Car Year: 2003
Car Mileage: 223,000
Had the car put in the shop for some recalled items.
After I get the car back, I notice the radio doesn’t turn on and a single beep is emitted from somewhere in the dash.
I asked an employee about it but they said “it wasn’t them and there was nothing they could do.”
So my question is… what is it? The fuse is good so I am at a loss.
EDIT: Disconnected the battery from the terminal and that did the trick.
Not really sure what issue I solved, but now I know.
Thank you guys for your help!
It might be a theft prevention feature of the radio. If the battery is disconnected, and it probably was, the sound system is locked so that no one can use it. Look at your owner’s manual to see if this is true. If you don’t have the owner’s manual, contact an Infiniti dealer.
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As an anti-theft measure, the radio won’t work if its power is cut, unless you enter a numerical code that is specific to your radio. Check your owners manual for details.
When my 1999 Honda was new, the radio code was on a hangtag on the dash. I have written this code in the back of my owners manual, and on the file folder I use to keep paperwork for this car. And the hangtag is in that file folder.
“It wasn’t them and there’s nothing they could do”? Anyone in a repair shop who picks up anything more complicated than a broom or a ballpoint pen ought to know about this. That includes anyone who picks up the phone.
This is the Bart Simpson defense: “I didn’t do it, nobody saw me do it, there’s no way they can prove anything.”
It’s also BS, as the guy answering the phone doesn’t know it wasn’t them until you bring the car in and they look to see why the radio doesn’t work, which tells me they know they did it, they were expecting your call, and had gone to choir practice so that whoever talked to you would say what they were supposed to say.
The others might be right that it’s the lock code - although usually the radio will display something like “CODE” when it’s that - but the mechanic should know what a lock code is and how to clear it (by looking up the code in your manual).
I’ve read that I need to enter a code, however the display is blank and I don’t seem able to enter a code anywhere. I have looked at an online manual, but it doesn’t mention anything about anti-theft for the radio.
Am I missing a step?
Maybe. I have a Honda and I know how it works for them. You can do a web search for the procedure or call an Infinity dealer. This doesn’t mean I’ve solved your problem. It could be something else.
Disconnecting, waiting, then reconnecting the battery probably causes all the computers in the car, including the one in the radio, to go through their factory reset procedures. It’s like with most any electronic gadget showing a problem, always a good idea to unplug it for a few minutes, then plug it back in as a test.
It may be that the shop disconnected only some of the circuitry, or even just the radio very briefly, and so the full factory reset procedure didn’t complete like it would have the way you did it.