GU4 OEM Radio what the....

Ok I am familure with electronics breaking down as they get hot but my radio/cd has me stuffed. The right hand (drivers door) speaker does not work when the weather is cold. On a warm day all is fine. On a cool day, as the day gets warmer the speaker will start to work. It just fades in to operation, not a scratchy dry joint type of thing. Once it is on it will stay on for the rest of the day. If the following morning is cool, it wont go but if the following morning is warm its OK. I figured it must be the speaker so I took the door panels off and - the bloody thing started working, so I wriggled a few wires and put it back together. It lasted two days then the same thing. This time I attacked the dash and as soon as I took off the surround it came good. Wriggled wires and harness, put it back together and got two days out of it again. Spoke to the local radio repair shop and they just said that Patrols have bad radios and I should just put a new head in it. So... I just want a radio/cd player that works, not super sound or multuple connectivity, and somthing that will stand up to off road bouncing. Should I change the speakers, change the radio/head, change the lot and if so what should I put in? I have read about Alpines, Pioneer and some ebay heads, but does anyone have any ideas, as I don't need hi quality or functionality, just robust and reliable, and reasonably priced. Or better still, anyone heard of a radio that goes off when cold and how do you fix it? Thanks and cheers Tony.

get yourself a head unit that accepts a micro SD card you can put 1000's of tunes on a 4gb card.
using a SD card you can travel anywhere and your music wont "bounce"
Speaks change them to 4 x 6.5,, 3ways, shouldnt cost much at all. Check JB HI FI for specials
change the lot as a package

Electrickery is fun, isn't it. The fact that it doesn't work when cold, points to a dry solder joint or broken wire somewhere (could be anywhere) in the system. When the temp rises, the metal in and around the failure point expands and bridges the gap. It would be a bastard if you bought a new unit and found that it had the same problem.

I would use a multimeter to test the speaker wiring resistance at the plug behind the unit on a cold morning and see what you get.

I had to trouble shoot a window wiper circuit that wouldn't operate when cold, and found that the fuse element would shrink and break contact.

It was hard to spot as the warmth from my fingers was enough to allow it to expand and make contact while I tested it.

The fact that you got two days of good operation out of the speaker after you wiggled some wires also points to the wiring loom.

If you buy a single din unit you can buy the shelf for underneath
or fit some gauges.

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I would use a multimeter to test the speaker wiring resistance at the plug behind the unit on a cold morning and see what you get.

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Yea good idea but every time I disconnect either surround it works Ok Maybe I should take the covers off the dash and the door and wait for it to fail.

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I had to trouble shoot a window wiper circuit that wouldn't operate when cold, and found that the fuse element would shrink and break contact.

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Yea again, I wish it would either fail or not fail. This on/off hot/cold thing is doing my head in.
I have actually done a lot of electronic diagnostics and work over the years and posting here is an indication of my frustration. I should be able to fix this with my eyes closed. Grrrr.

When you had the surround off, was the circuit exposed to the sunlight which could have warmed the circuit?

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Originally Posted by mudnut

When you had the surround off, was the circuit exposed to the sunlight which could have warmed the circuit?

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Now thats thinking outside the square and I think you are right. Literally I think I removed the surround and removed the four screws holding the unit into the dash. I then removed the unit with it still plugged in and switched on and was holding it when it came good. There would have been heat from my hands and also sun through the screen onto the now exposed unit. Thanks, gives me something to do on the weekend. I like the way you think, even if it doesn't lead to anything.

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Originally Posted by threedogs

If you buy a single din unit you can buy the shelf for underneath
or fit some gauges.

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Thanks TD but I've got all the guages I need at the moment. I am running boost, egt, engine temp and gear box temp. Thats enough for me, any more and I'll stop concentrating on driving. I only have the radio on to drown out the noise of the panels getting bush polished when I'm off the road so thousands of tunes on a Sd card doesn't really worry me. On the road I just listen to the purr of the mighty ZD30Di.

Check to see if the wiring loom through the door hasnt got moisture in and is connected firm. The whole door loom just plugs in and can be taken off to inspect. Check it and spray it with some contact cleaner

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Originally Posted by Mike02Ti

Check to see if the wiring loom through the door hasnt got moisture in and is connected firm. The whole door loom just plugs in and can be taken off to inspect. Check it and spray it with some contact cleaner

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Also the contact cleaner will cool things down and help find cold related faults.
Before they banned cfcs, every electronic repair person carried an aerosol can of freon to find dry joints etc.

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