Hello Fellow Ziners.

Just wondering if any of you have experienced this problem?

This morning when I started the car I noticed it was oddly quiet … radio was not working.

I checked the following ….
• AM\FM – XM OK
• Aux - which I have USB stick plugged in, light on USB flashing as it should and I could see it reading and playing the files in the display
• Volume control – worked from both steering wheel and dial on stereo – seen in display
• Turned power on and off from push button on stereo - working
• All radio presets were still set to my settings
• All BASS, Treble, Sub … settings were still set to my settings
• Additional sub and amp working as I could hear the power switch off and on AMP, no sounds from 12” Sub either.
• Turned car off and on by restarting 2 times

Still no sound.

Drove to work in silence wondering what was wrong. Thought it may be a fuse. Could be not fuse for stereo as the all the functions were working correctly. Thought may be a fuse for factory amp or Dead Factory amp.

Got off hi-way and at the traffic light turned the car off and back on again … my radio started working again. XM and Aux all back to normal. Bass Kicking once again.

When I got to work I turned the car off and on 3 times … all 3 times the radio came back on.


** Notes **

• Stereo was working when I parked the car in the driveway last night
• First time this has happened
• Factory Premium System with hi-low running off factory sub to Kicker AMP and kicker 12” Dual-cone Sub
• My hands-free Bluetooth has been broken for a few years now but has never stopped the radio from working … the only reason why I mention this is because I know when activated it mutes the speakers.


Just wondering if any of you have experienced this?

Thanks,

E

 

sounds like your "addition"

re-check your wiring work for your aftermarket sound system.

 

Hi justnspace,

thanks for the quick response and advice. I was wondering that too ... but then I don't think it is that as this system has been in car for about 4 yrs now and never had this issue. I thought my addition would just affect the aftermarket sub ?


thanks again,

E

 

did you not modify the stock radio?
meaning, you added different components, which might or might not have affected the radio which you are having a problem with.
so, to troubleshoot, you'll need to go through your 'addition', as it can BE ANYTHING.

thats the problem with modding.

if it's working properly now, you obviously wont find the problem, as it's working.....

 

nope ... stock radio .. stock speakers.

All I had done, by the installers at Future shop ... was add an addition of hi-low converter which runs from the factory sub speaker wire to my amp for signal. This is common for aftermarket add-on.

And this addition is not new .. It has been place for 4 years.


I will double check wiring just to be safe
thanks again,

E

 

lol you did modify the stock radio by adding a hi-low converter...
I know its common, and I know that its been running fine for a few years...
What if your shop used electrical tape instead of crimps, and the tape is coming off, allowing two wires to touch!? or the shop used crimps, but didnt make a tight connection? and a bump jarred a wire loose?
a short WILL definitely cause your radio not to come on.

you just dont know and will have to go through their work to look if anything is shady.
if nothing is shady, and your radio works, chalk it up to a one time thing.

if it keeps doing it, i would definitely look at their work just to be sure.

 

thanks again. I know that is a possibility and will check.

Just wanted to see if anyone else had this issue.

E

 

thats the problem with modifying something.

if kept alone and stock, it would be easier to diagnose the problem.
butt, since you added electrical components, it could BE ANYTHING

 

ok .. thanks .. your point is understood and noted.

Many other Ziners have a similar Audio setup as mine ... just wondering if they had experienced the same problem.

 

Justin is spot on. Remember that your radio is/was working - just now sound. What did you add? An amp and you messed with the outputs.

A little bitty loose wire that might not even be visible could be the issue.

Worn through insulation that is grounding could be the issue.

The guy with the heart attack says "but my heart has been fine for xx years - it can't be my heart.

Stuff breaks, wires come loose, electrical tape falls off.

Future shop doesn't have the best reputation for installs either (US members, think Best Buy or Circuit City) so a loose wire or a bad crimp is quite possible.

 

Thanks Ceb ...

I already knew that.

Rather than tear down my whole car looking for a short I was just asking if anyone else experienced this problem...

Kind of odd that it worked when I turned the car off last night. Overnight the car did not move off driveway. no sound when the car was 1st started this morning.

If wires were shorting over bumps or loose would I not have been given periodic warning sounds\noise\interference as I drove ?

AS stated earlier I will do some basic checks ... where the hi\low is connected to the factory sub speaker wire.


thanks again,

E

 

Hi All,

Update ...

I originally searched the TSX 2nd Gen Forum. Searching other forums I see I am not alone ...



Zine TSX 1st GEN Forum

others with same problems with 1st gen .. some with aftermarket ... some stock systems

https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-tsx-problems-fixes-128/radio-not-working-no-music-coming-out-798932/


Zine RL Forum

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-audio-bluetooth-electronics-navigation-90/2007-acura-rl-no-sound-speakers-817059/

uh-oh .. bad factory amp ??

Quote from Member Jaykoopah at end of RL thread ...

***********
"I did the amp diag and it said that it was okay, but I had a buddy of mine that used to work for Acura take a look at it and he believes
that it is the amp. He said that the diag only tests whether or not the amp is turning on, but he was surprised that this issue came up
because it was something that was common for TL's, not the RL's. Either way, I'll likely replace the amp and see if that fixes it."
***********

wondering if we have similar amps in the TSX 1st gen and RL ??

Will keep searching for answer as no one seems to have posted\confirm definitive answer yet. I spoke with a colleague at lunch today at work picking his brains as he was an electrical engineer.

I mentioned to him and he said his Dodge Journey had same problem but with his stock radio ... his did not come back on at all.
They had to replace factory amp.

I will keep an eye on mine and update if problem resurfaces. I Hope I don't have to replace factory amp.



E

 

you're digging for something that might or might not be there.
you're one of those people that look on WEBMD for a raised bump on your skin, that might or might not be of concern.

because you have an aftermarket system in place, you will have to trouble shoot and make sure it isnt your aftermarket subs that are causing it.
that's the first step.
you cannot go around or side step this first and crucial step.
or you're just going to throw money at it, without knowing what the real problem is.

you can also test the OEM amp without replacing it.
and if it is the OEM amp, you do not have to buy brand new.

 

thanks again Justin for your valuable input on the Web MD. I respect that you have 8000+ quotes and 6000+ thanks but you do not have to be rude.

Have I done something to offend you by looking down another possible path?
As I said before your opinion has been noted and will be checked out.

It is my choice on how I want to spend my $$ ... furthermore as it is I do not have the tools or the knowledge to waste money on having a technician tear down my car looking for a possible phantom short.

I need to explore all facts first so I can make an educated decision on what is wrong and best approach to fixing it.

I'm truly sorry you feel the way you do.

E

 

For those who are interested in my findings.

After work went down to the building parking garage .. started car and no sound again. Did this a couple more times ... no sound. 4th time waited for the radio to come on before cranking the car .. this worked.

Drove home with no issues and stopped at Canadian Tire on the way to pick a L of oil. Nearing 5000K and need to top up before my oil change next week.

5 mins in the store and back out. Radio came on first start .. again I waited to hear music before cranking the car. not sure if this has anything to do with it but seems to work. lol

Looks like this issue may be caused when car sits for long period of time. I will post what happens tomorrow morning.

again I'm trying to be helpful as no one has reported a funny problem like this for 2nd gen TSX on this forum.

I'm thinking of pulling the negative battery terminal off and resetting the radio code as suggested in the TL & RL threads.

Will lose all my settings but oh well.

E.

 

The best way to kill a thread and to stop getting help is to piss up respected posters just because they say things you don't want to hear.

I'm out of this thread (and I suspect Justin is too) but think of us when you tell yourself "they told me so."

 

Ceb,

I'm not looking to piss anyone off. I have been polite up until my last post and never posted anything offensive to other members. I replied to Jason's post that I would check it out in a nice manner my first few posts. All I was doing was looking to see if anyone else had the same issue ... of which I found there are others. I pointed out what I have found and he slammed me with MedMD comment.

I do not find that very polite ... yes Jason is a respected member but he should also respect others who post on this forum. That was not nescessary. Lots of valuable information can be found on the net. I realize you can't believe everything you see on the Net, but some of it should be considered.

Have you ever considered that what I posted may indeed be a problem other than a short? If it turns out that the problem is a short I will gladly post it up and thank you guys and say I should have listened ... as the main goal is for us help out fellow Ziner members out, not to put them down... but I must explore all possibilities.

thanks,


E

 

This might be worth exploring more. Maybe disconnect the hands-free Bluetooth module and see if this helps.

If not then this is an intermittent issue which to be honest can be very hard to troubleshoot regardless of what is going on.

Maybe try disconnecting the hi / lo converter RCA to your aftermarket amp and check the connections to the factory sub wiring that connects to the hi / lo converter.

Other than that for the entire audio system to still work except for the audio output is puzzling. The only other ideas I could come up with is the factory wiring harness on the head unit with the speaker outputs is loose, the amp input or output wiring harnesses are loose, or the factory amp itself may be going bad. Also the head unit output may be going bad.

Since it's an intermittent issue it sounds like each step in troubleshooting will require some time to test and see what changed.

 

Hi vtec4me21,

Thanks for the suggestions .. much appreciated.

I was thinking the exact same thing with the broken bluetooth unit and\or possibly the connection to harness from behind the HU to factory amp may have jarred loose. I plan to check my aftermarket additions as well, AMP, Hi\Low and power feeding aftermarket amp when the weather gets better.

It's been a cold frigid winter (low as -30C) with lots of snow & Ice up here. The past few days have been in the + causing lots of damp foggy like weather as the 6' snow piles melt and create non ending puddles and run off.

Tonight\tomorrow will snow again, another 8 CM throughout the day dropping from +4 to -17 C ... can't help but think this whacky weather may have some contribution to this strange problem.

I have a sneaky feeling that the factory amp was not turning on at all.

I will however perform the basic checks when the weather gets better in a month or so.

BTW to all ...

This morning and today after work the Radio came on without issue on normal start.



thanks again,

E

 

sorry forgot to add, today was +12C

 

Is the car parked outside in the cold weather overnight? I wouldn't put it past the weather and heat cycles of the audio components may be an issue.

Let us know if you find a solution or get stuck along the way. It would be nice to have it documented for the next person if anyone encounters the same or similar issue.

It sounds like you have a plan of attack, and I hear what you're saying about having to wait for nice weather. Do you know anyone with a shop that is heated where you could work on it for a bit?

Regarding the broken HFL bluetooth module, this is an idea. Granted it's a TL and I have no idea if this pertains to the TSX, but it's worth looking into if you want this functionality back: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...4#post14765734

 

Hi vtec4me21,

Thanks a lot for that link ... AWESOME !

I had seen other links for the TL suggesting that you remove the HFL Bluetooth unit and reinstall after a few minutes .. like a PC reboot. lol Heating the board is something worth trying and definitely could not hurt to try as it is already broken.

In answer to your question about parking ... I park outside on driveway at night ... at work I park in level 1 of enclosed heated underground parking garage under my building. Temp inside garage is kept around 12-15 C.

Working on the car in my mechanics garage is an option. I havent really applied my high school electronics in a long time. I don't work with it daily and I'm not comfortable working with new cars as they are much more complicated from back when I installed my own car alarms and systems in my Civics ... and it hurts my back now.lol This is why I took my install to Future Shop and believe me I watched them carefully ... saw the techincian using wire loom, butt connectors and heat shrink as I sat on the chair in the install garage. I am confident enough to check the HI\low, Kicker amp and power\ground lines & even give it a GO at checking the factory amps connections.

Last ...


Most definitely one of the reasons I posted so many details as I was hoping it be documented for others who may experience similar issue in addition to hearing possible solutions. As an Technical Server Systems Analyst in VMware Virtual Machine technology in the computer industry, I know how valuable it is to be analytical & document your work for others.


thanks again,

E

 

Hi All,

Just checking back in with yah. Its been a few days now and no more issues in past 3 days.

Will keep an eye on it for a couple more days ... more so the weather element. 2 days ago ambient temp was -17 C and we got hit with 15 CM of snow. Today will be +7 C more whack heat cycles and damp foggy weather to deal with ... will let you know if problem resurfaces.



thanks,

E

 

In my experience, I doubt it has anything to do with the Hi/Lo converter as a short with this module would only cause your aftermarket amp/sub not to work, not your entire radio/interior speakers etc. But I didn't bother reading the entire thread so I don't know if you figured that out yet, lol.

 

this is why its hard to diagnose something over the internet without physically looking at testing them, we can give wrong suggestions/answers.


sounds like the factory amp hates the cold.
but you already knew that.

 

Hi iSeeYouTwo,

thanks for responding ... I agree. I know shorts can cause weird problems, but I was quite sure this was not in my case. Agreed 100% should have caused my aftermarket Amp not to work ... this is why I was reaching out to see if anyone experienced this.


thanks again,

E

 

Thanks Justin ... I'm hoping that is the case.

Cheers