Radio quits and then starts working again - fades in and out
Asked by mikeyo Jun 03, 2013 at 10:44 AM about the 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier Coupe FWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
One day the radio faded out to nothing but after a few minutes came back, then it quit completely (lights still work on it though - power to it is good). Loud hum/ buzz coming from rear speakers. No sound coming from front speakers. Unplugged rear speakers stops the hum/ buzz. Tried replacing the amp. Doesn't fix the problem. The radio started working again but then intermittently fades out and then back in. Any ideas? Hoping it is not the radio head itself as it is a real pain to remove the dash to get at it.
9 Answers
The head unit is more than likely going bad.
migration_judge_roy answered 11 years ago
I would check the ground connection from the black cable---other end what bolts to the chassis...disassemble and wirebrush clean for reliable steady ground.~
Thanks for the replies but if the ground was bad wouldn't the whole radio lose power (even the display)? As it stands now there is no sound but display works fine. Also do you have any guidance on where the radio ground is located? Not sure if I need to pull the dash off to locate it or if it is in a different location. Thanks!
migration_judge_roy answered 11 years ago
Good point mikeyo, unless the dashboard skeleton is welded to the frame/chassis, there will not be reliable...presumably the skeleton of the dashboard has good ground (you could test that with a multimeter) and the sleeve that the stereo slides into (if a pullout) has a stud that is connected to this skeleton---that's where the ground is...the only wires in town are the battery to chassis connection~...except speaker wires, power antenna, and Power connections (thru your stereo connector)~
migration_judge_roy answered 11 years ago
probably this connection, connector to unit just needs to be unplugged and re-plugged..simply solving this problem~
Thanks judge_roy. I'll give it a shot.
Did anybody find the answer to this problem cause I just installed a new radio and was fine at first but now it shuts off for a few second when I turn my lights on
Britman007 answered 6 years ago
I have the same problem and found that it was my rr speaker. I took it out of the system and every thing worked just fine so I checked my speaker and it looks fine so I reconnected the wiring and everything works great until I try and touch the body work of the truck and the speaker basket arks against the bare metal. Hmmmm. Speaker shorting out? I reworded this speaker separately by running two wires directly from the head unit plug to the speaker, speaker works great until I try and put it back into place and then it shuts down the radio yet all the lights and volume indicator work fine just no sound. So I am going to isolat the screws that hold the speaker in place and the basket from the metal body work were I need to mount it back into place.
Britman007 answered 6 years ago
Oops I am a Dodge guy lol. Same answers though when it comes to how grounds and shorts work no matter what kind of auto you have.
