Factory radio only works from steering wheel

[sixxchic69]

I just bought a 1998 Eddie Bauer Explorer. The guy I bought it from said the radio only works from the steering wheel and I thought he was crazy....he was right. What could cause a radio to work only from the steering wheel? Nothing lights up on the dash for the radio and I stuck a cd in and now I can't eject it as nothing works for the radio...at all. Is there any fix for this other than replacing the stereo. I'm female and couldn't do it myself and Best Buy said it's $250 just to remove this stereo, not including a new stereo and installation.

 

[bobflood]

A radio/TV shop might be able to repair it, but you would need to get it out and take it to them. Personally, I think fixing up old OEM radios is a waste of time. New, modern units with iPod connections, etc are cheap and easy to find, though you might have to give up your steering wheel controls. $250 for removal is ridiculous - only takes a few minutes with basic tools. Find a private stereo shop and buy a new radio and have them install it.

 

[scucci]

you can get a Mach head unit on Ebay - Your EB most likely has the Mach system with sub woofer. The radio takes less than 30 seconds to pull out using the $5.00 tools from walmart. The tools are two 1/8" steel rods bent into a U shape with balled ends that go into the four holes on the front of the radio.

 

[bobflood]

you can get a Mach head unit on Ebay - Your EB most likely has the Mach system with sub woofer. The radio takes less than 30 seconds to pull out using the $5.00 tools from walmart. The tools are two 1/" steel rods bent into a U shape with balled ends that go into the four holes on the front of the radio.

I do think that you have to take the bezel off before you can access the pull holes - is that right?? IIRC there are two screws up from the bottom just below the radio, then the whole thing just pulls off? May be mixing up my cars, however.

 

[scucci]

I do think that you have to take the bezel off before you can access the pull holes - is that right?? IIRC there are two screws up from the bottom just below the radio, then the whole thing just pulls off? May be mixing up my cars, however.

no the holes are in the front of the radio, there is no need to remove the escutcheon plate. When the radio comes out the locks are on the sides of its chassis with the tools still in them.

 

[gijoecam]

Odds are the display board is shot, the front panel control cable has been damaged/pinched/disconnected, the internal power supply for the unit is shot, the display board has bad connections on the heat shield, some/all of the above.

Pull it out and open it up and see what shakes out. Sometimes you get lucky.

 

[bobflood]

no the holes are in the front of the radio, there is no need to remove the escutcheon plate. When the radio comes out the locks are on the sides of its chassis with the tools still in them.

Thanks for the clarification. Must have been mixing up my cars, or the CRS disease is especially virulent today.

 

[BurnTheLight88]

Mustang Mach460 radios are interchangeable with just a tiny bit of grinding and they don't secure quite the same as the factory X radio either. I had to do this in my Mounty though because of the same problem with the radio buttons not working, and I had the 460 radio sitting around from my GT mustang so I fit that in. Harnesses are a perfect fit, so the install time is still pretty short.

By grinding I mean that the radio bezel in the Mounty has a lip on it, but so did the factory mustang radio, so I ground down the lip on the Mounty bezel and then the mustang radio fit through it perfectly.