dtownmikebrown Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 I've got a stock radio inside my '87. ' A few months ago, almost everything was working fine. I had the radio on and when my friend opened the passenger door it turned off. Later I found out that I had the trickle charger hooked up backwards. While I had the dash out of the car to clean up after the mice, I popped the bottom panel off of the head unit and found that one of the fuses was blown. I replaced the fuse. Since then I've replaced all the fusible links and serviced all the grounds. Now the dash is back in and to my surprise everything is working flawlessly except for the radio. Even a few features that didn't work before, like the rear defroster and the adjustable intermittent wipers, are all functional. Now the radio turns on, but no sound comes out. The backlight that operates along with the rest of the interior lighting system now comes on, but many of the lights for the radio itself (LCD backlight, EQ lights, etc) that worked before don't turn on with the radio anymore. The clock is working and it still tunes to stations and saves presets, so I know it's getting power. So, what's the verdict? Is it dead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jszucs Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 maybe..... but I would be more worried about the ETCS unit under the drivers seat.... IIRC that is what fries when you hook up bat or charger backwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightwalkerancestery Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 I hate to say it, but it sounds like the radio is fried. I would first check the ETACS, but if that checks out then the radio is fried. I had it happen once and the lights would work but some of the features didn't work on it. It would find stations, but I couldn't see what stations and they were all static. If you feel brave and patient enough, then you can try to trace down the fried part. With problems that you're describing, it sounds like a resistor is blown somewhere on the lower board on the side with the plugs. That's where mine blew. Be very patient. It took me three days to find the culprit. Just look VERY closely for something burnt or corroded. - Charles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtownmikebrown Posted July 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 I think the ETACS is fine because everything that it's supposed to control is working, and nothing's acting weird other than the radio. I'll have to take a closer look at the inside of the radio, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) It's not the ETACS. A trickle charger isn't likely to hurt it. A 1 amp charger is more likely to be burned out when hooked up backwards than the ETACS. You need a higher amperage source like jumpstarting from another car. Besides the Etacs doesn't control the radio. You will know if you ever fry the ETACS because the wipers will turn on and the only way to turn them off will be unplugging the wiper motor. Check inside the radio. Under the bottom cover are 3 fuses. Check to see if they are burnt. In my 87 radio one fuse would blow as soon as power was applied. I wrapped the fuse in foil and the radio worked fine for years. Not sure why it kept blowing the fuse but wrapping it in foil wont hurt because the circuit powering the radio is fused. If you blow the fuse in the fuse box then the radio has a dead short and is bad. Edited July 30, 2014 by ucw458 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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