2004 LS radio won't turn on and popping noise when car is off

illyc

illyc

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couple days ago i noticed my radio would not turn on and when car was turned off, a faint "popping" noise from inside the car, sounds like from the ceiling. at night when interior lights are on, the radio lights faintly flash. pulling the #18 fuse from the interior box stops the popping noise.

any thoughts?
 
What is on fuse 18 in an 04 and what system do you have?

I worked at Pioneer for 02-05 and Pioneer had the LS Nav/Thx system contract for 03 and beyond. The power amp for our system used a switched capacitor voltage boost system to achieve higher power. Downside is the amp made a pop noise at power on (or was it turn off? too many years ago) that we could not eliminate. It was a characteristic of the integrated circuits. If your head unit has failed, you may be hearing the pop noise.
 
fuse 18 and i think 2 on the interior fuse box are related to the radio unit. i have the 6-disc unit, not the nav unit.

both fuses look good. taking out 18 stops the popping, replacing with a new one starts the popping again. a day or two prior to this i had the A-pillar soaked with water due to the common moon roof tube problem which i had previously fixed. not sure if that is related.
 
illyc said:
fuse 18 and i think 2 on the interior fuse box are related to the radio unit. i have the 6-disc unit, not the nav unit.

both fuses look good. taking out 18 stops the popping, replacing with a new one starts the popping again. a day or two prior to this i had the A-pillar soaked with water due to the common moon roof tube problem which i had previously fixed. not sure if that is related.
Click to expand...

I just came in to see a bigger picture. :) But now I'll say I have little doubt the water affected this issue. Have you totally dried it out yet? Things may come back to life when the moisture is gone. Good luck.
 
We didn't have the contract for the 6 disc, I think the 6 disc was still from Visteon with the power amplifier chips integrated into the head unit.

Have agree with jewel, don't see water in the a pillar getting to the head.

I'm surprised your 6 disc changer still works. Mine sheared a gear at 9 years. Upgrading to an aftermarket head with bluetooth for hands free phone and streaming music may make better economic sense. I've never looked back wishing I had the factory 6 disc.
 
Gary Vogeler said:
... don't see water in the a pillar getting to the head.
...
Click to expand...

Me either. Maybe it could get to the center channel amp (if he has speakers in the center console) if the leak was on the driver's side.
 
thanks guys. well, the leak was on the driver's side A-pillar and it was completely soaked. this happened last sat night into sun morning. figured it's been plenty of time to dry out, so popped a fuse in there this morning and radio still won't turn on. again, see the backlights flashing faintly but that's it. are yall thinking this is just a dead head unit?

eta: joe, I do have the center console speakers
 
I assume you fixed the leak. You are lucky that the FEM wasn't damaged. I am assuming that you just need to replace the radio headunit. You could get yours fixed, you could get one from ebay, or better yet, go aftermarket.
 
well had our driest day in a week, put in a good fuse, and radio is back in action.

i'm not asking any questions

funny thing is that i fixed the sunroof leak a while back but apparently the rain we'd gotten was too much for it. i checked the tube and tried to tighten the zip tie but not sure how much good it did. that's a really tight fit. you almost need an extension on the tube.
 
Glad to hear the system is up and running again. Good luck and keep a watch on the leaks.

Another recommendation if you do decide to upgrade someday, be certain to donate the OEM speakers to the local landfill.

When I worked in automotive, I was constantly amazed at the price our automaker customers would pay for the in dash head unit but how little they would pay for possibly the most critical part of the system, the speakers. $250 for the top of the line head and less than $10 for all the speakers. The LS is no exception.
 
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