Strange car radio symptoms

[HL0105]

I've got a 2003 Camry SE, with the stock Radio/CD player, 6 speakers.
A couple weeks ago we had some unusually warm weather for January (I'm
in the chicago area.) For a couple days it got up as high as 50
degrees, and very humid. At that time, my radio appeared to go south.
The sound was full of static and distortion.

Adjusting the balance setting, I discovered that the left channel was
the problem. While the right channel was perfectly fine, the left
channel would either cut out completely, or be so full of static and
distortion that it was unusable. This was when the radio was playing;
AM or FM. When I switched to the CD player, BOTH left and right
channels worked fine.

This tells me that it wasn't the speakers, or the wiring, but that it
was the Radio/CD player unit that was defective. Somehow the left
channel - of the radio portion of the unit only - was defective.

When the weather returned to the typical cold, dry January weather,
the problem disappeared. BOTH left and right channels worked fine, for
both the radio and the CD player.

It was too much of a coincidence that the problem corresponded exactly
with the weather. So I'm left with no other conclusion that the root
cause of this problem was the unusually warm, humid weather in
January. Has anyone ever known of this happening? Any insight you can
provide would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

"HL0105" > wrote in message
...
> I've got a 2003 Camry SE, with the stock Radio/CD player, 6 speakers.
> A couple weeks ago we had some unusually warm weather for January (I'm
> in the chicago area.) For a couple days it got up as high as 50
> degrees, and very humid. At that time, my radio appeared to go south.
> The sound was full of static and distortion.
>
> Adjusting the balance setting, I discovered that the left channel was
> the problem. While the right channel was perfectly fine, the left
> channel would either cut out completely, or be so full of static and
> distortion that it was unusable. This was when the radio was playing;
> AM or FM. When I switched to the CD player, BOTH left and right
> channels worked fine.
>
> This tells me that it wasn't the speakers, or the wiring, but that it
> was the Radio/CD player unit that was defective. Somehow the left
> channel - of the radio portion of the unit only - was defective.
>
> When the weather returned to the typical cold, dry January weather,
> the problem disappeared. BOTH left and right channels worked fine, for
> both the radio and the CD player.
>
> It was too much of a coincidence that the problem corresponded exactly
> with the weather. So I'm left with no other conclusion that the root
> cause of this problem was the unusually warm, humid weather in
> January. Has anyone ever known of this happening? Any insight you can
> provide would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks.


Circuit boards can flex with temperature changes, and if there's a tiny
crack, the flexing will cause part of a circuit to open and close. This is
why technicians will sometimes use a heat gun to force this to happen during
the diagnostic process.

There could also be a dozen other reasons for the problem. Don't take it to
the dealer, though. They'll just send the unit to an independent repair
place and probably charge you double what the shop charges them, plus labor
to take out and reinstall the unit. Check your yellow pages for places that
fix these things, and remove the unit yourself if you can.

[Hachiroku]

On Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:22:56 -0800, HL0105 wrote:

> I've got a 2003 Camry SE, with the stock Radio/CD player, 6 speakers. A
> couple weeks ago we had some unusually warm weather for January (I'm in
> the chicago area.) For a couple days it got up as high as 50 degrees, and
> very humid. At that time, my radio appeared to go south. The sound was
> full of static and distortion.
>
> Adjusting the balance setting, I discovered that the left channel was the
> problem. While the right channel was perfectly fine, the left channel
> would either cut out completely, or be so full of static and distortion
> that it was unusable. This was when the radio was playing; AM or FM. When
> I switched to the CD player, BOTH left and right channels worked fine.
>
> This tells me that it wasn't the speakers, or the wiring, but that it was
> the Radio/CD player unit that was defective. Somehow the left channel - of
> the radio portion of the unit only - was defective.
>
> When the weather returned to the typical cold, dry January weather, the
> problem disappeared. BOTH left and right channels worked fine, for both
> the radio and the CD player.
>
> It was too much of a coincidence that the problem corresponded exactly
> with the weather. So I'm left with no other conclusion that the root cause
> of this problem was the unusually warm, humid weather in January. Has
> anyone ever known of this happening? Any insight you can provide would be
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks.


EVERY Toyota I have ever owned except one had to have the radio replaced!
This usually happens under the warranty period, however.

I would pull the dash bezel and have a look at the connector, and make
sure it is seated properly. This may resolve the issue.

If not, you'll have to return the radio for a service fee, approx $175.
You may be able to find a local shop to replace it. Toyota uses United
Radio, for this area somewhere in upstate NY. You can try contacting them
and pick their brains, or ask them for a repair estimate. (NOTE: They
don't repair them...really. They swap them for one they have already
repaired, if they have one in stock..)

Or, replace it with an aftermarket unit. You can get a plug at the eveil
Wal*Mart that lets you plug the new radio into the existing harness with
very little trouble...

[[email protected]]

There is a thing in the radio industry called a antenna null. That's when
you located between the original signal and a very strong reflected signal.
It can knock out one or both channels and most times messes up the main
radio signal. I would try other locations it the city our out on the highway
for a true test. As you know it's always best to use a strong FM station.

I had a '94 Corolla that lost it's FM. I was worried as I wanted to sell the
car with everything working. The FM was so weak it has to be the antenna.
Not easy at all but I replaced it the FM was some better but not like it was
months earlier. I also noticed the lamp in the radio occasionally would go
dim then brighten again. I got to checking voltages to the radio. I decided
to rotate the fuse with another of the same value. Say, how about that, the
FM nearly blew me out of the car. I saw the owner a few years later and ask
about the car and the radio. It's nearing 200,000 and said it all works
just fine.

[Retired VIP]

On Tue, 12 Feb 2008 08:20:49 GMT, wrote:

>There is a thing in the radio industry called a antenna null. That's when
>you located between the original signal and a very strong reflected signal.
>It can knock out one or both channels and most times messes up the main
>radio signal. I would try other locations it the city our out on the highway
>for a true test. As you know it's always best to use a strong FM station.

What you discribe is called multi-path. That's where the signal takes
two or more paths to the antenna and results in out-of-phase signals
arriving at the antenna that cancel each other.
>
>I had a '94 Corolla that lost it's FM. I was worried as I wanted to sell the
>car with everything working. The FM was so weak it has to be the antenna.
>Not easy at all but I replaced it the FM was some better but not like it was
>months earlier. I also noticed the lamp in the radio occasionally would go
>dim then brighten again. I got to checking voltages to the radio. I decided
>to rotate the fuse with another of the same value. Say, how about that, the
>FM nearly blew me out of the car. I saw the owner a few years later and ask
>about the car and the radio. It's nearing 200,000 and said it all works
>just fine.

An easy way to test the antenna is to switch the radio to AM. If AM
works well, the problem isn't the antenna. FM will work with antenna
problems (shorts or opens) that kill AM.

Jack
N8BSR

[Matt Ion]

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
> "HL0105" > wrote in message
> ...
>> I've got a 2003 Camry SE, with the stock Radio/CD player, 6 speakers.
>> A couple weeks ago we had some unusually warm weather for January (I'm
>> in the chicago area.) For a couple days it got up as high as 50
>> degrees, and very humid. At that time, my radio appeared to go south.
>> The sound was full of static and distortion.
>>
>> Adjusting the balance setting, I discovered that the left channel was
>> the problem. While the right channel was perfectly fine, the left
>> channel would either cut out completely, or be so full of static and
>> distortion that it was unusable. This was when the radio was playing;
>> AM or FM. When I switched to the CD player, BOTH left and right
>> channels worked fine.
>>
>> This tells me that it wasn't the speakers, or the wiring, but that it
>> was the Radio/CD player unit that was defective. Somehow the left
>> channel - of the radio portion of the unit only - was defective.
>>
>> When the weather returned to the typical cold, dry January weather,
>> the problem disappeared. BOTH left and right channels worked fine, for
>> both the radio and the CD player.
>>
>> It was too much of a coincidence that the problem corresponded exactly
>> with the weather. So I'm left with no other conclusion that the root
>> cause of this problem was the unusually warm, humid weather in
>> January. Has anyone ever known of this happening? Any insight you can
>> provide would be appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks.
>
>
> Circuit boards can flex with temperature changes, and if there's a tiny
> crack, the flexing will cause part of a circuit to open and close. This is
> why technicians will sometimes use a heat gun to force this to happen during
> the diagnostic process.

This is the only intelligent answer to this whole thing.

> There could also be a dozen other reasons for the problem. Don't take it to
> the dealer, though. They'll just send the unit to an independent repair
> place and probably charge you double what the shop charges them, plus labor
> to take out and reinstall the unit. Check your yellow pages for places that
> fix these things, and remove the unit yourself if you can.

Better yet, just replace it with an aftermarket deck... or if you really
need a stock deck, pick one up from a wrecker.