Took my car to repairman to fix my 6 cds player in my trunk. Door was stuck by a cd. He cut the cables from the trunk to the dash so he could open the door that was stuck. No more cd player!! I have the player, but no cables and don’t know how, or if, it can be repaired, replaced or what. Any suggestions is greatly appreciated. Is it a lost cause? Thanks.
Check out Crutchfield.com. The may have an answer for you. They are my “go to” guys whenever I have any radio/CD problems. BTW…this was no repairman…this was a butcher. There is no reason whatsoever to cut cables to open a CD door.
I hope he did not cut the cables. You just need to unplug it. If he did cut them, don’t EVER go back to him.
The cable runs to the back of the radio headunit. A new cable should have it working again if that was the only problem! You might look into simply replacing the entire headunit with something more modern with the amount of work you will have to do to replace the wire.
Get a new head unit with a USB port. You can put your music on a USB drive, mp3 player or ipod and plug it in, you’ll never go back to CD’s again.
@keith…I agree 100%. I also put my movies on a thumb drive and don’t even own a dedicated DVD player anymore.
" . . . cut the cables . . . "
These guys are the hacks that give the business a bad name
These are probably the same guys that automatically replace the plugs when they have a misfire, because they don’t know how to diagnose it
These are probably the guys that replace all the oxygen sensors whenever they have lean code, because they don’t know how to test for a lean condition
And then, when the check engine light comes back on the next day, and it’s the exact same code the guy suddenly decides he’s not feeling well and goes home for the rest of the week, because he knows some other poor slob will take over the job for him. And when he comes back the next week, the “problem child” won’t be his problem any more . . . because somebody else either fixed it or inherited it, depending on their abilities
Yeah, these are the guys that have never even heard of the word “diagnosis”
Thanks to all. Please tell me what/where/to buy/replace a head unit? Is it difficult/expensive? Who would I need to get to do this? I still have the 6 cd player, but it wouldn’t be cost effective to get it put back in with wires it seems. Don’t see how they can get the cables from the trunk up to the radio unit in the dash anyway. Head unit?? Where/what?
I agree with @missileman
I have bought several head units from Crutchfield over the years and have had pretty good results
The “head unit” is the term used for the radio these days as often external sources such as remote amps and sources are attached. Your radio technically is a head unit as the CD player is remotely located.
Crutchfield.com is a very good place to go to, just go through their website, you will learn a lot. They are very good on after sale service as well. You can peruse their website, then buy at Best Buy or another brick and mortar store if you like, but Crutchfield is usually competitive and has a much better selection.
I think that now that you have started having problems with the CD unit, it will just get worse. Your best bet is to get a new radio with the features you want, it will be like getting a new car. Chances are that you will need to replace your speakers too as most aftermarket radios, even the moderately priced ones have way more power than the OEM radio and the OEM speakers will not handle that power for long.
The good news is that the after market speakers put out a lot better sound. You can get into a system for around $200 (2 speakers) to $300 (4 new speakers) at the low end or spend thousands for a system complete with navigation, bluetooth, smartphone integration, ipod and satellite radio.
A low end system with USB will probably fit your needs though and once you go USB, you won’t miss the CDs, keep them in your house for the home system. BTW low end systems are pretty easy for anyone who can use a wrench and a screwdriver. Get the wiring adapters with the radio and it becomes a simple plug in, no wiring necessary. If you go high end, then that can get complicated and professional installation might be needed.
I would have to get the entire dash removed to change the radio it seems. This is getting bigger and bigger. Isn’t there an easier way? Less expensive. What if I just want the usb in a radio? Possible?
I put a new radio in my 99 Camry because the CD player died. I put in the radio with a bezel and a little storage box below it to fill the hole. You can get a new radio with cd player for $150. It will have an AUX port you can plug your phone or music player into and you can use it as a music server. You can convert all your cd’s to MP3 and have your entire library of music at your finger tips.
Is the radio located up high in the dashboard in your car? Is it above the HVAC controls? Most cars, the radio is located below the heater and AC controls so only the center console cover needs to be removed, and that is pretty easy to do.
It looks hard, but a close examination should reveal a screw or two, usually in the bottom of the tissue/cassette storage box at the back of the console. Remove these and pull the back part of the console up and out. That will reveal a couple more screws. There may be a screw or two in the bottom of the cup holders or under the cup holder if it is the type that you just pull up to remove.
Unscrew these and the forward console cover lifts out over the parking brake handle and stick shift. Now the radio is fully exposed, total time about 10 minutes for an amateur, 5 for a pro. Someone who owns a Camry from this generation may have more specifics on the location of the necessary screws.
There may be a hidden screw under the ashtray/coin holder and you may have a pull out cubby holder that may also hide a screw. Sometimes there is a screw for the cover on each side just under the dash that is hard to see without craneing your neck to get under there to see it. Worse case, you may have to remove the lower clamshell under the steering column and the glove box, Hondas are bad about that.
The older Camry radios are quite simple to replace. I could have the units out of my 2002 or 1999 in about 15 minutes each. Try the folks on www.toyotanation.com very knowledgable people there. I couldn’t find a DIY but just go to the Generation 3&4 forum and ask. As far as purchasing components I agree Crutchfield is the way to go.
If you get a replacement from Crutchfield it’ll include all needed parts and an adapter cable, along with step by step directions. That who I used, worked out fine.