Radio Display is out, Please Help.

[DaninCO]

this thread has really gotten too big.

 

[cbr1100crash]

Well it seems the only practical solution is to buy an aftermarket HU. A couple of weeks ago i purchased a pioneer super tuner III DEH 7300. It's great, it has a remote control (for those of you who would miss their steering wheel controls) and a CD player. No cassette. I never really used the cassette on the stock head unit, so it's no big deal that I don't have one now. I am very satisfied with my new purchase. It's much better than the stock radio.

 

[DaninCO]

dude, have u read any othe rposts, thats what i been saying all along. But everyone thinks its a stupid idea. THestupid idea would not to buy one and keep on complaining about this subject.

 

[sideswipe]

Originally posted by DaninCO
dude, have u read any othe rposts, thats what i been saying all along. But everyone thinks its a stupid idea. THestupid idea would not to buy one and keep on complaining about this subject.

I dont think its a stupid idea. The same thing happened to my stock HU and I just replaced it. I guess some people feel that the issue is the stock HU should not go bad so quickly.

 

[GJarrett]

Originally posted by DaninCO
dude, have u read any othe rposts, thats what i been saying all along. But everyone thinks its a stupid idea. THestupid idea would not to buy one and keep on complaining about this subject.

I'm a little unclear concerning the exact context of your statement in the second syntax and confused by your spelling, but that's certainly okay since I suppose you may be better in English than I am since that was my absolute worse subject in school, LOL. Dead Link Removed

Tell me what is stupid, please. As I and others have made crystal clear already, I for one enjoy the feedback from my steering wheel control system, the variable sound volume according to ambient noise and speed, the integral search by music type, the RPS weather/travel/construction info and etc etc etc offered on this rather impressive stock radio system that came on my $35k vehicle.

How about giving me an alternative that will offer all of that without you having to take the cheap shot that I have a stupid idea. My current vehicle sports many mods and abilities that others told me that I was stupid to try, and now I can outperform and embarrass those very same nay-sayers concerning those very same examples.

I covet hearing about your information informing me of the aftermarket system that will integrate with my EB steering wheel controls and other features that I enjoy and have paid for and are stupid for wanting to keep. I choose to embrace our efforts to solve this by a definition other than "complaining" and await you expert response.

 

[leenjen]

that's an excellent post gerald.
although i prefer an aftermarket system, many people are more than happy with the stock setup. it's all a matter of personal preference. that's why OEM stereo equipment sells so fast on ebay. many people want the factory look and features. i think it is wrong to call somebody stupid just because of their preference.
my mom has a 2000 explorer xlt, and i think the stock system in that is very impressive. and she is very pleased with it, and has no intentions of an aftermarket setup. my wife's parents on the other hand, had me install a huge aftermarket sytem in their caravan because that's the sound they were looking for.

 

[DaninCO]

sorry

Ok sorry if i came off a little rude or whatever. What i meant was that i prefer and aftermarket HU, although the steering wheel control on it sucks. So i understand what your saying. I dont know if this has already been said, but maybe there is a way to use the remote with an aftermarket HU. Because it just seems like this radio display problem is more hassle then its worth. It would annoy the hell out of me. And i was also saying that it might cost cheaper. I mean there are some good HU out there for resonably cheap. Probably cheaper then to hassle with the crap stock unit. THats all i was saying.
Sorry about my attitude sometimes.

 

[sideswipe]

Actually danin, you are right , there is a unit that allows you to use the steering wheel controls on an aftermarket HU, I believe Wal-Mart sells it. If you do a search, I think it was discussed previously.

 

[Desert Roamer]

Radio Display

Add another to the list of growing radio display failures!
I have a 98' sport, and the display went out one month after factory warranty expired and was not covered with the extended warranty we got thru Ford. One of the posts recommended to remove the radio, and after removing the connector from the front plate which houses the display, inspect the solder connections. I inspected the connections, and they all APPEARED to be good. Didn't quite have the nerve to do any resoldering, so put the plate back on, hooked up the little connector, and reinstalled the radio.
My question is this, why can't the front plate with that long circuit board in it be replaced, and not the whole unit? Seems kinda ridiculous to replace the whole unit if all that's wrong is the circuit board (I'm assuming)?
Does anyone know of someplace that will repair or replace this front plate?
Appreciate any comments.
Robert

 

[mtg82814]

found a solution - $175 though.....

Re-Post for Desert Roamer:


Wow....I didn't realize this thread would get this big...sucks for all of us...anyways I hope this helps:

The OEM of the 98 Ford Explorer Mach Audio system is Visteon Corporation.

According to an authorized Vistion Dealer the display problem is due to a circut card that burns out/malfunctions which controls the display. They can repair this for me for $175. Although paying $175 to fix this every couple of years I have the car is going to suck!

I was thinking of purchasing the CD6 Music System, the authorized dealer will sell it to me for $500, and this makes use of the steering wheel controls and back seat controls.
http://www.evisteon.com/b2c/cd6_features.htm


Here is the Authorized Visteon Dealer that gave me the details of the display problem:

Name: National Car Radio Sales & Service

Location: 23 Elm Street
Watertown, MA, 02172
Distance: 33 Miles

Phone: 800-225-3256
617-926-1075
Fax: 617-926-3174
Email: ncri@tiac.net

 

[Desert Roamer]

Radio Display

Hey mtg82814, just wanted to say thanks, I read your post earlier but was so inundated with the quantity of responses to this thread, I prolly overlooked it. But thanks again for reposting. Appreciate the help.

 

[paulcalif]

Fix didn't work for me

I have the same display going out problem on my 98 Explorer CD/Tape in dash Radio. I've noticed that mine doesn't normally just go out, it dims first and fades away slowly. This doesn't sound like a poor connection but I thought I would try the suggested fix anyway. I have a soldering iron and a lot of experience soldering. I also have a Stereo Microscope which works perfect for looking at small solder joints. My solder joints looked fine but I thought that maybe just disconnecting the connectors and reconnecting them might clean a poor connection, no luck. I took it apart again and resoldered all the display solder joints anyway and I checked every solder joint on the board under the microscope, they all looked good. This time the display didn't work at all! Opps, but then it started working and stayed working for about 5 minutes. It's out again now. So at least for me, this fix didn't work. I think more than likely the problem is in the components not the connections.

I did learn a tip however that I will pass on. I had a very hard time getting my radio out, even with the special tools. Once I finally got it out I looked closely at the little latch to see how it works. The important thing is, you have to push the tool in the right distance, then push them away from each other, and pull. There is a small cut out on the side of the radio where the end of the tool has to go in order to give enough clearance. If you don't push them in far enough the tabs won't clear the catch, if you push them in too far you pass the hole and the tabs won't move. There is only 1/8 inch between not far enough and too far. On my stereo I measured it. The ideal depth to push them in is 1 and 5/16th's Inch. Even at that, I had to use a couple of screw drivers to gently pry the radio face plate out from the dash. The key is, at the right depth the tool (nails should work) you'll be able to push the tools a little further apart from each other because they will be going into the hole.

Hope this helps someone, sorry for the super long post.

 

[tom k]

I know five separate people with Explorers/ Mountaineers and guess what all have the display problem. Has anyone successfully resoldered the contacts? My vehicle has 44,000 miles and less than three years. A local delership told me if I would have taken my Exp. to them for oil changes etc. they would eat their share under warranty, but because I don't sorry. They also indicated they service four or five a week for this same problem. Makes sense they won't recall, they quoted $686.00 for replacement, hum times four or five why recall
Tlk

 

[paulcalif]

Bad Transistor is the cause?

I have contacted the folks at this site: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/stereorepair/Ford.htm

They tell me that they have fixed hundreds of these radios for $78 and that the culprit is the power supply for the display. The main problem is a transistor, but that they go through the whole power supply. They give you a 6 month warranty. The link discribes the problem and their solution. I haven't sent mine to them yet because I have a million other things going on. If one of you does try them out, please post a reply and let us know what your experience with them was like.

 

[MONMIX]

Yet another to add to the list. My 2000 radio display has the funk. I like some of the features of the hu and would prefer to keep it. Though I have the Kenwood from my Blazer sittin here waiting JIC. I still have PLENTY of warrenty so I'll do it on Ford's dime for the time beeing.

 

[tom k]

Thanks for the information, I'e sent an email to the business to determine if they need the whole radio or just the board and faceplate combination. The 78.00 seems reasonable to me. My intention at this point is to send them what ever they need to do the repair.
Again thanks
Tom K.

 

[MikeAraj]

I'm getting sick of all these problems in dealing with my '98 Eddie Bauer X. Sooooo many recalls! Now i'm having that radio display problem on my Mach audio system.

Anyways, i decided to get an aftermarket HU. I got a Pioneer FH-P4400, i just got it installed yesterday actually, but i noticed my antenna doesn't go up and down anymore. I was wondering if anyone else has that problem with their aftermarket HU. Please let me know soon cuz i'm going back to the people who installed it for me in a couple of days.

 

[tom k]

I pulled my unit yesterday after purchasing the tool to do so from AutoZone for $4.31. This process is very easy, maybe to easy. I didn't find what I thought I would find like a burn or scorced mark(s). I did clean with alcohol and a brush an area that had like a film from about three solder spots.
I returned the unit to the vehicle and it didn't work. This morning the display is back on, great work just a delayed reaction!!!!
Does any one know where the power supply circuit might be found on the board? I think my problem may very well be a bad solder point on the board, where a connection is loose?

 

[schaltegger]

As reported on another thread, I've done the fix three times so far. Twice with alcohol and once with contact cleaner. The first time, no luck at all. The second time it worked for maybe two hours. The third time it worked all evening and into the next afternoon before dying. I, too, think the problem is an intermittently-failing component but I don't know enough practical electronics to attempt a repair. College-level basic electrical engineering doesn't cut it when you have a soldering iron in your hand! I'm considering shipping my unit off for professional repair.

 

[aldive]

Why do you guys continue to fool with the POS Ford unit? Why not go aftermarket? I did and have never been happier.

Good luck.....