Expert: Peter G. Lee - 10/25/2006

Question
Hi,
I hope you can help me, as I cant find anythin on the internet about this specifically!

Basically, the other day I was driving along and changing radio stations, the sound level was fine then all of a sudden it dropped, i have to turn the volume up really high to get any sound from the radio, and its not a constant level coming out of the speakers..
But when I play from the cd changer or mp3 player through the car stereo its fine and the sound level is good..

have you any ideas on what the problem could be?
the radio jack in the back of the stereo is ok, as i removed it and put it back in just in case..

any help is much appreciated
thanks

Answer
Hi Sunish
Well not much to go on so back to what I say in my profile, "it's not magic, just logic".
Works ok with CD changer and mp3 so that's speakers and connections OUT.
Internal AMP OUT as they work with ALL modes.
Front panel OUT as you can control the head unit.
Tuner works as you can eventfully hear something and lock onto a station, so tuner OUT.
That leaves what? the technical term, not, is the bit between the tuner and the amp chips, the changerover switch that selects the "mode" (radio, CD, etc)
this could be caused buy component failure or a dry joint on the board, either way it's internal and needs repair shop attention. It is highly unlikly to be a problem with connections between face plate and head unit if you have a removable front panel, but check it anyway.
If the unit is over three years old or worth less than $150 my advise is, with the price of a decent head unit dropping weekly, bin it and get a new one, even if you manage to get it repaired it will not be cheap and no guarantee it will last much longer, check out Ebay for some good bargains and remember to get the same make so your changer, etc, will fit too.
All the best and please feed back so I know its all worthwhile, Peter