bmore430

Ok guys I need some guidance here. Car battery died today while I had the key in the on position when working on the mirror switch assembly. So I jump started the car with no issues and went about my day. Now I notice the sound coming from my stereo is full of static and sound is very weak on both radio and CD.

Is it possible I blew a fuse for the amp or worse even fried it? Never encountered this before. Didn't cross any wires or anything when I jumped it and everything else is normal.

This is a premium non ML system. Does anyone know fuse locations or any troubleshooting ideas?

Gene01

The first thing to do is check the supply voltage. The easiest point is the battery terminals, but that will not detect a fault in the wiring, cables, connectors, fuses, etc.
With the engine off, it should be 12.6 V. With the engine running, it should be somewhere above 13.2 or so.
Next, check the voltage at the fuse for the circuit you are interested in. It should be almost exactly the same as the supply voltage (less by perhaps a few millivolts).
If you don't have a digital voltmeter, this is a great excuse to buy one. Harbor Freight has them on sale for $3 or $4, but are frequently free if you buy something else (and you always need something else at H F :-).

bmore430

All other options, controls,lights etc etc are working properly so I know it's stereo/amp related. I am still getting sound just very poor quality with some static. If the amp or fuse was blown would I still be getting power and sound? I need an audio guys input on what fuses to check as we have multiple fuse boxes in these.

It figures I fix my mirror issue now created a new problem to track down. Lovely

bmore430

After some research I've found the premium sound in the base 430s is made by pioneer and is a 100w amp in the trunk.

Now does this system have a separate amp for the front radio/stereo as well as the rear amp in the trunk? I am getting sound and volume just no substance behind it and staticky sounding.

Is it possible that I could pop a fuse for the factory sub and still have sound coming from my speakers?

bmore430

Just an update for anyone else this may happen to. I went ahead and checked all audio related fuses. These are in the passenger side kick panel and the trunk. None were blown but after pulling and reinstalling them the stereo problem is fixed and is back to normal. Scratching my head on this one but at least it's over with

Gene01

Sometimes a fuse can develop a relatively high-resistance between its pins and the clips holding them.
A quick voltage check would have diagnosed this problem.

Jabberwock

Glad you resolved the issue with your audio system. Thanks for sharing the details. Most audio problems on LS430 posted on this forum seem to involve the ML system and its components and not the Pioneer based system in the Premium version cars. My Pioneer system works and sounds pretty good considering what it is...although I have never tested the cassette player : )

bmore430

In my searching it was mentioned those of us with the Pioneer system can use the Mark Lev amp as plug and play and takes it from 100w to over 300w. Kind of interesting.

Jabberwock

Interesting idea - swapping Pioneer amp out for ML - I did not think they were plug compatible at all...different number of speakers..? At this point if my Pioneer amp died and could not find an easy replacement, I'd try an ML amp (if it was available cheap) just to get something working in my 9 yo old car. Given the weird specs on ML speakers, I'd be surprised if the Pioneer system's speakers were a good match for ML amp...but you never know. Most likely course of action if my amp died would be trip to best buy to have a modern relatively low cost 3rd party amp installed just to have a decent working system.

JffGRY706

if base has 8 speakers and ML has 11, where are the speakers? 8 vs 11