I have 2008 HHR with the single CD changer. A few months ago, the radio turned to static. No input from the auxilliary jack or tuner would produce sound. CD played garbled. Turned off ignition and opened door. Turned on and it worked fine. Yesterday it went out again. Same correction as before. Today it went out and stayed out - No reception from tuner (static - search function seems to act as if there is no station). CD is garbled. The only thing that works at all is if I pull my auxilliary jack out just a bit, I get my external XM to play, but garbled like the CD.

Question -is my radion going bad or could something else be the culprit?

 

to the forum bduemig!

At first blush it sounds like your head unit is bad/failing, but it could be as simple as a loose connection.

Click this link for a nice "How To" on radio removal, so you can check the connections.

http://www.socalhhrs.com/hhrradioremoval.html

 

Already tried that. First I removed the fuse - no joy! Then I pulled the radio and reset the connectors and the antenna. I also played with the wires to see if there was a break somewhere close to the radio causing the disturbance. Nothing!

A new question - if the radio is bad, is it better to buy a used one off ebay or install an aftermarket? (what does a dealer charge to reprogram a radio?

 

Well OEM units are plentiful and relatively cheap on e-bay, and the dealers seem to charge somewhere in the neighborhood of $40-100 for the programming, although some do it for free.

With an aftermarket unit, you just need to make sure you get the correct adapter harness so you can keep your "seat belt bongs" and other sounds generated through the speakers.

 

I think she's posessed! This morning, all is well. The radio is working fine with no interuptions all day.

One thought I had is that when I had it partially out but still connected, I noticed the fan on the top of the radio was not turning (I didn't pu;ll it apart to see if it is trunig today when the radio is working). Does anyone know if there is any type of feedback circuit that shuts down the radio if the fan fails to run?

 

sorry to refresh an old topic, but I guess there are others out there that might benefit from any info I can share.
The unit you need will depend on the radio you have. I have the pioneer radio [no amp] There are several brands models available even for that. Some will only preserve the bongs and CEL code. Others will add steering wheel control [SWC].
Also SWC can be bought by itself.

Two big brands are:
Axxess
Scoche

I choose Axxess GMOS-LAN-03 which works with the non amped radio with/without onstar. in my reading, I read that it provided SWC but the one I bought [ebay-$38] did not so I bought an ASWC-PS [poineer/sony] for 9.99 + shp on ebay.

You will also need the antenna adapter. When I bought my Sony radio [Sony CDX-GT56UI] from www-sonicelectronix-com they threw in the antenna adapter and radio kit.

I installed it, but then I'm a tech. I've been out of the car stereo biz for a while but I think I did well since I priced having it done around $600 [400 parts] and I got all the parts for $135.00

 

I wouldn't even bother with the GMOS-LAN-03...it is not needed...especially if you can care less about bongs and turn signal sounds

 

Actually, the turn signal sounds are an add-on... Relay Metra part E-123 [which I still need to get.] BUT without the LAN 03 there is nothing to tell the computer that the radio and bongs are working so it will keep giving you an error code [CEL].

Having said that, I think I was lucky to find one so cheap. They are usually $80-$130. once I had it and saw that it indeed was brand new I then purchased the radio and other accessories. BTW, it works. And FYI, I DO care about the Bongs.

 

I have a 2010 with no interface and have 30k with the stereo installed with zero problems. What CEL light comes on when the radio is disconnected? Maybe there is a difference between the 06 and 10.