Volume and tuner knobs spin but don't work 2004 Vibe

Stereo, security systems, vehicle electronics, and electrical-related discussions
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Tezco94
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Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2016 7:07 am

Volume and tuner knobs spin but don't work 2004 Vibe

Post by Tezco94 »

I'm in the process now of replacing the radio backlights because they've burned out. While I have the OEM radio out of the car and apart I want to try an attempt on fixing the Volume and tuner knob issue. This is my bosses car and he bought it like this. Both knob spin freely, but the volume or the tuner knobs do not do there jobs. What's even weirder is the volume of the radio gradually gets louder and louder as you drive it, to the point where it's unbearable to listen to the radio. Has anyone had this same thing happen, or similar. I would like to attempt to fix it rather then buy a whole new stereo. It's a fleet car, so my boss doesn't care whether the radio works or not, I'm fixing it on my own time, just don't know the problem with it, maybe it's cursed?
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MacGyver
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Re: Volume and tuner knobs spin but don't work 2004 Vibe

Post by MacGyver »

If both knobs have stopped working, sounds like a common solder joint shared by both is broken. And when the car is driving, the loose joint makes contact from time to time, increasing the volume.

Honestly, for $100 you can replace the radio with something really nice with Bluetooth, so when something like this happens to an electronic device of this value, I would just junk it.
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Tezco94
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Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2016 7:07 am

Re: Volume and tuner knobs spin but don't work 2004 Vibe

Post by Tezco94 »

Would you happen to know where i can find schematics or a wiring diagram of some sort that would show where the solder point is on the radio? Like I said before, junking it and buying a new one is something I'm not going to do, it's a fleet car, and it's technically not my vibe. I was replacing the backlight bulbs that are notorious for burning out, and I said why not make an attempt at fixing the volume problem.
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joatmon
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Re: Volume and tuner knobs spin but don't work 2004 Vibe

Post by joatmon »

I've never seen schematics for the radio internals.

I think when MacGyver mentioned a bad solder joint, he was saying iin general ts possible to be a broken one somewhere, not that there';s a specific one that has been known to cause this kind of problem. Similarly, it could be an intermittent wire connecting the faceplate to the rest of the radio.
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