OK - This might be a simple thing, but I need some advice before I start exploring under the hood: A few years ago we installed a new and better stereo in our van. We removed the factory stereo. The new one has worked fine all this time. Now, none of the buttons on the stereo are affective. There is power going to the stereo but it can’t be operated manually. It WILL, however, operate with the use of the remote control. Also, if you turn off the ignition, the stereo comes back on but you have to turn it off and on again for the remote to have any control over it. Does this sound like a fuse? Any help will be appreciated.
No. Its not a fuse. If it were, there would be no power to the stereo at all. It sounds more like a problem with the stereo itself where it’s lost it’s logic programming.
Tester
agreed.
did you save the old stereo? swap it back into the car. see if there is the same problem.
i would be willing to bet it is the aftermarket stereo having in internal problem.
thats what tester said,a logic problem ie;internal prob within the stereo itself, its lost its way.like a puter loseing C drive and will not boot.
I imagine your stereo is a removable face model, right? I’ve found on a lot of older aftermarket decks the connection between the face and the stereo starts to get bad, either due to the contacts getting gummed up or the spring that holds it in place wearing out. I’m not sure what to do about the spring thing-- it’s probably not easy to change-- but cleaning off those contacts might be a start.
As others have said, this is almost certainly a problem with the aftermarket stereo itself. Either the removable faceplate is losing its connections (removable faceplates are a dumb idea in my opinion) or some internal logic has gone bad. If you do not have a removable faceplate, and maybe even if you do, you could try disconnecting the radio from its always on 12V source. That maintains the station and preset memory, disconnecting that should reset any logic problems. If that doesn’t fix it, you are looking at either a new faceplate or replacing the whole unit.
Thanks to everyone for the great advice. I don’t have the old unit anymore. I’ll try cleaning the connections on this one. If that doesn’t work I’ll just get a new unit.