Radio display problems in 98 Mountaineer

Thanks in Advance for any and all info.
Here is my problem. I have am/fm cd cass radio The display on the radio has disappeared. At first the display was visiable and the vol. control did not work. Now the vol control works but no display. Anyone have this problem, any one have an idea on how to fix. Thanks

Thanks in Advance for any and all info.
Here is my problem. I have am/fm cd cass radio The display on the radio has disappeared. At first the display was visiable and the vol. control did not work. Now the vol control works but no display. Anyone have this problem, any one have an idea on how to fix. Thanks


The same model radio is installed in the 1998 thru 2001, I believe. Anyway, the same radio was in my 1998 Mountaineer and now my 2000 Mountaineer. It was manufactured by Pioneer Radio. The soldered connections were done very poorly...probably assembly line workers who were taught how to use a soldering iron and then placed on the line. Unfortunately, melting solder onto a printed circuit board as fast as possible didn't do the trick. Go to: [url]http://www.shareamemory.com/radio to get the instructions for $20. That was the best $20 I ever spent. Another $20 buys you the radio removal tool which pops the radio out in less than 5 seconds, the 30 watt soldering iron, the soldering wick to remove old solder, and thin wire solder. I bought the radio removal tool from the automotive section of Wal-Mart for $7, and the rest of the stuff from Radio Shack. The repair instructions are in photo form showing exactly what terminals have to be resoldered. I haven't had a problem since. You can do it too! It takes a couple of hours of your time and is well worth the investment. Heck of a lot cheaper than having the dealer send your radio in for the $300 repair! My dealer quoted me, "$300, but probably more toward $450 by the time we get it back." Can you say "Rip Off?" I was born at night, but not last night.

I've shortened the URL for the radio repair so the address will now work:

http://www.shareamemory.com/radio

The longer URL that I originally gave you was to the already paid for page. Sorry.

**I just visited eBay and in the search box typed in "radio display fix." On that site is a radio shop unrelated to www.shareamemory.com who will do the same repair for $175 that you can do yourself for $40 if you had to buy some tools. If you already have a soldering pencil, solder, and a couple of screwdrivers, you can do it for 20 bucks! It worked for me! If you want, you can even make your own radio removal tool or just use long drill bits to depress the retaining springs holding the radio in position, but the actual tool is much easier to use. The only reason why I'm pushing the shareamemory site is because the guy isn't making a ton of money, but he does provide us with a great savings. If you have one of the radios in question, it's only a matter of time before you also develop the problem.

I, too, am having the radio problem and would like to fix it myself. I THOUGHT I remember, when I bought the car, the dealer saying something like removing the radio will wipe out any security features and it will have to be reset. Does anyone know if this is true? Thanks!! Julie

There are no security features with this radio. If your radio is the one shown on the web site, then the dealer doesn't know what he's talking about. Maybe he's trying to scare you into allowing them to do the repair for big bucks? I've swapped the radio from my totaled 1998 Mountaineer into my 2000 Mountaineer, just out of curiosity. No problem with any "security features" with either one.

I too have driven around for 7 months with no display. Bought the Share a memory fix, (Duane is AWESOME) unfortunatley, my board was fried. Guess what? can't find the fried resistors ANYWHERE. Took the fried board off the radio, and it still works with no display. Pioneer will charge you, so will FMC (Thanks to me for being a loyal Ford owner for years: 1 T-bird, 2 Mustangs, 2 escorts, 1 mountaineer). If you are electronically inclined, buy the fix, if not, he will do a board swap with you for out of pocket around 60-80 bucks. THERE IS NO SECURITY CODE FOR THIS SYSTEM!!

can somebody just post the fix so we all can enjoy the displays on our radios

Sorry, too many pages and too many photos to just "post" on this web site. Besides, it would be unethical to copy from someone else who spent the time and labor to do his web site. Spend the 20 bucks. It's worth it.

Thanks in Advance for any and all info.
Here is my problem. I have am/fm cd cass radio The display on the radio has disappeared. At first the display was visiable and the vol. control did not work. Now the vol control works but no display. Anyone have this problem, any one have an idea on how to fix. Thanks


I fixed a friends display problem and took some pictures. They are on my site. Since his volume worked fine I did not check it out.

http://mysite.verizon.net/res046jx/