Ahh.... Sorry I missed that part. Sadly, I am not sure the cause of that problem. I believe the unit uses an optic sensor to detect you are putting a CD into it.

Not sure if it helps, but you can also buy that entire CD loading assembly from AliExpress (I am just not sure what part number it is).

 

Yeah, I believe that is the cause of the problem. Just not sure how to find it, or fix it.

 

So I have an old cluster you can have if you wanna pay shipping. The RPM, BOOST, and TEMP gauges are bad but the fuel gauge is good. You could swap the motors or just use the whole unit if all you need is GAS level. The mileage on it is aroung 207k.

 

Thanks, I'll give it some thought. Winter's cold air has finally moved into NE PA so any car work will have to wait for some warmer weather. I didn't even get out to check on the radio amp yet.

 

I finally got a chance to look a the radio's amp under the back lid. Sure enough, it is there. There are two cluster of wires plugged into the unit. I unplugged them and plugged them back in just to make sure there was a good connection. This didn't seem to make a difference with the low volume of the radio. Next I though about checking the fuses. Can anybody tell me which fuse operates the radio amp?

 

I went to google and dropped this into the search and there are a bunch of things related to that issue some spot right here on the Forum

trouble shooting the radio amplifier on a Chevy Monte Carlo
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...pcmt9prrtkLKs7

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...0Vnj984nEEDys6

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...8QumdrcFMRTHr1

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...cldCVvv9TmoL_-

 

Thanks, in all these cases the speaker cut out. Mine speakers are working fine just hard to hear.

 

I can't be of help there (although many of them have a diagram either on the inside of the cover or in the owners manual), but you could also take a multimeter set for continuity checking and just go through all of the interior fuses checking for continuity between the top posts of each fuse. You could check the whole box in just a minute or so.

I'd be trying to get my hands on a wiring diagram for the car so you can check the readings directly at the amp (power / turn on / ground). You could also test resistance of the speaker wire pairs to see if anything looks odd there (perhaps a speaker came apart and shorted the windings).

 

It's been awhile since I made my original post. Since then I now have been working on getting my 2004 SS Intimidator Monte Carlo fixed. However I seem to be having trouble all the way in the process.
I first started with replacing the windshield. This was the easiest thing to do...cost me just shy of $500.
I then took it to the local Chevy dealer to have the gauges fixed, as none of them worked anymore at this point. I was also told by the Chevy dealer that my radio needed to be replaced as it only played at a low volume and the CD player no longer functioned. I told them there is a amplifier under the back deck. I was told by the assistant at the dealership that according to the vin number, this vehicle had no amplifier.
I get the car back with broken dash cover and was told I needed an amplifier to get the new radio to work! After a lot of yelling, they replaced the dash cover with a dirty used part since they did the damage. They also said they had a amplifier, but it wouldn't plug in to my wiring set up.

By this time I had already match the part numbers on the amplifier and order another one on-line. Needless to say when I got received the Amplifier I had the same problem. It was the right part number, but one of the wire plug-ins didn't match.
So my big question now is...how can the same part number have different electrical plug ins? How can I fix this??? I have a new radio and a amp and still can't listen to the radio!

Update-I have since ordered a new amplifier that looks to have the right plug-ins on it. It also has the same info on the side identification sticker of the unit. The amplifier I got from Walmart had it sticker information rubbed off for some reason. That unit is being sent back. I still am trying to understand why both amplifiers share the same part number when they are clearly not the same unit.

 

Could be different revisions of the same PN. That's bad engineering practice to do (as you then require a DOM on top of a part number to maintain interchangeability control), but it does happen for various reasons.

Out of curiosity, are you opposed to just scrapping this and dropping an aftermarket deck in it/ bypassing the amp? I'm not sure if originality is important to you, but this seems like it would be lot more quickly fixed with an aftermarket deck.