Radio Problems

[JWA]

Originally Posted by BVerhulst

I have a radio that has, on occasion, failed to power on when I run the van. Lately it doesn't come on at all. It also has power to the unit... the red reset light blinks. I tried utilizing it, like you said worked for you. No luck. I'm going to look in to suggestions about a relay in the wiring system.

Originally Posted by BVerhulst

Any suggestions for chasing down this phantom are welcome. Additional symptoms are that my radio loses it's presets when I shut off the engine. Yes, very unwelcome, although it connects to my phone via bluetooth without any trouble, so I listen to those play lists.

Losing the preset stations when engine is shut off suggests the memory wire to the radio unit isn't putting power to the radio's chassis.

If the radio doesn't come on and it has a removable face/display its possible that portion needs to have its contacts to the main chassis cleaned. You can test this by gently pushing in on the face or operating it from closed to open back to closed again.

[Flipperfla]

Here is a goofy issue I ran into a while back, I was troubleshooting a marine VHF radio. Customer complaint said it wouldnt power up. Checked voltage at fuse panel... checked good, checked voltage at inline fuse of the radio cable checked good with voltage on each side,checked ground..ohmed good,even checked voltage inside radio.. checked good. started to think defective radio. What it turned out to be was a defective fuse! Voltage measured good on both sides, ohmed good, visually looked good but would open when there was current applied. Replaced fuse... problem solved.

[Steve_382]

I have a 2008 also with the same Kenwood and mine has acted flaky for the last year or so. Maybe that's just the expected life span. Sometimes if I press a certain place on the display, it does a complete reset and dumps out all my saved settings. Also, sometimes when I turn it on, the display is fairly dim when the tuner is displayed. Another problem is that I can no longer update the maps for the entire US because the memory won't hold the latest updates to the maps. Oh well, maybe a new one before the spring....

[BVerhulst]

Originally Posted by JWA

Losing the preset stations when engine is shut off suggests the memory wire to the radio unit isn't putting power to the radio's chassis.

If the radio doesn't come on and it has a removable face/display its possible that portion needs to have its contacts to the main chassis cleaned. You can test this by gently pushing in on the face or operating it from closed to open back to closed again.

The little red light still flashes when the engine is shut off, so does that suggest contrary, that power is still positive?

I'll try the face plate pressure test, too.

[JWA]

Originally Posted by BVerhulst

The little red light still flashes when the engine is shut off, so does that suggest contrary, that power is still positive?

I'll try the face plate pressure test, too.

I'd download or review the operator/owner's manual for your particular radio to see what the blinking red light indicates.

Yes logic says if its blinking power should be available but does the blinking light indicate an internal issue with the radio?

Sadly even the best car audio products don't last forever--they're installed in a harsh environment for electronic devices.