prettyjay

I am having an issue with the Pioneer stock radio in my 1993 SC300. Whenever I get in the car in the morning and start it on a cold start the radio will not come on. I know there is power going to the radio b/c the only thing it is doing is the cassette eject button flashes off and on. I get to work, stay at work all day, get in the car after being at work, turn the car on and the radio will come on no problem. One thing that I notice is that all the channels reset and it makes no sense to set them anymore b/c the memory will be erased next time the radio goes off. Once the radio is on, it works perfectly fine. But I am starting to notice when its cold outside and I let the car sit whether its a cold start or not, the radio still has this issue...By the way I have checked the fuses and they are fine. Radio and speakers are stock. Can anyone shed some light are relate and give suggestions on how to resolve this?

BenStoked

iTrader: (3)

sounds like a bad solder joint, somewhere in the radio. if you are handy with a soldering iron, you may be able to fix it.
maybe try turning on the heat, let it get hot in the car, and see if it comes on as it should?

prettyjay

Ok I will try your suggestion and see what happens. Its just a wild problem..once the cabin of the car warms up its seems like the radio will function properly, but I see how it reacts in the morning wen I turn the heater on...

jdub20tx

I have this same EXACT problem but i have nakamichi. What i usually do is turn the heater on and direct the middle vents straight down onto the radio seems to help but thats crazy mine does the EXACT same thing. I wish i could figure out what it is also!

XxSC400xX

iTrader: (1)

Had the same issue. It's definitely a bad solder connection inside. It will only get worse. When you find yourself blowing hot air through the tape slot with a straw like
I was then its gone too far. Time to start considering a new head unit.

jdub20tx

You say bad soldering points? Is this something i can do myself is it as simple as opening up the back of the radio and getting out my trusty soldering gun? Or is it something pretty complicated?. I just hate to mess with the stock look to the inside. Also is this the reason my cd changer wont work? How can you tell if its the cd changer or the head unit itself. Because when you press the cd changer control or the tape player control it does nothing.

BiGEZ

iTrader: (24)

My Pioneer unit did the same thing until it just would not turn on at all,it just died all togather. Got tired of driving with no music so I bought a Pioneer DVD Nav. unit.
As mentioned above it might be a connection coming loose.

pourSc

Mine has done the same thing. I am currently saving some money to get a double din. My radio would come on after driving for a wgile. If I turned the car off. It would turn back on. So I have given up. Time to let the stock head unit go.

BenStoked

iTrader: (3)

soldering is one of those things that if you don't know how, you can't do it (no offense, when it comes to soldering boards, I can't either). you can learn, though, by grabbing a cheap alarm clock from a thrift shop, and a solder kit from radio shack, hit up youtube, and practice on the radio, desoldering and resoldering. I never got the knack, though...
as for the changer, it could simply be because the head unit isn't working, or the changer is damaged (laser misalignment, malfunctioning yadeah, etc.).
I agree with the stock look. having a dead button/**** on the dash is a bummer, too. but there comes a time in a car's life that the stock radio has to be let go, or massive money spent on a new/reman system.

kobe54

I have somewhat a similar issue with my Head Unit. For some reason my head unit worked, then stopped working occasionally, then had a shuttering affect (but unable to use the radio/turn on or off), and now it just doesnt want to turn on. we checked everything from the fuse box to the shorted stock amp we had (which has been replaced and there is no more shorting going on)

i was wondering, where does the Head Unit get its power from? we checked to see if any of the cables were giving off any power and the one connecter that connects both the AC Unit and the Radio together doesnt give off any kind of power, yet my AC works fine.

could this also be a soldering issue? could the power button for the radio just be dead? any response would greatly help for i am a few steps away from my restoration.

GISguy

With mine I just lose power to the radio altogether, but it doesn't forget my presets. :\

Bbarrick

i was on my way to work and I was mid turn and the radio get extremely quiet, it still plays but doesn't get no where near as loud as usual, anyone know why this might be? I have it all the way up and it's sounds like it's at 1/3 volume