VW Jetta stereo blinks like a Christmas tree

[Manny]

I know it's almost the season but this is driving me nuts.
I have a 2000 VW Jetta and my stereo started acting up recently. When I
drive it to work in the morning, it just blinks all the way. When i get
in the car to come home in the afternoon, it works. There's one detail
though: when it does work, the word SAFE comes on first for about 2
seconds.

I knwo all about the safe mode and I have the code, and I even tries
what the manual says, to press the < > seek keys and power at the same
time to get 1000 and enter the code. But it doesn't work, when it's
blinking everything is locked up.

One other thing I noticed. When I drive the car it stops blinking and
after that the stereo will work. But the next day, I turn the car on
and again, nothing but lights blinking.

Has anyone ever seen this happen? It alsmost looks like it needs to
warm up in order to work.
Before I take it in to the dealer I figured I'd ask if anyone has ever
seen this happen.

Thanks,

- Manny.

[D.Kreft]

Manny wrote:

> I know it's almost the season but this is driving me nuts.
> I have a 2000 VW Jetta and my stereo started acting up recently. When I
> drive it to work in the morning, it just blinks all the way. When i get
> in the car to come home in the afternoon, it works. There's one detail
> though: when it does work, the word SAFE comes on first for about 2
> seconds.

Does it have a clock? Does the clock need to be reset?

Is this blinking erratic or does it happen at regular intervals? Does
it blink when you strike the dashboard or when you hit bumps? Does the
blinking affect the sound output? In other words, when it blinks off,
does the sound drop out, too?

If the blinking is irregular and is affected by vibration, then it
sounds like perhaps you've got a loose connection.

> Has anyone ever seen this happen? It alsmost looks like it needs to
> warm up in order to work.

Sounds a lot like a bad solder joint.

-dan

[Jonathan]

Is it only your stereo that blinks? Or do all your car electronics blink
also? lights etc?

"D.Kreft" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Manny wrote:
>
> > I know it's almost the season but this is driving me nuts.
> > I have a 2000 VW Jetta and my stereo started acting up recently. When I
> > drive it to work in the morning, it just blinks all the way. When i get
> > in the car to come home in the afternoon, it works. There's one detail
> > though: when it does work, the word SAFE comes on first for about 2
> > seconds.
>
> Does it have a clock? Does the clock need to be reset?
>
> Is this blinking erratic or does it happen at regular intervals? Does
> it blink when you strike the dashboard or when you hit bumps? Does the
> blinking affect the sound output? In other words, when it blinks off,
> does the sound drop out, too?
>
> If the blinking is irregular and is affected by vibration, then it
> sounds like perhaps you've got a loose connection.
>
> > Has anyone ever seen this happen? It alsmost looks like it needs to
> > warm up in order to work.
>
> Sounds a lot like a bad solder joint.
>
> -dan
>

[Manny]

Jonathan wrote:
> Is it only your stereo that blinks? Or do all your car electronics blink
> also? lights etc?

Only the stereo blinks, and it's not an erratic blink. It looks like a
sort of constant blinking you see in a turn signal. Nothing functions
in the stereo when this blinking is happening. It does not affect any
other electronic components in the car, just the stereo, including the
CD player. Nothing shows up in the display at all. It starts blinking
as soon as I turn the ignition, and it does not stop blinking even
after I turn the car off and lock the doors.

- Manuel.

[The Lull]

The way I see it, you have three choices:

1. Take the car to the dealer and pay the outrageous amount of money to
let them sort it out.

2. Take the car to a car stereo shop. Have them put a new stereo in
(that you buy), and let THEM sort it out.

3. Take it upon yourself to hunt down some electrical anomaly (maybe a
shorting constant and/or switched power wire to the deck, maybe a
bigger problem - who the hell knows). You may end up trying to put in
a new deck (if you can't find a wiring problem), and/or re-wiring the
whole thing before you find the problem (IF you find the problem).

Sorry Manny, it doesn't sound like a *Normal* problem to me.....

~The Lull
Manny wrote:
> Jonathan wrote:
> > Is it only your stereo that blinks? Or do all your car electronics blink
> > also? lights etc?
>
> Only the stereo blinks, and it's not an erratic blink. It looks like a
> sort of constant blinking you see in a turn signal. Nothing functions
> in the stereo when this blinking is happening. It does not affect any
> other electronic components in the car, just the stereo, including the
> CD player. Nothing shows up in the display at all. It starts blinking
> as soon as I turn the ignition, and it does not stop blinking even
> after I turn the car off and lock the doors.
>
> - Manuel.