radio turning on but no sound...

[upjeeper]

the radio in my 96 camry has never worked since i bought it. It turns on, seems to seek stations and stuff, but there's no audio.

I've looked for a radio fuse but can't find one speficially for that. I'd expect it just means the head unit is dead. Any ideas?

[upjeeper]

do i have an amp in my car? could that be shot? how would i tell if i have one and if it's bad?

[Heat]

Fuse #8 in junction block #1 is the radio / cigarette lighter fuse. Junction block #1 is located behind the driver’s left knee (to the left of the steering column). But if your radio turns on, it is getting power.

It does sound like a bad amp but I don’t know if / when Camry’s had external amps. My ’95 LE doesn’t have one. What trim line is your ’96 and your radio is a factory unit, right?

The easy solution would be to just say ‘screw it’ and buy a new aftermarket head unit, along with speakers. Take a look at the Sony CDX-GT510, $130 at Crutchfield. Will be a pretty good unit. Pick up Sony GT1325A for the front (5.25” rounds), and Sony GT1625A for the rear (6.25” rounds), cost will be $70 plus $60 but then you get a $50 instant rebate. All harnesses, adapters, shipping, etc included. To make a long story a little longer, the final price would be $210. Note that supposedly you can put in 6”x9” speakers on the back deck – I didn’t do it but supposedly it can be done. And the two speakers I mentioned are both two-way speakers, won’t be the best sound in the world but will definitely be much better than your stock speakers.

[upjeeper]

there's no info about what trim i have. i think the previous owner replaced the trunk (rear ended) so i can't really tell from that

it does have the VIP sticker on the window though

[Heat]

OK, turns out that some Toyotas do have external amps (I didn't know that, I am new to Toyotas).

Download the file “be.pdf” from this website: http://www.**********s.com/camry/

That’s the body electrical system manual.

Take a look at pages 128 through 132 of 232 (page BE-128 through BE-132). These are flow diagrams for when the radio is on but there is no sound, including noise, which is your situation. There are several different radio models – some have external amps and some (including mine) don’t. Find the radio that looks like yours and follow the flow diagram. And take a look at page 120 of 232 (page BE-120), that’s the location of the external amp (if you have one).

[masteryota1]

sorry if this is hijacking the thread, but i also have a similiar problem i have a 1995 xle after replacing the fuse the radio works fine, but when i put in a cd to play, the volume is very low (whisper like) and only way to even barely hear the cd is to turn it almost all the way up. any help. i just got the car maybe 3 weeks or 4 weeks ago, and have been doing a few minor things myself, really dont want to have to replace head unit for atleast another month or 2. but i will be doing more and more driving in next 2 weeks. Any suggestions?

[Heat]

but when i put in a cd to play, the volume is very low (whisper like) and only way to even barely hear the cd is to turn it almost all the way up.

Download the be.pdf file I mentioned in my previous post. Look at page BE-122, “Troubleshooting”. It’ll refer you to page 150 of 232. To answer your question though, assuming all CDs are not playing well and assuming that the radio is working fine, the answer is… your CD player is faulty.

Your options are simple really, either replace it or don’t replace it. If you choose to replace it, you can get a good head unit with four new speakers in the neighborhood of $220 or so. Or if things are really tight, just pick up a decent used head unit off of ebay for $40 or $50 or so and just live with your current speakers until you get some more $$$.

[masteryota1]

Originally Posted by Heat

Download the be.pdf file I mentioned in my previous post. Look at page BE-122, “Troubleshooting”. It’ll refer you to page 150 of 232. To answer your question though, assuming all CDs are not playing well and assuming that the radio is working fine, the answer is… your CD player is faulty.

YEAH i was hoping that wasnt the case. I have been checkin on prices for head units, and pretty much i dont see any savings with installing myself, pretty much for units around 69.99-175.00 you either have the lowest price ones like $70 (less known brands) that after paying for the harness, and if you have to but the dash kit, will probably come up to like $100 and if you look at best buy, or circuit city they have some pioneers and sony for like $99 installed. ( im sure they charge for the dash kit too probably, but you can search around a little incase you find one before you get there). I searched crutchfield and newegg (dont laugh at newegg lol) and pretty much same head units at same price, but no installation.


so how can i save on this, is there some low price store i can find that i can get the in dash kit and harness cheap?

[Heat]

Just remember that the “free installation” at Best Buy / Circuit City will cost you about $50 on top of the cost of the head unit – this is as quoted to me by a sales rep at Best Buy and is in line with what I’ve seen on the internet.

Want to go the cheapest route possible for a decent unit? Go to Crutchfield and browse their car receivers at the $99 price mark. You’ll pay about $8 shipping but they’ll give you the kit / harness for free, so you’re at $108 (tax will not be charged). JVC, Kenwood, Sony head units with .mp3 and .wma playback. And on your car, it is very easy installation, just pop off the trim piece, remove four ten millimeter bolts, and the old radio is out. Since you have a CD player, I’m pretty sure your current head unit is a 2-din size, after putting in the new radio you’ll get a pocket for storage under the radio – that is what the “kit” is on this car, the new pocket. If you can afford it, spend an extra $22 and look at radios at the $130 mark – free shipping (at that price I like the Sony GT510).

Anyway, you really need new speakers too. My advice is to wait until you get $220 or so, then buy the head unit and four new speakers at one time in a package deal but if you really just want the head unit at this time, the $108 (or $130) is a good price.

For the install you’ll need to strip some wires and connect some wires. Some people swear that you have to solder the wires, I just use red butt connectors. Go to the electrical section of your local hardware store and buy a box of red butt connectors, cost is about $2 for a box of twenty, that’s enough. Buy a stripper / crimper too and buy a decent one, you’ll be using this on future cars, expect to pay around $8 or so.

Edit: Take a look at the Alpine CDE-9870, $120 with free shipping, has .mp3 playback. I'd take that over the $108 head units. On it, it says free shipping but when I added it to my cart it said $10 shipping, if that's the unit you want just call them, I'm sure they'll give you the free shipping.

[masteryota1]

Originally Posted by Heat

Just remember that the “free installation” at Best Buy / Circuit City will cost you about $50 on top of the cost of the head unit – this is as quoted to me by a sales rep at Best Buy and is in line with what I’ve seen on the internet.

Want to go the cheapest route possible for a decent unit? Go to Crutchfield and browse their car receivers at the $99 price mark. You’ll pay about $8 shipping but they’ll give you the kit / harness for free, so you’re at $108 (tax will not be charged). JVC, Kenwood, Sony head units with .mp3 and .wma playback. And on your car, it is very easy installation, just pop off the trim piece, remove four ten millimeter bolts, and the old radio is out. Since you have a CD player, I’m pretty sure your current head unit is a 2-din size, after putting in the new radio you’ll get a pocket for storage under the radio – that is what the “kit” is on this car, the new pocket. If you can afford it, spend an extra $22 and look at radios at the $130 mark – free shipping (at that price I like the Sony GT510).

Anyway, you really need new speakers too. My advice is to wait until you get $220 or so, then buy the head unit and four new speakers at one time in a package deal but if you really just want the head unit at this time, the $108 (or $130) is a good price.

For the install you’ll need to strip some wires and connect some wires. Some people swear that you have to solder the wires, I just use red butt connectors. Go to the electrical section of your local hardware store and buy a box of red butt connectors, cost is about $2 for a box of twenty, that’s enough. Buy a stripper / crimper too and buy a decent one, you’ll be using this on future cars, expect to pay around $8 or so.

Edit: Take a look at the Alpine CDE-9870, $120 with free shipping, has .mp3 playback. I'd take that over the $108 head units. On it, it says free shipping but when I added it to my cart it said $10 shipping, if that's the unit you want just call them, I'm sure they'll give you the free shipping.

THANKS i wil check out crutchfield again, and see what pennies i can scrape up lol... ok ,not sure what you mean by 2 din, but i did notice my setup doesnt look like any of the ones in the toyota manual as far as the cd being on bottom etc. here is a shot.

[Heat]

What you have is the radio / cassette player with the optional CD player. When you get a new head unit, it will replace the radio / cassette player and where your CD player is located will be a storage compartment.

Here’s something you could try – remove the radio and double check the connection between the cd player and the radio - it's possible that the connection has worked loose and the CD player will work again if you disconnect / reconnect it. To remove the radio / CD player, just pop off the trim panel with a small flathead screwdriver, remove the four 10-millimeter bolts you see, and slide the radio out. You may be able to use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the bolts but mine were pretty stuck and I stripped a couple, ended up having to use the 10 mm socket.

With regard to “din”, a 1-din radio is the standard radio size, your radio / cassette player is 1-din though your CD player is also 1-din. Some trucks and a few cars (?) have 1.5 or 2 din radios. If you are really interested, “din” stands for Deutsches Institut für Normung who established the car radio size at 180 mm x 50 mm (variable depth). So a 1-din radio is 180 mm x 50 mm which is now international standard ISO 7736. When you see or hear “1-din”, just think of a standard car radio.

[upjeeper]

turned out my radio was just dead, i ordered a cd player from crutchfield and put it in last night. GOOD DEAL!!
i'm really happy with it! very easy to do and all the components were included (harness, wiring diagram, and cubby hole to take up the extra DIN slot)

[masteryota1]

great. did you use the butt connector things.? i have been gradually putting my supply kit together lol the crimper, butt connectors, etc... anybody know where to find the pockets that have the door on them, i have seen somebody on this board with one, but most i see in stores or online dont have the door.

[upjeeper]

nope, just soldered and taped everything

never seen a pocket with a door, i guess that would be kind of nice, but not a huge concern for me