donbrew

We have had reports of vermin and reptiles chewing on wires.

Oldblue

A good possibility worth investigating

pdmorris1

I checked all the wires . They all are good. When the radio powers back up and plays, the time on the radio is always correct ,and the programmed channels are still set.leading me to believe that when it looks dead there is power to the head unit. Am I right in thinking the problem is most likely in the radio it self, and not a fuse or a short in the power wire to the radio? Has anyone ever used the method of getting an unlock code on line from sources that you then use to bypass the anti theft on the radio when you replace the radio and it says LOC I found a few offering unlock codes searching ebay and Google or is this a con?

donbrew

The radio has volatile memory (if that's the right word); I have had my battery disconnected for several hours and still had clock and stations, but several days they went away.

Unlock codes? I am under the impression that a new unit must be matched up to the BCM/ECM with a ScanTool at least, maybe a Tech2 Scanner. It is the serial number of the radio that must be registered in the firmware.

See (corrected) post #3. Or, just continue ignoring all posts about radio replacement. There is abundant info about replacing the radio, including a way to fool the car. It's not my problem, so I'll leave the SEARCHing to you.

Grizzly old man

You more than likely have an intermittent ground. If you had a short circuit you would know. Short circuits are just that a shortcut to ground which usually result in smoke or fire.

A lot of people call any intermittent circuit problems a short and yes, it bothers me. Guess its my problem for having gone to electronics school.

If a fuse is blown it is blown it will not let current flow anymore because it simply can not. If it is good it works as intended until such time as it is blown.

There is a possibility that there is a problem with the underside of the fuse block. You don't normally see the back side of the fuse block either the one at the passengers side of the console or the one under the 'Darth Vader' hood under the hood of your car.

You would have to physically remove the fuse block to look. Personally I would look very closely for any signs that something was hot. If everything looks good go ahead and remove the mounting screws and look at the wires and connections on the back side.

A visual inspection of these things really isn't that hard to do but hiring it done probably will be.

pdmorris1

Grizzly old man. Thanks for the info. Don't you think if it were an intermittent ground, that when it stopped playing that it would loose the time and the pre programmed channels just like when the battery is disconnected? Just a thought.

firemangeorge

Read the 1st paragraph of post #14 above.

Grizzly old man

Yes, the radio has a built in capacitor discharge system in it that works a lot like a battery to keep the presets and time correct even when the B+ is removed.

When I was messing around with my stereo I had it out of the car for a little over a month. I installed an old Clarion stereo installed for a while while I waited for the first one I ordered from eBay to get here.

I was happy with the Clarion but my wife wanted the chimes back. You can get a device that will replace the chimes if you want but I'm too cheap to do that.

When I put the stock radio back in the car the time and station presets were still there. The time was even right.

pdmorris1

Don Brew. I am not ignoring any of the help given. I don't no where you get that idea. I am just trying to get as much info from anyone that maybe has had a similar problem. I thought that was the reason for this forum. Excuse me for trying to make sure I make the right decision. Not only are there unlock codes you can purchase, there is also a chip that can be removed that does away with the anti theft in case you didn't no. I won't bother this forum again.thanks to everyone that offered ideas

donbrew

Sorry, I consider asking the same question after it has been answered ignoring advice. One of the pieces of advice was indeed directing to a thread about hacking the "chip". Go ahead and waste your money on an unlock code, then figure out how to use it. You could use it where your head currently is.

In case you didn't no (sic). " There is abundant info about replacing the radio, including a way to fool the car. It's not my problem, so I'll leave the SEARCHing to you. " From post #14.

I won't bother you with advice, so there!