Spimley

Today was a weird Stereo Day.
Its the CD/Cassette Combo
But its worked fine for 11 years and then this morning, when I stopped to put gas in the vehicle on the way to work, the stereo wouldn't turn off, and stayed on even after I got to work and ran with car off for about 4 hours, then I went out to check it and perhaps start the car for a bit during break the Stereo was off and worked fine when I started the car.
However on the way home, when I started the car it was dead so I banged the side of the stereo/dash a little and it started working for about 15 minutes then it crackled a little out of the speakers then stopped completely.
Fuses Seem ok, is this likely a stereo going bad or perhaps an amp ?
Things you suggest I check ?

Spimley

Update, over last 48 hours its been on and off 3 separate times. Taking it to local stereo shop 2morrow but was hoping for clues before I got there.

mmlex1987

That is very odd. Is the stereo a factory Lexus unit and you are the original owner past 11 years?

Spimley

yes its the original, and i've owned it for 6 yrs with no issues.
took it to the shop this morning, and he gave me a "counter" diagnosis and scheduled a diagnostic appointment for 2morrow.
The "counter" diagnosis is thats possibly the Caps, which he said were little batteries/connections in the unit itself that may be going bad, he thought this since I have what is commonly called a "ghost" radio, that comes and goes.
for example, it worked at 7am when I took the kids to school, didn't work at 9am.
The diagnostic cost is $45 which seems fair enough so I plan to go ahead with the appointment at this stage.
I'll also do a "caps" and "ghost" search on these forums to see what pops up.

Lexucan

Not sure how your stereo could still be on even without the key in the ignition. Sounds like a problem not related to the radio itself. As far as the term "caps" is concerned: he was undoubtedly referring to "capacitors" in the radio's circuitry.

Spimley

yes, the fact that it was running with the car turned off was very odd !
and yes after some more searching I realized he was speaking about the capacitors.

Lexucan

Depending upon the outcome of your diagnostics appointment, if the quote you get to do the repair of your stereo is steep, I would consider looking for a used replacement, that is, if you want to keep it looking OEM and not go aftermarket.
Last year I found a stock replacement headunit for mine for $100 and it works just fine. it also came with a 90 day warranty. Good luck.

Spimley

Well, you won't believe how this is working out re: replacement head unit, once this all started the first thing I did was look at ebay for a replacement OEM unit, I was the only bidder so I got one real cheap ($15) with a fading LCD, but i'm hoping that if its the Capacitor and if the capacitor is in the unit itself, perhaps I can just do a swap of that part) Can't go wrong for $15.
Oddly enough the ghost has moved out and the stereo has worked great for past 18 or so hours, which has me wondering if its an issue thats attributed to the weather (its been in the 30's here in FL and this car has prolly never seen temps under 40 in a decade)
Is it possible weather can cause this ?
So, I postponed the diagnostic until early next week for two reasons.
1) its working now and i prefer them to diagnose when its NOT working, and it will warm up a bit over the next few days.
2) replacement unit on the way in USPS so it would be nice to have a 2nd unit handy when the diagnostic is run, vs in the mail.
i'm NOT a fan of going aftermarket, my 95 es300 has aftermarket alpine and I just don't like the look, i much prefer the OEM look.

GEORGE_JET

All electronic devices have capacitors in them, the radio probably has a couple hundered different caps. So no you are not going to be able to replace THE Capacitor. But if the replacement you bought has a bad LCD, you may be able to swap LCD's and install the new unit.

Do you park outdoors? If so it is possible that the extreme temp may have caused problems.

Spimley

it had been outdoors one of the days the jetski gets slot #2 so it depends on who gets home first, gets the garage most days. I guess just postponing the diagnostic run can't hurt much, and i'll see if problem continues when weather warms up.
now i'm wondering, if there are multiple cap's in this system how in the heLL is the shop going to diagnose the actual problem, aren't they likely just to say, "yep" its the caps, you need a new unit.. " "let me show you what alpine has to offer over here"

Spimley

*Update*
Ended up deciding it was capacitors causing the Ghost problem somewhere in the unit, so I purchased a used unit with a Bad LCD from a very helpful member here, swapped my good lcd with the bad one, and reinstalled back in the dash pretty dam quickly.
Net cost approx $60 to do the swap (plus a 6pack of Michelob)

angmedic91

iTrader: (5)

Thanks bro for keeping us posted and the resolution to your issue. I must say never heard of this happening before, now if I come across this, I'll know its the caps causing the issue and just better off getting a used replacement headunit.