1997 LaSabre radio doesn't work after battery disconnected - not anti theft problem.

[A. J. Clark]

I have a LaSabre Limited. After a cold night here it wouldn't start when I left work. Jump it and started ok. So I wanted to check the battery terminals. I found the ground loose. I took the lead off the battery to make sure it wasn't corroded. Now the radio doesn't work. I should have known not to take it off as this is the second time this has happened.

2 1\2 years ago the same thing happened when I had to replace the battery. The clock doesn't work, radio doesn't work, the controls on the steering wheel doesn't work, and no lights on the radio. I took it to the dealer where I get it serviced. They checked it and said there was voltage to the radio and would have to replace it at $400. Couldn't spend $400 for a radio then or now.

After 5 months the radio mysteriously came back to life and worked ok since then.

I hate to wait 5 months or however long for it to come on again. Maybe it won't come on again.

Any ideas or where to start on a problem like this.

Another thing is there is climate controls on the passanger side. The display lights have never been on before. Now they work??

[stuzman]

Originally Posted by A. J. Clark

I have a LaSabre Limited. After a cold night here it wouldn't start when I left work. Jump it and started ok. So I wanted to check the battery terminals. I found the ground loose. I took the lead off the battery to make sure it wasn't corroded. Now the radio doesn't work. I should have known not to take it off as this is the second time this has happened.

2 1\2 years ago the same thing happened when I had to replace the battery. The clock doesn't work, radio doesn't work, the controls on the steering wheel doesn't work, and no lights on the radio. I took it to the dealer where I get it serviced. They checked it and said there was voltage to the radio and would have to replace it at $400. Couldn't spend $400 for a radio then or now.

After 5 months the radio mysteriously came back to life and worked ok since then.

I hate to wait 5 months or however long for it to come on again. Maybe it won't come on again.

Any ideas or where to start on a problem like this.

Another thing is there is climate controls on the passanger side. The display lights have never been on before. Now they work??

Obviously, you have a loose connection somewhere. Since, the radio was out and the climate control now comes back to life, I would assume that the radio was okay to start with. I would get a wiring diagram and see what is common to the radio and climate control as far as the power goes. Could be either in the ground or positive side.

[A. J. Clark]

OK I agree it seems like a bad connection. Could it still possibley be in the radio. Where would be a good place to get a wiring diagram?

Thanks

[stuzman]

Originally Posted by A. J. Clark

OK I agree it seems like a bad connection. Could it still possibley be in the radio. Where would be a good place to get a wiring diagram?

Thanks

If we can agree that the dealership says there was voltage to the radio and it still didn't work, then it would appear that the radio would be bad (loose connection inside the radio). This would then be two separate problems; one for the radio and another for the climate control. But I would think that since both items came back to life at the same time, then it would have to be a bad connection in feeding both of these items. Therefore, the dealership probably made a bad diagnosis if we can assume that.

I've found that Haynes and Chilton's manual were too generic in their diagrams although the price for their manuals are reasonable. Personally, I always use factory manuals for my vehicles since the correct info is critical to troubleshooting autos.

One of the places that I use for factory manuals is http://www.helminc.com/helm/homepage.asp?r=

However, their manuals are a little pricey but it will be very detailed with anything that you want to know about your vehicle.

Another place is http://www.factoryautomanuals.com/

Here the price is more reasonable because a lot of their manuals are used.

Another alternative which is a lot cheaper is www.alldatadiy.com. You can get all the info about your vehicle for $24.95 for the first year. If you want to continue the subscription, it'll run you $14.95 thereafter. Pretty reasonable price I think and the one that I would recommend for price and for information.

[stuzman]

I ran across another link tonight for strictly wiring diagrams. I've never used this place so I'm not sure of them. I see where they offer wiring diagrams from 1978-2005 for all types of cars. The link is http://www.initrart.com/index.php

[HotZ28]

Check Ebay for factory electrical manuals. There is a guy in AZ liquidating a dealer inventory.