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Geek Culture / Are any of you "car people?"

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Matt Rock
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Posted: 28th Mar 2006 23:31
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Okay, here's the deal: My girlfriend and I have a 2002 Mazda Protege LX (the sporty "racing" one). The CD player works whenever it feels like working and it's driving me absolutely crazy. The Mazda dealership here in New York wants to charge us a $30-$60 "diagnostic fee," depending on how long it will take to repair, and on top of whatever the actual parts and labor costs will be. I've searched on the net to try and find a solution to this issue but I've come up dry... If I could fix this myself it'd be fantastic but I don't even know what the problem is... is it a speaker wire shorting out, or the actual CD player itself? Any ideas?


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Chris Franklin
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Posted: 28th Mar 2006 23:33
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sounds like a dodgy wire i think but i'm no pro

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BatVink
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Posted: 28th Mar 2006 23:49
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I hate cars with a vengeance.

But CD players are so cheap you might be better sliding it out and putting a new one in. Just make sure the connector is suitable.

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SirFire
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Posted: 29th Mar 2006 00:10 Edited at: 29th Mar 2006 00:16
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More information is required to troubleshoot.

1. Does the entire unit loose power? If so, describe how often and how long it loses power.
2. Does anything weird happen on the display?
3. Does the display give you any messages?
4. Does anything abonormal happen with the sound?
5. Is it cd-mode only that gives you the problem?
6. Can you correlate malfunctions with weather temperature or humidity?
7. Does it only malfunction at high volume levels?
8. If it is a problem with sound, is it isolated to one speaker or does it affect all speakers?
9. Does it only malfunction while you are driving?

The more information you provide, the easier it is to troubleshoot.

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Fallout
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Posted: 29th Mar 2006 00:22
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Yeah, if its just skipping, then get a lense cleaner. If it's whining then it's your alternator and you need a supressor. If speakers are going on and off or crackling, it's a dodgy connection, so just slide out the head unit and check all connections. It really isn't worth paying any money for it at all.

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adr
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Posted: 29th Mar 2006 00:30 Edited at: 29th Mar 2006 00:32
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Quote: "My girlfriend and I have a 2002 Mazda Protege LX"


Maaaan ... you and your disgustingly affordable cars. I hate America. I have a PoS 12 year old Rover, with 97,000 miles on the clock. I bet for the same price I paid for it, I could've bought a 4x4 or something in the US. Not that I'd want a 4x4 ... but you get my drift.

My advice would be to search for an internet forum or some usenet groups where Mazda enthusiasts hang about. I did the same for my car when I was close to scrapping it. My options were:
1. Post on the forum and describe the symptoms
2. Pay Rover about £500 to diagnose the problem

I opted for #1, someone replied in 40 minutes and £70 later the car was functional again.

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iv tryed everything!!!!!!!!!! could u please just add The gun and shooting Code thats All!!!!!!!!!
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TDP Enterprises
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Posted: 29th Mar 2006 00:43
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yeah, it sounds like it could be a multidutde of different problems, a cd payer can be cheap to replace but then you run the problem that it was a wire and not the cd player. Give more information on the problem, when you say it doesnt work, do you mean it doesnt power up? or doesnt read the cd? or what, need more info

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Matt Rock
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Posted: 29th Mar 2006 00:45 Edited at: 29th Mar 2006 00:46
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Let's do these one by one

Quote: "1. Does the entire unit loose power? If so, describe how often and how long it loses power."

The radio continues to work, but no sound comes out no matter what it's set to (CD, Radio, etc.)
Quote: "2. Does anything weird happen on the display?"

Nope. It's just the normal ugly green and it doesn't flicker or anything
Quote: "3. Does the display give you any messages?"

Nope. It looks as if it's playing the track (it counts the time on the track and whatnot)
Quote: "4. Does anything abonormal happen with the sound?"

It either plays fine or doesn't play at all, more often than not it's the latter
Quote: "5. Is it cd-mode only that gives you the problem?"

It does it with every mode (CD/ FM-AM, etc.)
Quote: "6. Can you correlate malfunctions with weather temperature or humidity?"

Sometimes it works better when it's colder outside, but that might be a coincidence
Quote: "7. Does it only malfunction at high volume levels?"

I don't think volume effects it. I usually keep the volume lower though when I'm driving (this is new york, hehe)
Quote: "8. If it is a problem with sound, is it isolated to one speaker or does it affect all speakers?"

Like before, it either plays or doesn't but when it does it's on all of them
Quote: "9. Does it only malfunction while you are driving?"

I've tried it in all three key positions... the dashboard position, the windows and fans position, and then the engine-running setting, and it's the same thing. Usually when my girlfriend is shopping and I'm bored in the car, I try switching between them to see if I can figure out a rhythym that would fix it, but thus far I've come up empty (and all-the-more bored, lol)

Quote: "Maaaan ... you and your disgustingly affordable cars."

It was $30k brand new (after tax and all that), and all-in-all it's a fantastic car... fast, never any engine trouble, lightweight, plenty of legroom and trunk (boot to you UK folks) space... it's no Lexus but it's definitely great for what we need it for. In fact, we drove it cross-country from Spokane Washington to New York (as some of you may recall) back in September/ October and the car did fine, no trouble whatsoever, except for this CD stuff Anyway, I like it hehe

edit: When I say it doesn't work, I mean no sound is coming out but the deck seems to think nothing is wrong. Sorry, didn't know if I'd clarified that with this post or not


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TDP Enterprises
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Posted: 29th Mar 2006 00:49 Edited at: 29th Mar 2006 00:50
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yeah, it sounds like a connection got severed, either just because something isnt plugged in all the way on the unit itself, or something inside broke or has worn itself loose (though you wouldnt expect that from a 2002...)

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SirFire
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Posted: 29th Mar 2006 01:03 Edited at: 29th Mar 2006 01:05
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I would suspect 1 of 3 problems with the info you have given:

1. Your head unit may use three wires for power. One of them is always hot, for memory. One of them is switched with the key to activate the unit. The last is also switched with the key, but provides the "muscle" for the internal amplifier. This third circuit could be the problem, check the fuse box for loose or dodgy-looking fuses. Also check the wiring harness for loose connections.

2. If you have any kind of "premium" sound system, there may be an external amplifier seperate from the head unit, usually mounted under the driver's seat, underneath the console, or sometimes in the trunk (boot for UKers). Check the wiring connections.

3. You may have a bad speaker or a speaker wire is shorting out. If the speaker circuit gets shorted, the amplifier will shut down to protect itself from damage. If you can easily get to the speakers, check the wires for pinches or cuts, disconnect each speaker one at a time and try running the unit for a bit with one disconnected.

If you can turn the key off and on and the sound immediately comes back, it's probably not a power feed problem. If the sound does not immediately come back, it is probably a power feed problem or a internal circuit problem in the unit.

And, if all else fails, bang your fist on the dashboard, always works for me.

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Cash Curtis II
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Posted: 29th Mar 2006 01:54 Edited at: 29th Mar 2006 01:57
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I'd break it and buy a new one. Your girlfriend will be like "Oh my God Matt, what happened to the CD player?" and you can be like "Oh, well, I guess it was getting carjacked and they decided it sucked and left to get a bite to eat." Then you'll have to get a new one.


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Matt Rock
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Posted: 29th Mar 2006 02:24
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lol Curtiss. I think that's what I'll end up doing in the end.

Another thing to mention... I don't know why I forgot to mention this before but it's probably pretty important: Sometimes the sound stops playing in the middle of a song, usually 3-12 seconds into it (yes, I timed it... I was bored hehe). Usually this is the case (lately anyway), it will play for 3-12 seconds and then randomly stop (the CD is still reading data but the speakers aren't reporting anything).

I checked the fuses but they all look fine. I'm not too tech savvy when it comes to cars, so I don't want to go prodding around until I figure out precisely what I need to do. I found a manual online (after hours of searching) that explains how to re-do the speaker wires and stuff but I don't want to mess with anything until I'm sure... this was the first non-used, brand-new car either of us ever got so I don't want to break it, hehe.


"Hell is an Irish Pub where it's St. Paddy's day all year long" ~ Christopher, The Sopranos
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Phaelax
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Posted: 29th Mar 2006 03:23
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Quote: "You may have a bad speaker or a speaker wire is shorting out. If the speaker circuit gets shorted, the amplifier will shut down to protect itself from damage. If you can easily get to the speakers, check the wires for pinches or cuts, disconnect each speaker one at a time and try running the unit for a bit with one disconnected."


Kinda hard to check the entire wire without ripping the whole thing out.

Quote: "I checked the fuses but they all look fine"

if the fuse blew, then it wouldn't cut in and out, it'd just not work, period.

Quote: "It was $30k brand new "

what?! Some review website said they were only $12-15k

Only problems I've ever seen with weather affecting cd players was when it was real cold outside. But most stock stereos usually suck in my opinion. (i hated mine) I'd say get a new one. Probably cost more than fixing the current one, but that depends on how much "diagnostic work" needs to be done. They could spend 4 hours ripping the car apart and charge you $70/hr doing it.

You could get a Clarion vrx755vd, thats what I got last summer for my GTP. (supports ipod, Sirius, mp3s, tv, dvd)


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SirFire
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Posted: 29th Mar 2006 03:34 Edited at: 29th Mar 2006 03:35
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Quote: "Only problems I've ever seen with weather affecting cd players was when it was real cold outside."

Temperature can also affect poor solder connections inside the unit. If the unit gets warm, the expanding parts inside that don't have a good connection can get disconnected.

Quote: "Kinda hard to check the entire wire without ripping the whole thing out."

Using an ohmeter on the speaker wires will save you from ripping the car apart and looking at the whole length of wire. Check from each wire to ground, and between the wires. If you read zero on any check, you have a short.

Quote: "if the fuse blew, then it wouldn't cut in and out, it'd just not work, period."

Fuses have been known to be loosely inserted into the socket, not just blown.

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Cash Curtis II
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Posted: 29th Mar 2006 03:38
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I've also known a burned out fuse to retain some connectivity.


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Fallout
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Posted: 29th Mar 2006 14:56
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I would guess it's a connection at the back of the head unit. Take it out, give all the connectors a good push in to make sure they're connected and slot it back in. Job done. I've fitted about 5 or 6 custom stereo jobs into cars with amps, speakers, subs etc. The problems normally stem to the connection box at the back of the head unit or the ground cable on amplifiers. You're unlikely to have an external amp, so I'd bet the back of the headunit.

You might need special keys to release the headunit tho. Take a peak in your manual or online. Easy peasey fix though. Not worth paying anyone anything if it is just a loose connection. Dont worry about the wires running through the car to the speakers or connections to the speakers itself. It's definitely not that.

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Me!
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Posted: 29th Mar 2006 21:48
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LOL @ Fallout: you never repaired anything for living did you?, the ONE thing that will ensure that component X is fubar is saying confidently to the customer "it`s definitley not that", NEVER invoke Murphy with statements like that

btw it could be that the door speakers terminals are shorted, some of them are realy crammed in into miniscule cutouts in the door and rely on a icky bit o plastic or polythene to prevent em touching the doorframe and shorting, sometimes the plastic is pushed back a way when they fit the speaker, shorts are most likley the culprit, just pull the head unit and check all the speaker feeds for continuity to earth, if any read 0 then you have your problem, it sounds like the unit starts to play then cuts out when the fault causes it to overheat or decide theres a problem.

you might be able to find it like this, start it up and listen for audio off each speaker, if it cuts out then turn everything off and give it ten minutes to cool and then continue where you left off, if any speaker is silent or v quite then that could be the problem, in that case you might like to pull it out and see if there is any visible problem, cheers.



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Fallout
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Posted: 30th Mar 2006 02:10
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I only ever repair stuff for dead people .....




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TKF15H
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Posted: 30th Mar 2006 02:25
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Take out the CD player, plug in some old radio to the speakers and test it. If it continues working for a few seconds and then stops, it could be that your amplifier is overheating and shutting down. Maybe a fan has stopped and it turns off so it doesn't burn up. Try underclocking the processor, lowering the FSB, and removing unnecessary peripherals.

</computer-person's advice>

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BatVink
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Posted: 30th Mar 2006 12:11
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I'd buy a new car. It's highly likely that it's connected to a major problem like a cracked head gasket or a cat wedged between the spark plugs. Neither are worth the hassle of trying to repair, just cut your losses.

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Saikoro
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Posted: 30th Mar 2006 12:30
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yah dats wat i did and it werked lol

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Phaelax
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Posted: 30th Mar 2006 13:57
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Quote: "I'd buy a new car. It's highly likely that it's connected to a major problem like a cracked head gasket or a cat wedged between the spark plugs. Neither are worth the hassle of trying to repair, just cut your losses."


yup yup, sounds like its definately the master cylinder. better replace the car, with something american.


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Me!
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Posted: 30th Mar 2006 18:19
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Quote: "better replace the car, with something american"


well, judging from the original post I think he wants something stylish , that sort of rules out US cars (shudder...remember the Scorpio? )



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Saikoro
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Posted: 31st Mar 2006 06:40
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Remember the Yugo?

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Matt Rock
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Posted: 4th Apr 2006 03:28
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Thanks guys for all of these ideas. I'm going to try to figure out how to get the deck out tomorrow and see if I can figure out how to get the connectors into the deck more... I'm just petrified that I might break something The car has a pretty interior and I don't want to mess it all up, and I've never taken a deck out, so this should be fun


"Hell is an Irish Pub where it's St. Paddy's day all year long" ~ Christopher, The Sopranos
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Me!
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Posted: 4th Apr 2006 14:03
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ah yes! Czeck flair and quality for the price of a set of tyres on a Scorpio, plus a Yugo looks MUCH better than a Scorpio imo, and I am not alone in thinking this, terms such as Chromium pig and metal mutant spring to mind when talking of the Scorpio, the worst that a Yugo ever got called was "old fashioned" or "70`s", the Scorpio was so ugly Ford never even tried to defend it`s image...they couldn`t...it didn`t have one



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Saikoro
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Posted: 4th Apr 2006 14:44
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Well... I kind of think that the Yugo looks like a Scorpio, just squished more. But they're both a lot better than watching a commuter's Geo Metro drive by with primer paint on one door and one of the windows removed and replaced with a tarp.

And the meek shall inherit the Earth...
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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 4th Apr 2006 15:01
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I r "car person". I have crappy 1998 Mazda.


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Me!
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Posted: 4th Apr 2006 15:30
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amen!



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Saikoro
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Posted: 4th Apr 2006 15:56
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Car person.


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Dave J
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Posted: 4th Apr 2006 16:13
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I suddenly have a great urge to 3D Model Optimus Prime, it seems like it'd be a lot of fun.


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Saikoro
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Posted: 4th Apr 2006 16:26
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Don't you just love how off topic 90% of threads get within 10 posts? It's wonderful.

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Me!
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Posted: 4th Apr 2006 18:18
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did you know 89% of statistics are 42% fictional and the remainder are 38% innacurate?



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Phaelax
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Posted: 5th Apr 2006 02:26
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Does that include your own statistics?


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Me!
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Posted: 5th Apr 2006 11:29
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about 42% of them 17% of the time with a probabilty that 56.2% of 9% of the words will be relationaly correct if in a spacial context, allowing for deconstructionalism at 33% in the latter 7% of the year, as long as the moon is 22% above the horizon 93% of the time after 22% of the day has expired and the color is in the 62.5% to 75% part of the spectrums colour band, now would I lie to you 100% of the time?



Dr Frankenstiens mum told him to make some new friends, not knowing where this was going to lead.
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Phaelax
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Posted: 6th Apr 2006 05:41
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my head hurts now


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