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Hey everyone, just looking for some help diagnosing a radio issue on an ‘01 Pace Car that I just bought. (Actually have another one but that was my daily use car so it took a real beating. Got the newer one at a great deal with only 12,000 miles on it so I’m keeping it as my collector/show car.)
There is no sound currently from the new one’s radio whatsoever. Nothing from the AM/FM radio, nothing from putting in a CD (although you can hear the mechanical parts spinning/reading and skipping tracks perfectly normally,) and perhaps most strangely not even the door chime. The RDS works fine as it shows the correct station/song info, can program the station presets into the memory and it holds it, but no sound at all, not even the beep/chime to confirm setting changes or when the door is ajar with the key in or even warning chime that seatbelt is unbuckled etc. Just silence.
My father is a mechanic and figures most likely culprits are the amp in the trunk or just the radio unit itself? I don’t mind sending it out to be rebuilt if that’s the problem but I have a functioning amp in my other Pace Car; should I try popping that one in to see if it makes a difference first before taking the dash apart and ripping out the radio? Anyone know if the amp would affect the chime’s ability to function? Or does that just prove it’s definitely the radio unit itself? My father is worried about putting my other amp in without knowing for sure that’s the problem just in case something happens to that one after we try.
I’ve asked the previous owner about the issue and she said it started a couple years ago with the sound going in and out every so often and then eventually just the constant silence. She took it to the dealer but apparently they couldn’t be bothered because of the car’s age. They told her “the connections seemed ok but it was too old to be reprogrammed” so they “couldn’t be of any help.” The car was garage kept it’s entire life and according to the previous owner only saw rain 2-3 times in it’s lifetime and that was recent; just the last 3-4 weeks when it was on the lot for sale. (I.E. long after this problem started.)
Any help/insight anyone can provide would be appreciated!! Thank you!!
I would honestly start with checking fuses. If those are OK, if you have a known good amp, sure, swap them and see what happens. My guess is it is something related to the amp (either a bad amp or a bad power/ground connection).
Swapped the amps and that solved the problem! Fully functioning radio again!
Now my curiosity leads me to wonder (and seek opinions) on what would be better to have as a backup in case this happens again: have the dead amp repaired (found a place able/willing via the internet) or just get another functioning one (albeit used) from a junkyard? Obviously the junkyard is cheaper but I care more about quality. My father has expressed concerns that the company that produced the amp makes a difference. We’ve been debating whether rebuilding the original (dead) Matsu****a amp would be more or less reliable than getting a used but functioning junkyard amp manufactured by Panasonic instead? (Which is the type I swapped from the other car.) Seemingly those were the two main companies to produce the amps for the car. There may even be others but I’m not aware of them.) Anyone have experience in the reliability of these amps? Thank you!!
Now my curiosity leads me to wonder (and seek opinions) on what would be better to have as a backup in case this happens again: have the dead amp repaired (found a place able/willing via the internet) or just get another functioning one (albeit used) from a junkyard?
What's the price delta? Id imagine the junkyard parts are dirt cheap as long as you can find one. Id think you'd be hard pressed to even cover round trip shipping for what our local junkyard sells stuff like that for (especially on the sale days).
Youd probably have to get an electrical engineer to look at the boards on the two side by side to say if one is higher quality than the other. I don't know that your original would necessarily be any better or worse quality after repair. Certainly the piece they fix will be better, but maybe the OEM used cheaper components across the board?
Matsu****a
Just found it funny the system auto censored part of the brand name.
Anyone have experience in the reliability of these amps?
I wish I would've known there were two brands back when I did car audio. We had a lot of montes / Impalas come through for aftermarket stuff due to bad stock amps - would've been interesting to see if the failure rate was isolated to one brand (I just assumed they were all made at the same place).
Last edited by bumpin96monte; Mar 15, 2023 at 10:07 AM.
What's the price delta? Id imagine the junkyard parts are dirt cheap as long as you can find one. Id think you'd be hard pressed to even cover round trip shipping for what our local junkyard sells stuff like that for (especially on the sale days).
Youd probably have to get an electrical engineer to look at the boards on the two side by side to say if one is higher quality than the other. I don't know that your original would necessarily be any better or worse quality after repair. Certainly the piece they fix will be better, but maybe the OEM used cheaper components across the board?
Just found it funny the system auto censored part of the brand name.
I wish I would've known there were two brands back when I did car audio. We had a lot of montes / Impalas come through for aftermarket stuff due to bad stock amps - would've been interesting to see if the failure rate was isolated to one brand (I just assumed they were all made at the same place).
I used car-part.com to search junkyards across the country and then called a few local ones myself. Nobody nearby to me has one so looks like shipping is the only option. Seems like the going junkyard rate is anywhere from $75-$125 without shipping. The quote I got for a rebuild was $175 with shipping and comes with a 1-year warranty. Considering no junkyard will even guarantee the one they provide will even work (let alone last at least a year) I'm leaning towards the rebuild to be safe. In the grand scheme of things after adding shipping costs for a junkyard one it doesn't seem like all that much more to have some peace of mind that it will work and hopefully last lol.
Please provide the information for the vendor who repairs these amplifiers. We have two 2005 Impala vehicles with no sound. Our 2005 Monte still works just fine. Would like to try the amp route first before purchasing head units. Thank you.
Please provide the information for the vendor who repairs these amplifiers. We have two 2005 Impala vehicles with no sound. Our 2005 Monte still works just fine. Would like to try the amp route first before purchasing head units. Thank you.
Radio Not Working
