stereo has no sound

A

anvil

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10 November 2001
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An earlier post
http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/Forum10/HTML/000175.html

describes an Austin red/black '92 with a stereo that went silent suddenly.

I happened to buy a red/black '92 in Austin Tx last fall, though not the one described above I think.

Now MY radio shows everything as normal, but nary a peep from the speakers. They do produce a very low hiss when powered but no bleed through of any signal.

This aggravation joins the climate control system which also shows every sign of working, but the floor heater vents do not deliver air and the defrost ducts below the windshield do not either, ... nor does the temperature control appear to operate, though this is less certain.

After owning three successive acura/honda vehicles delivering almost 450,000 of trouble free service, this is very disappointing, ... especially in the top of the line vehicle.

Any ideas?

What does the stereo head unit cost, anyway?

anvil
 
please check if the amps are gone on the two doors. generally the case with earlier models. check info in FAQ as they also have suppliers able to buy amps only and very reasonable. Instructions also provided as how to take apart the door panel to remove the assembly. Good luck.
 
Regarding the Climate Control: Turn the Ignition Switch to 'On', not 'Start'. Push the 'Mode' switch, and step it throught he various modes, without 'Auto' being turned on. Verify that the symbols for the various modes appear as you keep depressing the 'Mode' switch. You should hear the 2 motors and doors that adjust air mode selection operating. One motor operates the dash vent door, and the other operates the heat/defrost modes. You should be able to see the vent door moving by looking into the middle dash vent with a flashlight, as the mode goes into and out of dash vent operation. If the floor vent and the defrost do not work properly, possibly the Mode motor is not working correctly.

The temperature readout value should change in 'Auto' when you adjust the temperature control, of course. But, if the actual temperature is not correct, then it could be various things. There are, I believe, 5 different sensors that affect the temperature of the output air, including coolant temperature, evaporator temperature, cabin temperature, sunlight sensor, and ambient temperature. The Cabin(In Car)temperature sensor, and the Ambient Temperature sensor are two likely suspects here. You need to do the Service Manual diagnostic (see the FAQ) to check those. Since everything is controlled electronically, the Climate Control unit itself may be malfunctioning, but eliminate everything else first, as it is an expensive fix.

There is a motor that affects temperature, and it is the the one that operates the Air Mix doors in front of the evaporator, closed for full heat, opening for full cool, and proportionately adjusting for temperatures in between. This motor also operates the water valve that feeds coolant to the heater core. You can see this motor operate by changing the temperature and watching (under the hood) the lever on the water control valve for the heater core move from closed (60 degree temperature setting)(toward the firewall) or open (90 degree temperature setting)(toward the front of the car)

As for the radio, I am hard-pressed to understand both door amplifiers failing at the same time, plus the subwoofer amplifier and center speaker. But, I could understand fuse #F51 failing, or the Power Amplifier Relay failing, and causing no sound. This would not explain the hiss you hear, however. That symptom would tend to indicate that the radio had failed in the output stage, perhaps. You would need to check the fuse, the relay, and the radio line output, to pin down the area of failure. You need to plug the radio output into a known good amplifier/speaker to test the head unit, after eliminating the other possibilities.

Good luck.

Regards,

Bill

[This message has been edited by Acuraphile (edited 20 August 2002).]
 
Thanks Bill,

You are right on target in both of your analyses. I did check out both the main power fuse to the dash unit(unnecessary, ... since it was lighting the display and switching between functions) and the switch relay for the amps along with the associated fuse. I also tried the speaker listening test with both the power relay in and out of the circuit to the amps to assure myself that the radio could not send a signal through the unpowered amp to produce the speaker noise.

Likewise, I had gone through the checkout sequence for the ac controller. It does give an error code, but the connected motor units all operate. For instance, a manual signal to the air mix control motor (I think it was called that, but it has been a while) will adjust the water valve manually, but not when the main control unit is asked to change the temp. I have been putting this off until other more pressing things could be attended to. I am giving one last suggestion that my mechanic made a try before I replace both.

Both units are presently in the hands of a local electronics wiz to see if he can "lay on hands," invoke the moon in its dark phase or apply a magic potent. Since both dash units seem to have gone at once, I am also considering an exorcism.

anvil


[This message has been edited by anvil (edited 09 July 2002).]
 
Originally posted by anvil:
Both units are presently in the hands of a local electronics wiz to see if he can "lay on hands," invoke the moon in its dark phase or apply a magic potent. Since both dash units seem to have gone at once, I am also considering an exorcism.
Click to expand...

You might be better off taking it to a dealer who does a lot of NSX work, whose techs have probably seen these problems before.

Bring along the "Troubleshooting - Sound System" section of the FAQ so you can tell them where to get the amps repaired, since their standard operating procedure may be to replace them.
 
Hey, I confess. Buying a '92 was a stretch for me. Having gone first to Acura with the AC problem and being told that it was the control unit and that would be about $650 plus installation, I have been a little slow to take the plunge on top of the alignment problems, brakes, tires and ...(swallows hard)... clutch. Cut me some slack, ... I'm cheap, I admit.

But the moon was just a sliver last night, the "hair of dog" was easy to find (I live in the country, kinda) but the "eye of newt" was tough (what's a newt? anyway!), so my local wiz substituted a couple of cooked capacitors plucked from the ailing AC control head and whispered the ancient incantation ("You got the money, ... I can fix it.") and a miracle! ... the AC Control is Healed!!! All vents open on cue and the automatic climate control purrs quietly along at 75 degrees.

For $107.63, tax included, thank you. If you can afford the Acura solution, go for it. Me, ... I'm cheap, ... and maybe a little lucky.

anvil

PS He says a different spell afflicts my Stereo control head and he awaits the true dark of the moon (and some mystical token called an "integrated circuit" ). As the moon waxes, or is it "wanes", I can only wait for the magic incantation, which I now know by heart "If you got the ..."

PPS If anyone wants my Wizard's web address, I'll try to get it.





[This message has been edited by anvil (edited 13 July 2002).]
 
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