Radio loses preset stations 98 Avalon

I have a 98 Avalon. Recently the radio began "forgetting" everything.
It doesn't even remember that it was turned on. Works fine when the
ignition switch is on but every time the ignition switch gets turned
off, it loses all preset stations. Obviously the radio is not receiving
the permanent 12 volt standby power supply. I've looked at all of the
fuses in the interior panel and some of the lower amperage (5A) fuses
under the hood but haven't found any of them to be blown. Can someone
suggest where the problem may be?

On 17 Sep 2006 17:48:50 -0700, [email]lynnkenney@ti.com[/email] wrote:
[color=blue]
>I have a 98 Avalon. Recently the radio began "forgetting" everything.
>It doesn't even remember that it was turned on. Works fine when the
>ignition switch is on but every time the ignition switch gets turned
>off, it loses all preset stations. Obviously the radio is not receiving
>the permanent 12 volt standby power supply. I've looked at all of the
>fuses in the interior panel and some of the lower amperage (5A) fuses
>under the hood but haven't found any of them to be blown. Can someone
>suggest where the problem may be?[/color]

That continuous feed for the radio memory is often marked as
something else like the Clock or Dome Light.

Once you find the fuse, change it, even though it looks good - might
solve the problem without pulling the radio. ATO blade fuses
(especially some no-name imports from third world factories) have this
nasty trick where the element cracks and does not blow - and sometimes
the crack will be an intermittent open and work for a while... They
look just fine visually, but do a continuity test for voltage and they
are an open circuit.

Failing that, you might have to pull the radio and see if power is
getting to the connector.

If the proper power and ground are getting to the radio, it's always
possible the memory circuits inside the radio are hosed.

--<< Bruce >>--

In article <pn5sg218nell6lgaltkvgqgud8frffvqio@4ax.com>, Bruce L.
Bergman <blPYTHONbergman@earthlink.invalid> wrote:
[color=blue]
> On 17 Sep 2006 17:48:50 -0700, [email]lynnkenney@ti.com[/email] wrote:
>[color=green]
> >I have a 98 Avalon. Recently the radio began "forgetting" everything.
> >It doesn't even remember that it was turned on. Works fine when the
> >ignition switch is on but every time the ignition switch gets turned
> >off, it loses all preset stations. Obviously the radio is not receiving
> >the permanent 12 volt standby power supply. I've looked at all of the
> >fuses in the interior panel and some of the lower amperage (5A) fuses
> >under the hood but haven't found any of them to be blown. Can someone
> >suggest where the problem may be?[/color]
>
> That continuous feed for the radio memory is often marked as
> something else like the Clock or Dome Light.[/color]

The factory service manual says the audio system's settings are
maintained by the "CIG/RAD" fuse. This makes no sense at all, since
the cigar lighter goes off with the ignition. I'd guess the always-on
power piggybacks off the clock fuse.

(There's at least one other typo on the same page of the manual. The
quality in the car is not reflected in the manual.)
[color=blue]
> Once you find the fuse, change it, even though it looks good - might
> solve the problem without pulling the radio. ATO blade fuses
> (especially some no-name imports from third world factories) have this
> nasty trick where the element cracks and does not blow - and sometimes
> the crack will be an intermittent open and work for a while... They
> look just fine visually, but do a continuity test for voltage and they
> are an open circuit.[/color]

That's right on. Replace the fuse no matter what.
[color=blue]
> Failing that, you might have to pull the radio and see if power is
> getting to the connector.
>
> If the proper power and ground are getting to the radio, it's always
> possible the memory circuits inside the radio are hosed.
>
> --<< Bruce >>--
>[/color]

--
Lady Purse-Wader
YahooUK disallows hyphens