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Sound System Questions
Got a problem with your radio? Speakers cutting out? Put your sound system questions in here and we'll see if we can help out.
kirstie_h
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Edmunds.com
kirstie_h
Roving Host
Edmunds.com
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Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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the holes are meant for two pull loops with balls on the ends... push 'em in until they click, spread 'em apart, and pop the radio right out. supposedly only a couple bucks if you can find them. crutchfield has them in stock, possibly dealer parts does, otherwise order from your local wizard and have them delivered by unicorns in mithril pouches.
A few nights ago, on a five hour drive, I was
> playing CD's when, as I inserted a new CD, the
> player took the CD, started a rather unpleasant
> whirring noise, refused to eject the CD and finally
> stopped its noise altogether. The radio works, but
> all CD-related buttons are inoperative. It is still
> digesting my CD.
>
> The car is less than two months old. I'm very
> disappointed in the CD player and I don't look
> forward to taking it in to my dealership.
>
> Before I get into the repair function, are you aware
> of anything that could be done to eject the CD or
> are there button strokes on the radio that can be
> made to diagnose the problem?
>
> Any assistance is appreciated.
>
> Regards,
>
> PaulElgordo@hotmail.com
5 to 10 percent of everything dies within warranty, take an attitude break, and give the guys a chance.
now, if you get a couple more skunks put in the dash under warranty, it might be a decent plan to put in an aftermarket machine when the CD warranty is up (those are probably either 90 days or a year, and I would bet on 90 days.)
I would settle down about the whole thing and just have the dealer replace the radio, if you don't use everything now while it is under warranty then you would be stuck paying out of your own pocket later. It's like a new computer, they say run the hell out of it for 2 days if nothing breaks it will be good until your done with it and get a new one. swschrad is correct in his/her thinking about the stuff dieing under warranty, so take a break and once it gets fixed you will be happy again. Don't let this bother you, it's a minor problem, remember it's no something that wil leave you stranded, and it's only a minor inconvenience.
Top 10 Sound Systems in Cars Under $30,000 for 2002
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/55745/article.html
kirstie_H
Roving Host
Edmunds.com
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
After reading the above Edmunds' link, I find it hard to believe that they (Bose) may have made that much progress in the last few years. However, we traded the Caprice for a 2000 Lincoln LS. Now THERE'S a factory sound system!
I rather like the Mach sound system in my 2000 Exploder as well, but remember, this is in a car, and you can't override all the noise sources at different points in the sonic range, and at different mixes and levels, throughout the drive to anywhere.
of course, if all you want is thump thump thumpathumpathumpthump thump thump, who cares?
even if this in-glass antenna was a good idea, having an antenna that is bounded by a big fat RF ground on both sides, there is another issue. AM radio is vertically polarized on transmit. double-L shaped window antennas are horizontally polarized with a balanced feedline in what looks like the vertical section of each line. the signal hits your antenna at 90 degree angles, and you really don't get any induction = signal to feed to the radio. balanced feedlines are not supposed to pick up signals. FM is horizontally polarized or circularly polarized, depending on the antenna the broadcaster bought, so these silly artifacts in the glass work on FM.
I really thought that brainless fad that raised a windshield $100-200 in price had died.
But, if this does not work, it's probably some mysterious bug in the Toyota Avalon. Any other suggestions please let me know!
I tried a different amp and the problem was still there. I am unsure how to access the speakers themselves. Is there a simple way to troubleshoot power to speakers other than using the wiring diagram which I don't have? I have checked all connections to the amp and to the headunit.
are you referring to the cone? what will be rotted? i have to figure out how to access the speakers in the doors. the satellite by the side view mirror is fine. that metal screen just pops off. those speakers in the door are just a PITA. i have no clue. i do know this...if they're rotted i am not replacing them with genuine nakamichi speakers. they're way too expensive and i'm sure i could get a better one for cheaper.
I have 97 Accord EX. My little son, put a few coins inside the cassette player, and now it is not playing. The cassette goes inside and comes out immediately. The AM/FM is fine. Any idea how to fix this? a rought cost estimate ? Experts please help. Thanks in advance.
try searching on your car at www.crutchfield.com, they have a lot of useful stuff on the mechanical parts of fitting new geegaws into car stereo spaces, and following links to get recommendations for your car model should also yield links to how to replace the speakers.
if you have rust issues in the doors, you're going to lose the next set of speakers, as well.
generally, water damages the cones, and if the victrola is played with wet speakers, their glued seams will come apart and the cone material can shred. the suspension for the voice coil can also shift, warp, or come off the speaker frame.
you would lengthen the period between failures slightly by using a "waterproof" speaker type made with plastic instead of other cone materials, but it's still going to be a problem unless you have a good barrier behind the speaker to divert water down the door channels, and the channels let the water drain away and don't let splashing from puddles come up the bottom of the door.
you're going to have to take it out, pull the top cover, and shake the coins out, inspecting to see there are none left before you restore the unit and see if it works. the top covers are press-fits with a few interlocking tabs nowadays; removal of the radio can be interesting in most cars. if you don't have a shop manual, again, try www.crutchfield.com and see if they have a replacement guide online that shows how to remove and reinstall a radio in your vehicle.
if the thing is ruined, and you want to replace it, they don't have factory stuff, but they sell all brands and models.
they also have ford radio pullers for something like $2.60, as I remember, it took $5 to get a set at NAPA to threaten my Mach head when the lights went dim the other day. the threat worked, didn't even have to stick 'em in and pull the radio to see if an old solder jockey can still replace the photon dispensers.
from my 90 ranger and a 92 escort my sister briefly had, looks like the major effort would be to make the factory radio's slide clip to hold the back end fit on a new unit. if the DIN rearmount socket is NOT in the right place for some ungodly reason, you use the time-honored method of bending a hangar strap to get to a chassis brace hole someplace.
crutchfield really looks like a one-stop and they're worth checking on your application. the internet search is pretty good (or was some five months ago, these things change sometimes) in only isolating the units that fit your application.
All CD Receivers 128 models In-dash entertainment at its best with these CD/radio powerhouses.
CD/MP3 Receivers 38 models Powerful CD receivers play back MP3 files recorded on CD-R or CD-RW.
CD/Cassette Combos 1 model Three-way in-dash enjoyment with CD, cassette, and radio
CD/DVD Receivers 5 models Play DVD movies, audio CDs, and the radio from a single in-dash audio/video player
/snip/ and of course, upgrade speakers with any necessary adapters, magic harnesses, and other geegaws are to be found here. the joint is pretty neat even for browsing. if you DO have a CD button on your deck, indicating a remote might have been factory-availiable in some trim lines, they may even have a convertable CD changer with wiring kit and a "language box" enabling it to take orders from your unit.
browse away! for the billy hell of it, I drilled down on the CD/cassette machine... a Sanyo with control for a CD changer as well as AM/FM/CD/cass included in one ISO space, 20 wpc, etc. it's just $60 more than I paid for a really nice sanyo cassette machine in 1978 that ran for 12 years with only deterioration in the receiver front end (probably a static zap killed the first RF stage). installation on that is a slide-in according to their sizing guidelines using a front plate, included (you click on the size and the EZ boxes, if any, next to the unit to see what the hack-and-hammer factor would be on installation.) in this case, the front panel adaptor is included free, but it's worth checking to see if you need a wiring adaptor so you don't mung up the factory wiring, thus preventing putting the original squeak box back in on trade, lease expiration, etc.
I really think we have come to the time when manufacturers not putting in CD as a standard feature goes against the best interests of selling vehicles!
I specifically ordered my 76 Skylark with am/fm/stereo cassette, and damn if it didn't come with a freakin' 8-track Delco. that's why I changed to a Sanyo as soon afterwards as I got tired of having a punky Pioneer underdash that ate tapes and a big old ITW lighted/masked DPDT push button (with an attached third micro switch McGuyvered in for DC power) to switch my power and speakers back and forth... and had the money to make the change.
glad you found a changer at a reasonable price to mate with your factory job.
/ free speech rant follows /
of course, most of these CD decks are MP3 compatible and CD/RW compatible readers just as scrambled CDs are hitting the market that mung up non-1991-design players to protect the poor hurting labels from ripoff artists. the crap-track on Sony's latest Sheryl Crow release that serves as copy protection even kills the firmware on iMacs, you try to play that record, you have to send the Apple in for factory repair.
if you have recent Sony disks with a rather definite outer ring to the grooves, it might be protected with that crap-track. it is reported the hacker fix is to overmark that crap track (supposedly nonsense data, but tell that to iMac owners, to whom it apparently functions as a BIOS loader without valid code to load afterwards) with a black Sharpie marker.
if they wanna be that way, I have a RTR 10-1/2 inch deck, a premium turntable, and I can always go back to analog.
/ free speech rant over for now in this space
But! Oh, the time that is eaten up, mastering new CD's...
I have not seen the new protection tracks on recent CD's, but am interested. Are you saying that common CD's are now being protected by nonsense tracks that can damage a computer via the CD drive? And are you saying that these tracks are in the circumference area versus the center area of the recorded side of the CD? And lastly, the offending groove can be "filled" and nullified with "Sharpie" black ink?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/25274.html
and Apple's official tech support document on machines that have been whaled by these disks is at
http://kbase.info.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/
kbase.woa/wa/query? - searchMode=Assisted&type=id&val=KC.106882
which may "break in half" on a line wrap when I post this, needing a cut-n-paste to see the tech page. if you can't do it, you can reach the link from the Register article above.
in short, it's a real problem, part of the wondrous greedhead schemes of the record outfits to bypass the "fair use provisions" of US and international copyright law that basically permit you to make a million copies of anything you want... as long as you and only you, the owner, use them... and don't cheat the authors by selling or tranferring any of those copies to anybody else.
worse than putting falsework on a Yugo and selling it as a Bentley.
I sorta expect blue might work if it's new, but black is less resistant to fading.
the old saw about edging your CDs with a green Sanford's marker to improve the sound quality was given some credence by the first generations of CD-R disks with the green-and-gold construction. geez, did everything I transferred onto gold Sony and 3m/Imation disks sound a ton better than the original CDs! the legend is that scattering within the polystyrene by the IR from the laser is absorbed by the green ink, purifying the sound by reducing digital artifacts at the detector.
it may not be any more accurate than putting a "type R" sticker on the back improves your horsepower rating, but my ears didn't lie.
I suspect DVD will be less than the buyers' choice over other media, due to greed-driven protections, but now we get retro-invasion into our CD world! I'm going to be sick...
i have a 95 Nissan Altima and the fron 2 speares sound just like a flat tire...wobble...slapp...whatever, they just seem tore...they are 7 years old and are factory style.
my Cd is a JVC i think 45x4. So guys which speakers are the best that would give quality sound....and not expensive... iam a collage student you know.
I went to walmart and found $10 speakers...they look ok...not brand name but they are 35 watts...any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated
thanx