My radio has demons. Any exorcists out there?

[850TurboTurtle]

So my 2005 S80 has a bad radio. (Model HU850 with the 6 cd internal changer and no aux input or cassette.)

It crackles and pops like the power amp is coming on and off, though the lights on it don't blink and the CD doesn't skip or lose time even when it goes silent or crackly for a few minutes at a time. Even when the power button is pressed off and the lights are dark it will occasionally sputter and pop or hiss.

So -- are there external power amps that might be shorted out, or are there other places on the car to check for shorts? Has anyone had their S version radio go crazy like this before?

Thanks,

Rick

[oragex]

First thing, removing a connector to the unit or to the amp while having the key in the ignition will trigger a permanent SRS message, so careful with this.

It would be useful to listen if the center dash speaker also is crackly. Perhaps stick an ear on it while the radio is in Dolby mode. If this speaker is fine, it may well be an amplifier issue. These amplifiers go under the front pass seat and are very exposed to water/snow from passengers boots. It brings the sound to all door and rear deck speakers, while the dash speaker is wired directly from the head unit.

[850TurboTurtle]

It brings the sound to all door and rear deck speakers, while the dash speaker is wired directly from the head unit.

Thanks for the warning on the disconnect and SRS! That's good info!

Also, knowing that the door and deck speakers are separate helps me narrow it down. Since all the speakers go off at once that says to me it's the head unit or connectors on it. But not the external amps or power for the internal brains/text displays since that stays on steady. So maybe the internal power amp or central audio processor? I may take it apart and try to reseat everything, check for cracked solder at circuit board sockets, etc and just reinstall it to see if that fixes it. If it's something inside the black magic of electrical components I'm sunk...

(I will definitely disconnect the neg battery terminal before attempting anything! I'm leaving a 10mm wrench in the trunk the first month of owning the car because I'm tweaking electrical things so often.)

[850TurboTurtle]

http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread ... und-HU-850

This thread has several people with the same problem on the HU850 radio. I'll try the solders solution half way down and let you know how it goes. It sounds like a bad solder joint or short to ground somewhere...

[850TurboTurtle]

So - no luck on resoldering the connection in the thread above. The sound still cuts out after a few minutes' use, and then occasionally screams to life at full volume on AM radio. If I'm listening to a CD, when the sound returns to normal the CD picks up later in the track so it has not paused or stopped while the amp was fritzing. Even with the radio entirely off it will sometimes suddenly pop on full volume AM radio. Sometimes it will turn off again with the power knob, sometimes only with a key off.