Explorer Stock Radio

[mxz583]

Hello. I have a 2000 explorer, radio has display but no button lights I see the display board does not drive the button light does anyone know what does thanks

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Hello. I have a 2000 explorer, radio has display but no button lights I see the display board does not drive the button light does anyone know what does thanks

can you post up pics? not too sure i understand the question

 

[mxz583]

the clock lights up and station info lights up, but not buttons Lights will put the radio back in and take a picture

 

[Fix4Dirt]

the clock lights up and station info lights up, but not buttons Lights will put the radio back in and take a picture

so the display works, but the other buttons do not? like the rds am fm etc?

 

[mxz583]

yes, that is correct

 

[Fix4Dirt]

yes, that is correct

ok interesting usually with these its the other way around. maybe someone has an answer, as i myself do not at the moment

 

[J_C]

It gets the power feed from the interior lighting circuit. There are a few different radios and you can see the wiring diagrams linked in my sig "2nd gen wiring diagrams", but the most basic radio I see, happens to have the interior lighting on radio connector pin 1, so with the headlights on, you should be getting 12V on that wire. On some premium radios that is on pin 5. Edit: Also check the ground for that, which is radio pin 11 (base radio) or pin 6 (premium).

Do your other interior lights come on, for example the driver's door window & lock buttons, or steering wheel buttons, or dash?

Anyway if you are getting 12V input on the correct pin for your model radio, and good grounds, then you'd need to trace the circuit in the radio, might be a solder joint or circuit board crack. Seems like I vaguely recall there have been a few people that had their circuit board crack where the station preset buttons are, but I don't recall if that takes out all the bulbs that should be lit with the interior lighting system.

Besides the radio diagrams in my sig, I also have an extra large diagram where I merged two together for easier reading, of the interior lighting circuit. Attached. If you aren't getting 12V on the radio's interior lighting pin (with headlights on), then it is time to trace the circuit backwards using the diagram.

 

[mxz583]

It gets the power feed from the interior lighting circuit. There are a few different radios and you can see the wiring diagrams linked in my sig "2nd gen wiring diagrams", but the most basic radio I see, happens to have the interior lighting on radio connector pin 1, so with the headlights on, you should be getting 12V on that wire. On some premium radios that is on pin 5. Edit: Also check the ground for that, which is radio pin 11 (base radio) or pin 6 (premium).

Do your other interior lights come on, for example the driver's door window & lock buttons, or steering wheel buttons, or dash?

Anyway if you are getting 12V input on the correct pin for your model radio, and good grounds, then you'd need to trace the circuit in the radio, might be a solder joint or circuit board crack. Seems like I vaguely recall there have been a few people that had their circuit board crack where the station preset buttons are, but I don't recall if that takes out all the bulbs that should be lit with the interior lighting system.

Besides the radio diagrams in my sig, I also have an extra large diagram where I merged two together for easier reading, of the interior lighting circuit. Attached. If you aren't getting 12V on the radio's interior lighting pin (with headlights on), then it is time to trace the circuit backwards using the diagram.

Hello, thanks for the info I think it's going to be a circuit board problem because at times a few buttons will light then go out I have checked the board but see anything that pops out as a problem I was hoping the display board was got to fix the problem, but this must be a separate problem thanks for the help

 

[J_C]

Strong light and a magnifying glass. Reflow any suspect solder joints. Apply power and hope to replicate the issue so you can measure where power stops.

 

[mxz583]

Strong light and a magnifying glass. Reflow any suspect solder joints. Apply power and hope to replicate the issue so you can measure where power stops.

hello, do you think the problem might be on the display board or the main board at the bottom of the radio where the display plugs in thanks

 

[J_C]

^ I don't know, would start at the connector for power input on the pin(s) mentioned previously, and trace that to see where power stops. The display board isn't technically "needed" to supply power to the bulbs but it could be where a relay (or transistor used as a switch) resides to turn the lights on when the rest of the radio is turned on.

On that thought, if you don't mind the radio lights always being on, one way to cheat your way through getting them working, is pick one of the bulbs and find out which pin on it has very low resistance to ground, then on the OTHER pin, solder a jumper wire between it and the radio connector pin powered by the interior lighting circuit. I'd prefer to find the actual fault and fix that instead, but there is a limit to the support I can provide over a few internet forum posts other than to suggest to trace the circuit and measure for where power stops with a multimeter.

If it came down to choosing between buying a new display power board or a used radio at a junkyard, I'd sooner get the used radio as long as it's not very expensive.