ghosts in my machine

[k9sar]

95se pathy and I have been experiencing things that I have yet to put the amount of time and effort into to troubleshoot. Preliminary checks (fuses, etc) have not revealed the issue.

 

So I lost my rear speakers.... Playing only on the front is not too bad since it is cold and I haven't been able to get to the junkyard to scavenge a replacement amp yet.

 

My horn has been intermittent... which is annoying when soneone cuts me off and I can't express my displeasure without contact.

 

This morning, my radio was on and no sound at all. No horn either. and no, they do not share the same fuse. Anyway, by the time I got to work, the radio faded in then back out again. It did this a couple of times then stayed on. While it was on, I tried my horn (just curious) and it worked. Still no rear speakers so I'm still betting on a failed rear amp but the radio/horn has me baffled. Perhaps a ground? Do the amps and the horn share a groundpoint or harness? I have yet to drag the manual out and trace the electrical.

 

Another fun one is that occasionally, when I hit a speedbump or a hole, my radio turns off. I found that this is in response to a failing/touchy circuit in my CD player that turns off the radio when I insert a CD. If I smack the side of th eplayer with no cd in it, the tray light illuminates momentarily and the radio turns off. The illuminating tray was the key to discovering that the CD player was turning off the radio.

 

The older this truck gets, the more interesting the issues.

[wd21overland]

Do you have a aftermarket radio if so i would definatley remove the head unit and check for loose wires.

 

A loose wire would defintaley would cause the problems your stating.

 

As for the rear speakers not working if you have an aftermarket radio there will be 1 lonely wire coming out that connects to the wiring harness that is the signal wire for the rear amp check to make sure that is not loose.

 

My rear speakers quit working last year and found out that wire came off.

 

Also when hitting bumps and the stereo goes on and off also sounds like a loose wire that loses connection when hitting a bump.

 

As for you horn i would check the horn pad first since it will be easy to do and make sure that its touching when you press the horn.

 

There is a chance the radio it self might be on its ways out but i would check wiring.

Edited December 29, 2011 by wd21overland

[k9sar]

no aftermarket stuff though the CD player is actually from an Altima then modified to connect to the stock radio (the pathy and altima CD players were identical except for the connector and price) but that was in place for many years working fine.

[adamzan]

The oem radio in my new pathy is messed up like that, depending on the in cab temp or if you smack it it will come on and off and sound really wierd. Swapped in a new (from parts truck) radio and its working fine now. Could be the head unit is failing.

[nunya]

For your horn issue, take the button off the wheel and make sure all tabs and contacts are intact. My horn would be intermittent when I had the blue interior, when I did the grey swap when changing the steering wheel a contact tab was only hanging on by hopes, dreams, and childrens tears. Fortunately they were in good condition on the grey wheel.

[nismothunder]

Head unit is failing or bad connections and as that Pink guy says, the caps and tabs.

 

Also, I dont know if the factory cd players have removeable faceplates. If they do clean the contacts. My old ALpine did this.

Edited December 29, 2011 by nismothunder

[Kyle94]

i took my steering wheel pad off, for the horn, and had to bend the contact that touches the lil brass (?) plunger inside. it wasnt making a strong enough connection. it worked one time, when i first bought it, then i couldnt get it to work sometimes...

[Slartibartfast]

When my horn quit working, I cleaned the sliding contacts behind the wheel, and it worked again. I think after a while the grease/dust/hair gets too nasty to put power through.