Radio in and out, give me the bad news

[fordman]

My radio is losing reception on and off. Everything will be fine, then static, then I lose the radio station, all of them. If I remember correctly, I believe I remember reading other posts about this being a common problem. So, new radio or back window? Thanks ahead of time for the bad news.;)

[Pat]

I just replaced my radio (in dash) with reman purchased from "fastblackmerc" and it fixed my problem which was similiar to what you described. It's been a week now with no problems.

Give him a shout he may be able to hook you up at a very reasonable price.

Regards,

[Merc220A]

I had the same problem in my 03 GMQ. I just found a used one and put it in. Problem solved.

[JamesHecker]

Had the same problem. Replaced under warranty. The replacement radio was bad from the start and had to have it replaced as well. Now the six disk changer is giving me problems. Starts getting static then stops working. Later work fine for a short while.

[omarauder]

Probably a bad solder connection inside the radio, most likely from the factory that built it. Fixed a friends radio (from a GM Safari van) with a similiar problem by hooking it up on the bench and lightly poking at the internal connections and pc boards with a plastic rod and freeze spray. Re-soldered and its been fine ever since.

[fastblackmerc]

I just replaced my radio (in dash) with reman purchased from "fastblackmerc" and it fixed my problem which was similiar to what you described. It's been a week now with no problems.

Give him a shout he may be able to hook you up at a very reasonable price.

Regards,

That was the radio out of my MM. I upgraded my system. I don't have any more. Sorry.

[UncleLar]

Probably a bad solder connection inside the radio, most likely from the factory that built it. Fixed a friends radio (from a GM Safari van) with a similiar problem by hooking it up on the bench and lightly poking at the internal connections and pc boards with a plastic rod and freeze spray. Re-soldered and its been fine ever since.
I used to work for an authorized Delco repair place back in the 1980's,that was a common problem and we repaired the radios by just lightly hitting all the solders on the top board with a soldering iron.What happened was the soldered joint would get brittle by heating,cooling and vibration after a few years,hitting the connections with a soldering iron again re established connectivity.It may work in the Marauder radios too,I'll probably try it on one soon.

[fordman]

Thank you guys. I figured it was the radio but wanted to make sure before I start ripping things apart. I guess I'll keep my eyes open for a radio, I really dont want to go after market in this car, trying to keep it all OEM, simply because of its limited numbers. Thanks again.

[TJCOX]

Hi fordman! My radio would play for like 10 minutes and then it would go silent and
then on a trip to Florida , going through Georgia ,I experienced static and it started
playing again with no problems since. A Ford contractor was going to charge $319
to repair it.... I have a 03 M.M.

[Marauderjack]

Call United Radio.....

http://199.236.123.239/Automotive/auto_main.asp

They charge about $225 for a complete rebuild!!:beer:

Marauderjack:burnout:

[UncleLar]

Does anyone know who makes the factory head units? I know Alpine makes the cd changers in our trunks.

[Marauderjack]

Alpine but they WILL NOT help you.....ask me how I know!!:argue::mad2::mad2:

[Pops]

Does anyone know who makes the factory head units? I know Alpine makes the cd changers in our trunks.

I think the decks are Alpine and the changer is Clarion.

[fordman]

I will give United Radio a call, Thanks.;)

[Svashtar]

One of the techs here gave me the skinny on this and he was absolutely right. Frequency lock problem he called it, and a known issue.

Two dealers tried to shuffle me off and tell me it was because of my rear window tint which is nonsense of course. Finally got one of them to replace it under warranty and it's been fine ever since. In fact the new radio had a couple of options the old one didn't have, or at least worked differently.

[Aren Jay]

The bad news is your radio is dead, the good news is John will sell you a better replacement. I think he is on Avic-f2 or Avic-d6 or some such thing now.

[Richy04]

Sit tight,

I am awaiting two (an 03 and 04) radios here now. If they come soon I will dig into them and see whats going on. It looks like all of em are going to do it sooner or later.

It does seem to be a frequency problem, Mine is good but every once in a while it will go haywire. If they can be repaired in a quick time frame, I will forward you a repaired one and simply give me your old one in return. Tnx Richy