- Remove the fuse panel cover. On the interior side of the cover, you should see a diagram that shows what component each fuse powers in your car. The fuses usually have different colors and numbers for different amperages.
- Using a flashlight, find the blown fuse. Look for the fuse that is black on the inside or has a broken metal filament.
- Carefully remove the blown fuse. You can use your hands or various tools to extract the fuse.
- Replace the fuse with a new fuse with the correct amperage. Refer to the fuse panel and owner’s manual to find the right amperage.
- Start the ignition to test if the new fuse is working. If the new fuse does not work or blows soon after replacement, then you should consider visiting a mechanic.
How to Reset a Car Radio
You may need to reset your car stereo under the following conditions:
- Before you operate your car stereo for the first time.
- After replacing your car battery or connections.
- If your car stereo malfunctions.
Note that the RESET procedure will erase the clock settings and some stored content.
If your device has a reset button, to reset:
- Remove the faceplate from your car stereo.
- Press the RESET button on the front panel using a pointed object, such as a ball-point pen.
For devices without a reset button, you need a different procedure to reset. Below is how to reset a Sony car stereo without a reset button:
- Depending on your car stereo, press DSPL and back button/MODE, DSLP and CALL button, or SOURCE/OFF button for more than two seconds.
- Turn on your car stereo
Will Disconnecting Battery Reset Car Radio?
If you have to disconnect the battery in your car, several important systems will lose power. This causes your computer to lose its memory. So, your preset radio stations and other things are forgotten. Also, your anti-theft system may lock you out of the vehicle.
If you are prompted to enter the radio code for your audio system when you replace the battery, use the preset buttons on the radio to enter the code. The code should be on a card with other important papers. However, in some car models you will not have to enter a radio code after disconnecting and reconnecting the battery.
How to Unlock a Car Stereo
Most car stereos come equipped with an anti-theft radio code. The anti-theft function activates if the battery is disconnected from the vehicle, if the battery dies and if the radio is removed or disconnected from its harness in the car.
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To unlock the car stereo so as to resume functioning, you will need to enter the anti-theft code. To do that, follow these instructions below:
- Ensure the stereo is actually locked by switching on the car and noting what the stereo displays. If the stereo reads CODE, then it is indeed locked.
- Open the car’s user manual to get the four-digit code needed to reset the stereo. The code may be printed on the detachable card.
- Follow the instructions as specified in your owner’s manual to correctly input the four-digit code. You will need to use the buttons on the front of the car stereo in a specific order to correctly enter the code.
- If you are unable to reset the car stereo after three attempts, remove the stereo from its mounting cage and get the serial number that is printed. Then call the dealership where you bought the car and read them the serial. They will guide you through the process but in case this also doesn’t work then you will need to drive the car to the dealership for inspection.