Same car and neighbor lady as my “Recharging Battery” post. The lady mentioned that after the first time the batttery went dead, her radio stopped working. Her mechanic checked, and said it’s not the fuse.
Of course, not – it’s the anti-theft codes in the radio, right? If she looks in the Manual, will it tell her to take the VIN to the Dealer and get the codes? Will she need a Dealer or other expert to put in the codes? (If I get a chance – and if she has the Manual – I’ll see if this is something we can do ourselves. I’m posting in case she doesn’t have the Manual.)
@art1966 if that factory radio has antitheft codes (and not all do), the lady should received them when she bought the car new. If she has the original owner’s manual package (the owner’s manual, the warranty booklet, the invoice, the vinyl folder), it should be in there somewhere.
If you can’t find the code to unlock the radio in the original documents that came with the car, the dealer can provide them by looking up the VIN #. Don’t expect this to be a “free” service.
I looked at the Owner’s Manual. (Nostalgia – looks just like the Manual for my former 2000 Camry that somebody hit broadside. Sigh!) Nothing about radio codes. While I’m reading through, the owner decides to try the radio. Works fine!
I’ve seen this phenomenon many times in my professional and amateur work with electronics. The box is dead. You troubleshoot. Can’t find anything wrong. Turn it back on, and it plays. Good enough!!
(Actually, maybe the battery was never fully charged the last time. Or maybe the owner is confused about the sequence of events. Still, it’s good enough.)