Is this radio/display toast?

[mjgrantham]

Looking for an answer/advice on why my radio display went crazy and now displays all random lcd characters, changing every couple seconds. No more time or coherent display info. It's a 2001 6-disc unit. It happened after I took the unit out and opened it up to retrieve CD's that were stuck inside. I've done this before without a problem and it would function fine for a good long time. While unit was out, and top cover & front removed, I temporarily put the front back on and plugged in to see what the mechanism was doing and try to get it to eject the CD's. This is when the display went berserk. I noticed I forgot to put in the rubber insulator sheet that goes b/t the face plate (that plugs into main circuit board) and the front metal body of the radio. Would this have shorted something? If so I'm wondering if the problem is in the circuitry of the main unit or the display/faceplate. Radio still works fine just no display. Player has been messed up but I'm not wanting to replace the while unit to fix that.


Just hoping someone has some electrical knowledge/experience with these units besides "it's shot" cuz I already know that. Thanks!

[MikeCStig]

It might help to know what kind of car this happened in, even if it's an aftermarket unit. If you have a car notorious for electrical problems these issues may have been caused by a bad connection, a surge, or some other electrical irregularity.

[mjgrantham]

It's a 2001 Pontiac Montana.

[MikeCStig]

Yeah, electrical problems are pretty common with most pontiacs from that time.

[mjgrantham]

I'm aware of all the known electrical issues with this vehicle, and those really don't have anything to do with this problem. It looks to me that leaving out the insulator between the faceplate and metal body of the radio may have allowed electrical contact during reassembly and so fried something in the display or related circuitry. I'm actually getting ready to sell it, that's why I had to open up the CD player to get my CDs out that wouldn't eject. Got her all detailed and showroom clean, ready to sell and wouldn't you know this happened. I hate not having everything in working order, but I'm better off leaving it. Thanks!

[Tech II]

You have been posting this everywhere....I think you know the answer yourself.....

As far as GM techs go, with internal radio problems, we don't work on them, you remove and replace.......we do not take them apart......the displays have been known to have soldered problems....you can google that....but your actions, and not the soldered joints, I think, are your problem.....

Your best bet is to shop around radio repair facilities, or since you have it out, call around for an exchange at a GM shop, but by doing that , the new radio will have to be programmed to the vehicle.....so I would go with the radio shop as my first option.....

You might be interested in this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9wij6fvknQ

Not sure if this will work, it is mentioned in the video.....key out of the ignition, and nothing on.....remove the neg bat cable, then the pos.......jumper the two cables together for about 10 minutes....then re-attach the pos, and then the negative cables.....see if the reset procedure works....I doubt it, but it's worth a try....

Also,

http://www.theradioshopwichita.com/factory-repair/

[mjgrantham]

I do not know the answer, but I have an idea...I don't just want to know an answer but understand the "why". Yes, I have posted this in multiple places because I get few to no responses anymore. My vehicles are old, seems there is less and less activity/interest in them. Also these radios are in many different models.

Anyway, thanks for the links and other great info, much appreciated! I'll try the battery cable procedure and report back if that makes a difference.