2011 F150 clock flashing, radio does not work at all.
On some models if the battery is removed for more than a few minutes or the radio is unpowered you will need a reset code. If you have such a vehicle, there will be a code card in the owners manual. Try that first. You can then try to remove the radio and make sure there are no loose wires in the back. You could have a bad head unit, or there could be a problem with the ECU, which can cause radio problems. Talking to a retired Ford Tech, he stated he use to keep a "known good" radio at his work station. When a vehicle came it, he'd plug in the good radio first to eliminate that problem before digging further into the vehicle's electronics.
What happens when you don't have an owners manuel?
[A fixed case] I bought a 2014 Mustang two months ago and the radio shortly failed after purchase which showed similar symptoms: clock flashing, no response to panel buttons. For me the warranty for electronics has expired so I looked into the problem myself. After making sure related fuses and speakers are working well, I decided to take apart the audio module and inspect for possible cause. And I did find excessive solder flux on the back of the circuit board, which is possible to conduct electricity in some circumstances leading to a short circuit. (refer to https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/170941/why-do-we-need-to-remove-flux- from-circuit-boards). The flux can be removed with help of alcohol, which was exactly what I did to fix my problem. You can use medical grade alcohol to clean the board and let it dry. Keep in mind with the voltage these boards are operating at, a short circuit doesn't necessarily mean permanent damages to components but can be just enough to mix up signals and cause malfunction. From my personal experience, there is no reason whatsoever leaving excessive solder flux on board and risk shorting circuit at some point after it's been through time and weather. I am not an auto service professional, just had some experience making circuit boards back in school, so I can't speak for all Ford radio problems but it is definitely worth a shot to give a thorough clean to your audio module if you have determined this is the malfunctioning part. If any 2011-14 Mustang owners want to try this approach, you need a 7mm socket and a pry tool to get there. I fixed my radio this way and thought I'd share. Best of luck!
Ok everyone after 5 months of no sink radio or hands free, I took the radio out of my 2012 f150. Took it down on the kitchen table checked all the solder joints and found not one bad. I have done all the fuse checks, battery was disconnected. And was at the point of buying an after market. I putt it back in the truck putt the batter post ack on and holy crap. It all was working again. It had to be a plug or a power reset. Hope it last!!
BIG SHOOTER I was having the same problem with radio in my 2012 F150's . It would stop working and only flash time, go a week or two then start by itself . Took out the radio check all connections and solder joints put back in and it worked a week then quit this went on for 3 months.LOOKED LIKE I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO BUY A NEW RADIO , as a last ditch effort i removed the radio and took the main board out of the bottom put it on a piece of cardboard and placed it in my toaster oven and baked it at 385 degrees for 8 minutes then let it cool completely, reassembled and its working now , it was dead when i started . The solder these day has no lead and tends to fracture after time , this process will reflow the solder and repair minor fractures , be sure not to move the board when hot as it could cause parts to shift, then its junk .A lot of people are using this trick with printer boards and TV main boards. What are you out ??? GOOD LUCK !
Got a 2010 ford f150 replace my radio same hook up,it works and play but no sound.I was told that I have to take it to the dealership and let them reset it.Is possible that I can do it myself
Thank you I will try the 175 first would you agree the eight minutes is a reasonable timeline and then let it slowly cool down? Yes. Reasonable. 1/4 One option might be to bake at 175 for 10 minutes or so, then crank up to to 385. The reason for the low temperature first is this: If a circuit board 2/4 fab has a partly used / open reel of chips, they put the reel in an oven at about 175 first before loading it on the machine. The reason is: if those un 3/4 sealed chips have any water vapor in them, stuffing them on the board and then sticking them straight in the reflow oven will "pop" the chip, just like p 4/4 opcorn!
My Sony premium factory stereo in a 2011 King Ranch was dead when i tried the 175 for ten and then 385 for 8 solder reflow trick from 220emh. I ran the 385 reflow process by my electrical engineer friend first who amended the process with the 175 degree part. Worked like a charm. All functions work fine including Sirius. ( i wasn't sure the pcb mounted tuner would survive the heat but it did) It had the usually described symptoms for a few months proceeding its death... popping, crackling then dying only to come back after powering down a then up. And eventually removing and reconnecting all connectors. Hope this helps someone who is about to spend over a $1000 to replace the full functionality of the premium system with sync.
Would it hurt to put the whole unit in the oven, or must I take it apart and only put the main circuit board in?
I would think it would cause great damage to the CD player although I was surprised my Sirius tuner was on harmed. Good luck
Success with the bake method, 2011 f150!! You guys rock!!
Wow! I tried disconnecting the battery and got no success. Then I cleaned the circuit board with alcohol and got no success. Tonight I baked it, and now everything works! AM/FM, cd player, usb, xm radio, voice commands all work! Thanks so much for posting on this forum!
I was successful as well with the 385 for 8min in the oven. Hope it lasts... Thanks for the great post!!!
wow!!! Def thought this was a hoax. had nothing to lose so took out the radio, removed the circuit board, cleaned all parts with rubbing alcohol, let dry, baked on cardboard at 175 for 10 minutes, increased temp to 375 for 8 more minutes, let board cool for 1 hour. once i put everything back in and reinstalled I disconnected battery cables and touched them together to remove all charge and reset the computer and radio. reconnected everything and now i have my radio back. Connected bluetooth and called sync services. Now to update sync! thanks guys. saved me A LOT of money!
How do you remove the strap for the CD player or motherboard
I just gently pulled it out of the main circuit board.
Yes agreed, gently pull it out do not kink it at all! My systems been back up without problems since I baked it. A few weeks now at least. Thanks again to EMH 220 and my good friend Mark
mine is in the oven as we speak.
Oven method worked GREAT! Thanks to all of you.Saved me a lot of $$$$$.
Mine stopped working again about a week after "baking" it. Anybody "baked" it more than once?
Mine did the same but a nice mad hit to the radio and working again ever since! Lol Might try the baking again if it goes back to not working , nothing to lose.
Hey Guys!!! Work great for me too.... 2012 F150 Creww Cab XLT 5.0L... Very easy to do... Check video on youtube "Ford F150 Car Stereo Removal"... an then make the Baked Technique".. Thank's a lot for the hint... Eric from Jonquiere, Quebec , Canada....
More photos...
More photo...
The baked method worked for me as well on my 2012 F150. Stereo hasn’t worked for about a month and then ran across this forum. I’d try and turn on the stereo and clock would flash on and turn off immediately off. Removed head unit and main circuit board as summaroized above, baked for 8 minutes @ 175 and then 8 minutes @ 385 then reinstalled. It didn’t work when reinstalled after baking but after cooling overnight works like a charm. Unbelievable!! Thanks, Cord from Atlantic Beach, Fl.... Now have to deal with Hurricane Dorian.
I was going to “bake the board “. Decided to just take the radio out. I plugged it back in and it started working again. It may be magic but we will see how long it takes before it goes out again. 2011 F-150 XLT.
I have a 2014 Ford F 150 STX my radio has been flashing the clock for 3 days. I would like to know how to resolve the problem
Is there a video on how to put the case back together after you take it apart and “bake” the circuit board? Should have taken pictures of each step taking it apart but didn’t.
Baked for 8 min at 385f. Let it cool for an hour and then reassembled nothing for about a minute the stated working. No issues for a few days, but has cut out twice and came right back on. I'll take it for 184k miles on it. I just need it for a few more months!
2011 FX4. Baked at 175 for 8 minutes then 385 for 8 minutes. Let cool for 1 hour then reinstalled. Didn’t work initially but one frustration punch to the radio and it kicked on. Not sure which one worked but my radio is now working.
Mine is in the oven now! We will see if it works!
Put my board in the oven last night, 175 first and then 375 for 8 minutes each. I installed it today, the radio was working for a few minutes and then went back to blinking the time over and over again. Any Suggestions? Do I bake it a second time?
Mine quite working after a week. I'll give it a second chance on baking. I just use a bluetooth speaker, I wont pay for a new radio.
Mine quit after a couple of months again, little hit to the radio worked for a while but that is not anymore.
Mine quit again... /$%?&*
It works. I had issues with my radio for a whole year. Checked fuses, wiring, cleaned it up and so so. Last resort...Cooking it. Only issue I had was that 2 screws were stripped so I had to cook with the whole box in oven minus the cd player and connector to cd player. Glad I was able to take that off. I used a cheap pizza box bottom so that burnt as it was cooking and scared me. So let cool down in oven and put radio back together and it worked.. Me being female and telling my brothers what I plan on doing and they laughed and laughed and I said laugh later but if it don't work, no harm done right? Since it's not working no more. Well, I video taped as I was taking apart, putting back together and oven smoking because of card board box..LMAO.. Well, they not laughing now.. Thanks to ya'll I saved me a few hundred dollars. This is only thing I wanted fixed as everything else fine on truck before I sell.. So that being done I can put a 4sale sign on my 2011.. Bless you guys, you rock..
I did this today and it worked. I also thought it was fake news because I was thinking that some components on that board would start to melt but I guess I was wrong. Before trying this, I had tried disconnecting the battery for 10min and that did not work. I went ahead and did 10 min on 175 and then 5 minutes on 380. I'm honestly puzzled that this works but who knows. I also disconnected my positive terminal before taking the radio out and only connected after radio was in. In other threads I've read about the battery reset thing so maybe it is a combination of having the battery disconnected and unplugging/putting it in the oven but like I said, who knows, I just know my radio is working and hopefully stays working.
Once the motherboard is out of the casing, are there any other steps (or anything else that would need to come off of it) prior to baking it?
I tried the 10 minutes at 175F and 8 minutes at 385F. Only I made one mistake. I thad turned the motherboard upside down so the PC board was up and the soldered area would be exposed to the heat elements in the oven. It unsoldered two diodes and caused the to drop off on the cardboard. Luckily for me the PC board was labeled with where the components went and I had a low wattage pencil solder iron to re-solder them onto the PC board. Amazingly enough it now works after reassembly and being put back in the pickup. Not recommended for those without prior close tolerance soldering experience. (easy to burn up PC board)
Are there any videos on removing and what to exactly put in the oven
Ok so I see several posts after mine and some of these things were already posted, if you go through the thread, there are pictures though I have not specifically seen a video. I personally took off all of the screws and left the motherboard on top of the plate and put that on top of a cardboard cut from an amazon box inside the oven. Do not put upside down and at least I did not put the motherboard directly on the carton. I did not take anything else aside from, of course, disconnecting the CD player but I would assume if you are trying this, you already did it. If you still can't really follow the instructions or the pictures that others have posted then maybe this is not for you and you shouldn't try it.
HOLY CRUDLINGERS it actually worked! First time it didn't (120F for ten min, 385F for ten) so tried it again nothing to lose and after 15 min 385 I brought it up to 400F then shut oven off and left in for ten minutes then opened oven door and let it cool. Sayonara JBL Flip
Hello I am about to put mine in the oven but after the 8 mins on 175 and 10 on 385 ... do I take it out or leave it inside the oven to let cool (after turning off the oven?)
Thank you to whomever figured this out. I have a 2013 Ford F-150 and it’s my son’s primary vehicle. A teenager without a working radio is not a happy teen. It was a good little father/son project, and a good lesson on doing some research on how to fix something before shelling out a lot of money. I took the advice of 175 degrees for 10 minutes and then 385 degrees for 8 minutes. The radio works for now. Let’s hope it lasts.
My radio has been cutting in and out for quite some time. It usually happens when it’s below 40-50 degree. When it cuts out so does the a/c - heater . Power to both and panel lights go out at the same time. Today the clock flashed but no radio. I could hit the radio or dash and could make it come back on some of the time.
Completed the bake yesterday and worked like a charm! Thank you
i just did the bake process and work perfect, thanks everybody for your posts,
did exactly what they said,and like magic my radio works. thank you so much Bert
mine died after about a month. Did it again and worked for a week. Now that you know how to take it out it is easy to send to people who do repairs. You can find them on Ebay. 150 bucks including shipping (you pay to get it there). Going to give it a try. Ford charges me 85 bucks just to make an appointment. they don't even offer to deduct the 85 from any work they do (which is of course inflated by 85 bucks)
c est un vrai remède de grand père , 8 min a 175 f et 10 a 385 f et sa repart, je viens juste de le faire , deux heures trente avec le démontage et refroidissement que sa pris et radio fonctionne très bien :) merci.
realize now I kind of sound like a shill. That said if anyone has sent the unit in to one of these guys let me know how it went
Ive been trying to find a new and opr iused radio that went bad and everybody is buying. i have the part number, but it's not on the ford website or on any site ive been on. can anybody help me
WOW!!! I just baked mine for 8 minutes at 385 and put back in. I couldn’t get all components apart and I don’t use the CD so I placed the whole unit in. The plastic on CD melted- fair enough. I placed unit back in truck- it still blinked so 1-2 taps with power screwdriver on front of unit and Praise GOD everything worked!!! Mind you this was done prayerfully! Thanks you everyone who shared. It works for me now and saved me a LOT of $$$. Also, I had to replace the fan actuator that sits behind the radio to get the heat/ac to work. Altogether, $21.00 for new fan actuator and about 5 hours of my own time in research and repair. GOD bless all here! To GOD be the glory for giving us this wisdom and the ability to share.
Done and Dusted. I used the 175/10 and 385/8. Radio is back. Brilliant! A few notes: 1) Sometimes ovens do not have the temp they are supposed to. Usually lower. I baked mine *slightly* higher. Most non-specialty lead free solders start to flow at ~200F. My oven is electric. Gas ovens *may* introduce water into the bake. 2) One side of my radio casing was a heat sink. I did not know this and did not have extra heat sink grease on hand. I went with it. We will see. If you are planning on doing this get a scraping tool and some heat sink grease ahead of time. 3) It did pop some when I put it back in. I went out once and came back. As of writing I have < 12 hrs of functioning radio. If it fails to continue to function I will post back. 4) The Sat Radio antenna did pop off when I pulled off the radio. As it was not connected when I looked at it, I did not reconnect it. That was a mistake. Reconnect all the harnesses laying about. 5) If nothing else, and this may be the important bit, I have gained a valuable skill set. I can now take out and put a radio in my truck. So even if I have to replace it with an aftermarket, I can.
Baked it and fixed it. For about a week. Baked again still not working. Any ideas?
Punch it. Works every time. Seriosly
I had the same issue with my 2014 f150. Radio went out, I hit the dash out of frustration and it worked again for a few days and then went back out but I couldn't get it back on again. I eventually just took the radio out and took it to a repair guy about 30 min from where I live. Repair plus labor was 150$. I'm not sure if this is allowed here or not but I would be glad to post his contact info on here for anyone needing somewhere to get their radio fixed for a reasonable price. Thanks.
Issue fixed with this technique. Thanks guys. I did 10 mins at 175, and 10 mins at 385 to allow oven to come up to 385. Watch video on how to remove. Then I only took off top, and front of unit, and removed CD player and stuck in oven. Didn’t see a need to breakdown all the way to base.
I baked my motherboard and was somewhat skeptical, but it worked like a charm!!! Thanks so much for the help! My advice is take your time and get the correct tools -trim removal tools https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lisle-Trim-Removal-Set-11-Pack-LIS68300/306763993 -7mm socket and one 10mm [airbag] with various adapters to get to the hard to reach places. Here are 2 videos that really helped me getting the radio out -this one shows how to loosen your airbag assembly on the passenger side so you don't break the trim on the right...doesn't loosen the airbag...just the assembly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suGy8bTxTIg - this one shows how to release the left side of your trim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkQDoNgKqjU&t=701s These may seem like unnecessary steps, but I promise it is worth the extra 5-10 minutes of trouble. I will say my radio didn't work immediately, but after it sat for a minute, it eventually came on and worked great.
Another satisfied “baked” customer... thanks for the help with this issue, fingers crossed it continues to work!
Just got my stereo 'baked' and it worked like a dream. Sounds better than before if that is possible. Hopefully it will last for a long time. Thank you guys so much for the information on this. Saved me lots of money.
I had mixed results with the bake method on two different head units. I am going to try again. Has anyone replaced a capacitor(s) on the board? Months ago I found a thread where someone did this and it helped. I can’t find the thread with the details. Thanks
Mine did the same thing and I gave the radio the good old b*** slap and it worked
@Jeremy - not sure where you're located, but am looking for a repair guy to solve this issue on my truck. Would be great if you could let me know where you got yours fixed. Thanks
has the bake method lasted longer than a few months for anyone?
Very frustrated as a replacement is out of stock. I followed the bake method and it worked! Mine is a 2013 STX. Just saved a ton of money and time. Very easy to do. Watch the video for removal and follow bake instructions. Very happy and hope it lasts.
Baking it at 175 and 385 for 8 mins each. Otherwise, taking it to a Ford dealer if it doesn't work. Sourthern MI
Cd works so amplifier works too. Tuner section defective ; no am or fm. The tuner s earches for a station but keeps searching continually. When putting the radio on, I hear a big thump. Any help some body. F-250 2011 standard radio. Thanks.
Baked it as recommended, only worked for 4 days. This weekend I'll bake it again. If it doesn't work, I will use my sludge hammer to crush this crapy radio from China.
I did this a few times with mine and after about a month each time it popped again and I decided to replace it with an aftermarket stereo. GuruGX6WG has proposed the ultimate solution for this POS radio, sledge hammer will prevent any further problems. The factory speakers were also of similar quality, worth at least $8.
Has anyone purchased a different radio such as putting a screen in for replacement? Not sure if I want to use bake method or just upgrade to screen radio and install myself.
I have a 2012 F150 with the same radio symptoms as everyone else loud popping cracking and finally stopped working so I came across this article here about baking the circuit board and had a good laugh but just like it said at the end of the article what do I have to lose but my time so I tried it and it worked! Baked it on cardboard in a gas oven started at room temperature set the oven to 385 it took 10 minutes to reach 385 then left it In for another 10 for a total of 20 minutes let it cool put it back together and it worked! Mine has a CD player so their was a ribbon from the main circuit board to the cd circuit board that can be removed from the CD player as to not damage the player itself with heat.
Hi everyone who has the radio problem. Take the radio motherboard out, send it to united radio. They fix it then ship back to you. All shipping is free. I just did that for my 2014 F150 STX last week. You call united radio, tell them what is the symptoms, they tell you how much it cost. Mine doesn't have touch screen so the cost is $160 plus tax. Here is the united radio number 800 686 0349
I can’t believe this worked! I per heated the oven to 175 put it in for 8 minutes, then turned the oven up to 375 and let it go for 10 minutes. Then just turned off the oven and opened the door and let it cool for an hour. Put everything back together and it works. Hopefully no more issues!
1 more happy customer. worked like a charm. Thanks for this, all the other threads said to ship it somewhere and they will fix it for 150$. 175 for 10 minutes and 375 for 8 minutes. Dont forget to take the sticker off the bottom of the metal. Wife was a little mad about the smell from that
My 2011 F150 FX4 had same issues like others. Clock, Radio and Bluetooth. After I checked a fuses and they were good, I thought that I would take the radio unit out; Therefore, I want do something first. I tapped (pushed or hit) the RADIO POWER BUTTON rapidly for 10 times (clock time appeared and off). Then I did same thing on the CLOCK BUTTON. The clock time stayed and radio/Bluetooth were working again. I hoped that could work on yours
Just baked mine and put it back in and so far so good.
Baking it is risky and is a temporary fix. Send it to us for a permanent fix with a lifetime warranty https://www.automotivecircuitsolutions.com/products/09-ford-radio-repair
Worked for me....thanks all...temporary is relative with a 8 year old truck with 200k on it!!
Well, temporary was right!my fix lasted about 2 hours...,back to flashing clock
I took my stereo apart and baked the motherboard. Everything works from the steering wheel, but none of the controls work on the dash. Is there a possibility that the circuit board on the dash has cold solder joints? Anyone else experience this? Any suggestions? The Stereo Controls are the only ones that don’t work. Dual climate control, heated and cooled seats, flashers, Traction Control on and off still work like they should. Only Stereo controls on dash don’t work.
The AC and other controls are not controlled by the radio and plug directly into the the fascia trim. I had tried the baking method and it worked temporarily. I eventually gave up and bought an after market touch screen radio on Amazon for $109. Also got a trim kit for $35 that fit very well. Only problem I had was the wire harness provided with the trim kit did not power up the radio. I ended up getting a “smart harness” from autozone for $55 and that did the trick and radio and stereo now works great. I did not hook up my steering wheel controls , but that is possible with another adapter. Note that you do lose “Sync” and satellite radio if you have it. So for just under $200 I am up and running.....I will miss satellite radio, but I think I can get thru my phone and play on the new radio. My “sync” had not worked for years anyway. Spent more than I thought I would but was cheaper than replacing the radio with factory equipment. Good luck.
Thanks 9wpqg for the response. But everything works from the steering wheel controls for the Stereo, including SYNC. Just the dash controls don’t work. Inside the trim of the dash controls there are circuit boards that control the Stereo and climate control. Each work independently. I may have to buy the factory face trim. My truck is way too nice to put an aftermarket radio in. Worse comes to worse, I’ll just control the Stereo from the Steering wheel. Thanks again
Baking only works for a short time. I sent mine to https://www.automotivecircuitsolutions.com/products/09-ford-radio-repair and even with shipping its way cheaper than getting a refurbished one through the dealer. Mine works permanently again.
Same symptoms. blinking clock and no radio function. I removed the console and then removed the radio. Unplugged the 3 cables from the back of radio and re- plugged them in. All works now. I saw some rust on some of the metal brackets back in there so I suspect some moisture got into the connectors and caused some oxidation, preventing signals from conducting. Also, there was a lot of tension on the main cable harness which could have put side load on the connectors. I popped out the cable attachment near the bottom chassis to relieve this stress.
Just when I thought the past couple years couldn't get stranger, I "baked" my truck radio in my oven to bring it back to life. :)
Also very much a skeptic, but with nothing to lose, I also baked my radio and it was like magic. It worked!!
Same symptoms. Blinking clock and no radio function. I removed the console and just worked again for a week. Removed again and take a look the PCBA (cleaned). No worked. Was looking for a replacement but kind of expensive. Then looked for an aftermarket (android stereo). Asked my wife to buy on Amazon the bezel and the connectors. But I said "WAIT! Let me take another try, I refuse to buy another radio" For luck I found this thread! Its not working, what else could happen. I used the electric oven. Pre- heat the PCBA for 4min on WARM (170F), then 6min to 220F and finally another 6min at 385F. Put it back and now its working!!!
2014 F-150 STX Same symptoms here; flashing clock, nothing else. Baked it. Worked fine until next morning. Baked it again a week later and it worked for 5 days. Then, for several days it would randomly go off and on. Been without a radio for a month now. Thinking of trying to re-melt each soldering pin. I've even considered passing over it back and forth with a propane torch. Haha I read something about solder falling out of a hole under the copper coil. Mine has a hole there, but baking it has "fixed" it twice. So, it seems the hole doesn't matter. I just hate to go a different route and lose my Sirius XM or have to get another unit and possible reprogramming at a dealer.
IT WORKS ! 175/375 baking …IT REALLY WIRKS ! Thank You ✌️
