Hello, all. A while back the stereo on my 2004 AWD lost all the backlights on its display (a problem I'm sure you're all familiar with) so I have been on the lookout for a replacement head unit. I was hoping to find a OEM model from a few years prior to mine that had a tape deck as well as a CD player, and after a while I found a reasonably priced one on eBay that came from a 2001 Grand Am. Aside from the presence of tape deck and the slight rearrangement of the buttons, the stereos were identical, so I figured it would be a good fit.
Once the stereo arrived, I swapped them out and ran into a few issues. Half the display is burnt out (I was expecting that) and the stereo also appears to be locked. Sort of... It doesn't display LOC like in any of the numerous tutorials or requests on this forum. No codes appear when I hold down 1/4 or 2/3. Instead, the stereo behaves much more like the one in this post: viewtopic.php?t=39661
The display only lights up for five seconds at a time, and only when I press the recall button or the clock adjust buttons, then the backlights turn off again. The theftlock light flashes slowly the whole time, just like it does when the car is off. I can insert and eject CDs and tapes no problem, but they don't play. I can't get the radio to tune in. All these things match the situation in the above post, however I am not having issues with the cigarette lighter, like he was. The charger I have plugged into the lighter still works just fine so I know there is not a short in that circuit, but just for fun I replaced the fuse. It did nothing.
Also curiously, I swapped back to the old radio and it still worked just fine. So I'm guessing it's somehow related to the theftlock on the new stereo, but I'm not sure why it doesn't actually display LOC or give me any codes when I hold down the preset buttons. Perhaps the Grand Am stereo isn't as compatible with my Vibe like I had assumed. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.