Stock Stereo Lighting Problem?
 

One night I noticed the light that displays the currenty radio station was extremely bright. Then to my dismay I also noticed that the preset buttons were not lit up. The whole top half of the stereo was not lit up except for the display. I have the stock CD stereo if that makes a difference. Any input would be appreciated.

Larry:confused:

well if its any help which its probly not, my display that show's the station doesnt even illuminate, only the buttons do, the cd part does but thats just an annoying thing that never works.

In my first SVX the CD display did not work. The Preset buttons are a little more important though. I really do not like this problem.


Larry

Unfortunately, the only way to cure this problem is to pull the stereo out, unsolder the panel with the lights, and replace some bulbs (bulb recepticals are soldered into the board), then, resolder the panel. If you're hany with a soldering iron, it shouldn't be a problem (you'll need a pointed tip on the iron). It could be touchy. I plan on tackling mine, one day. I have a spare in case I screw up badly. :D

The CD light panel is a bit easier. You can just unplug it as opposed to unsoldering it, to get to the light bulb recepticals.

When I drove the car this morning with the lights on the stereo returned to normal operation. I am not going to complain or try and find out why. Just leave it be.

Larry:)

I have the same problem with my stock stereo. My problem showed up after I had taken it to the dealer and the dash had to be removed. I haven't fixed the problem yet but, I THINK the problem could be either a loose connector (easy) or a broken/loose wire (difficult) internally in the radio. In the meantime my "fix" has been to slap the side of the console near the radio. A quick / light slap seems to work better than a full handed hard smack.

When I take the console apart to fix the burned out bulb on the shifter I will probably look at the radio at the same time...

I have the same problem...occasionally the radio part doesn't light up at all. I usually just GENTLEY tap on the side of the console and the lights come back on. Hey....whatever works...right

Well now! This looks to be a much more common problem than I expected. That leads me to believe it should be *relatively* easy to fix. So, I am hoping it is the loose connector theory. I will post results when I get in there and start taking thing apart!

Please do post. This is a very common problem. If you can't figure out how to fix it, I'm going to have to buy a Mopar stereo. They RULE!! :p :D

Radio lighting up
 

Mine does the samething only it doesn't actually go completely out. It just dims. If I touch it, it'll brighten back up. Must be getting a short somewhere. Replaced it with a junkard one that actually has a working station setting screen (mine was bad). It hasn't skipped a beat yet. Knock on wood. I've been meaning to take apart my spare but just haven't gotten to it yet.

I think we all have similar symptoms: the green back-lights that come on when you turn on the lights (and are also controlled by the dimmer knob) will go out and the lcd screen will get a brighter background. The effect is lesser when the lights are turned off. Since these lights are linked to the dimmer, it should help in trouble shooting the circuit that is causing our problems...

I too have the same problem. Lightly slapping the side would get them to turn on, but eventually the radio display went out. It probably was from the slapping. Now the cd player skips like no other. On cold days it seems to work okay, but on warmer ones, it cannot find the tracks. The first track on a cd it will play, but you cannot skip ahead because it gets lost. The skipping has driven me crazy. Forget the light slapping, I just hit the dang thing with my palm. Sometimes I just want to rip it out. If I could easily, I am sure I would. I have been looking for a replacement for some time now. I have a portable mp3 cd player so I have had to burn my cds in two formats. Kenwood just recently came out with a double din sized mp3 cd player. It is the model DPX-MP4030. As of right now, preparing for the snowboarding season has left me without money. So when I get enough, I will purchase it.

Stereo Display Remedy!
 

All of these problems seem to be all related. Not too many OEM stereos have the display lights that don't work these days in the SVX. I had the same problem which drove me nuts!! I couldn't see the LCD at all! I spent some time on the net and found a guy in Florida who repair dim dislpays in factory Subaru stereos, Mine was a Panasonic P421. I sent it to "BOB" who knows how to fix these things right! He replaced ALL the display lights and found that there was a loose ground on the unit itself which in turn caused some lights to go brighter or dimmer by tapping the face of the stereo. Here's the link if you are interested in getting it fixed right ($60 bucks isn't a bad deal!). Again talk to Bob at:

http://www.carstereohelp.com/subaru.htm

I had to laugh when I got to the middle of the posts. I read the first one and said outloud - just hit the top of the dash or side of the molding - well, I guess a lot of you have already figured that out. I will check into Bob's fix. That isn't a bad price if you want it fixed. Thanks for the link. :)

re: same problem
 

well i'd like to introduce myself to the new "subaru-my-radio-pisses-me-off" club. My name is Harry and I'm a radio tapper/slapper/banger.

Well if Bob can't fix it I can. I'll be writing up a HOWTO on how to fix the radio/cd player that skips with a 40 ounce ball pin hammer for those who are of the "pissed off at the subaru radio/cd player mechanic". :D

Happy Trails!