On Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:27:11 GMT, "Dave" wrote:


"mm" wrote in message
.. .
Any advice on what's wrong or how to fix it before I leave??


I'll start off by saying that, in general, in my humble meagre experience,
car radios are a) a ******* to work on and b) very cheap to replace.

Given that the unit tries to turn on, I'd say you have a power supply
issue... I'd guess perhaps you've got some electrolytic capacitors which are
bad, and your radio's microprocessor controller is detecting incorrect
voltage or too much voltage swing. It's fixable, but unless you know how to
locate and replace these parts, it's unlikely you can fix it yourself.

Can you give me a hint on how to find the power supply caps? If I can
find them, I can replace them.

I suppose I should start where the 12 volts comes into the radio?
They're not the same cylindrical cans I see in AC equipment?

Taking it to a tech will IMMEDIATELY cost you more than the radio is worth.

I usually repair my own stuff. And I'm not impressed with the
authorized Chrysler service center here. A few years ago, I called
every three months for 2 years to get replacement switches for a prior
radio in a prior car, and they constantly said they were on order. So
when I was in Brooklyn, I stopped in at a Chrysler dealer, got the
name of the radio shop, and that place had as many switches as I
needed in stock. A dollar twenty each iirc. (There was a rubber part
in the push button switches that flexed every time it was pushed, and
wore out. Once the face was off, it took 10 seconds for each switch
to swap parts from a new one.)

Go to either a junkyard or a pawn shop and buy yourself another car stereo
for $20 or $30. Or, go big and buy a new one with CD/CD-R/MP3 disc playback
capability and an AUX input for your iPod. Installing it probably won't be
fun as cars have very limited space and the dashboard removal seems designed
to frustrate seasoned engineers, but it'll have to be done regardless of
whether you repair your stereo or install a new one. FWIW, if you drive a
lot it's probably worthwhile for you to go to your local mobile stereo mart,
pick something you like, and have THEM install it... you'll get a better
installation and chalk it up to a cost of doing life.

Just my 2 cents.

Dave


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