Power but no Sound

[nickorsi]

Hello


I have a 98 Mountaineer with the premium sound system, and all factory eqip.

My stereo has power but no sound. I was told that the fuse on the factory amp my be blown, but I am not sure where the fuse would be located. I have dismantled the interior paneling so I can access the amp, but I do not see a fuse. I have also checked and double checked the fuses in the fuse panel.

Is there a way to bypass the factory amp and keep my factory radio?

Thanks

 

[Anime]

There should be a fuse for the amp in one of the interior fuse panels, you'll probably have to check your owners manual for the exact location. If the fuse is ok, then perhaps there is a loose radio-amp connector on the back or the radio or something. I believe the amp may be for just the subwoofer, since the speaker amp was integrated into the radio for '98, but that may not be the case for the Mountaineers.

There are several harness connectors made by Scosche and Metra (most car audio shops will have these) that will allow you to use the factory radio and bypass the amp, though you will need to add an aftermarket amp in that case, and would probably want to upgrade the subwoofer to go along with it.

 

[nickorsi]

I looked up and down the side panels and couldnt find anything. I checked the owners manual but it just talks about the main fuse panel. I was really wanting to just bypas the amp all together, I really dont care about adding another amp or subwoofer, it's my wifes car and she just wants to listen to music.

The amp had plugs on both sides, one going to the sub and the other going to the factory radio

 

[CDW6212R]

The radio has it's amplifier inside, the only fuse to affect all sound is the one radio fuse. The box in back(stock sub) may have some kind of amplification in it, but it also mutes the sub. It is not a simple device to remove from the Mach radio. That radio is the best Ford put out(made by Pioneer), it is called the Mach radio, it has 85watts of sub amp inside already(about 20w/speaker). It also has a display problem which should cost no more than $60 total.

First find and check the radio fuse. If you can confirm that the radio is receiving its one power supply, then it needs some kind of repair. Since it most likely also needs the display repair(most people don't have it repaired properly), why not spend the $60 minumum and have everything checked out?

There are many many repair services who do those Mach and Premium(no sub) radios, I liked the pro that only does these, his name is Dave Miller, he added five RCA line-outs to mine as well.

 

[suave6565]

I'm not sure if this may help, but i had a similar problem with my sound system but the weird thing about it, only the AM radio would work but the FM wouldn't for a while i drove the track like that and just listened to CD's i was told at the ford dealer that alot of sound issues usually come from the amp which is located in the back next to the sub. so i took a chance and luckly found on ebay a used amp that belonged to 97 Eddie Bauer explorer for 80 dollars...sure enough, that was the problem never looked back since...

 

[nickorsi]

Interesting problem. I wish something would work on mine. I was debating on buying a new cd player, but If I dont have to spend that money I rather not.

 

[UKExploder]

U guys need to use the K.I.S.S. principle and look for simple things as well, there just may be two of the speaker wires touching somewhere, if so NO SOUND will come thru.

 

[billboy]

Hi

Just thought I would throw in my experience. Had the same problem on my 1992 Explorer. Tape player was working but no sound coming out. The LED display had had stopped working long ago so I would have to guess what radio station it was on. Then it just stopped working, no sound. I could tell it was getting power because the tape player would except and eject a tape and I could hear it turning. Not coincidentally this happened the same day I had launched my boat and forgot to disconnect the trailer wiring before I backed the trailer into the water. When I checked the fuse I noticed it was for radio and trailer tow. The fuse wasn't blown, but it must have surged enough juice back into the circuit to blow the amp in the radio. I was looking on this site and found http://www.explorerforum.com/Singleton/web/pages/trailerwiring.html about trailer wiring and how that is connected to the radio. Anyway, I went to a "you-pull-it" wrecker and found one, any radio 5 bucks. Plugged it in and it worked!!!! Yeah, back in business.