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View Full Version : Radio Problem: 2003 Honda Accord LX


ssphoto
Dec 3, 2011, 08:18 AM
Strange: The radio will be working just fine for hours, sometimes minutes, and suddenly will cut out - almost like there is no power... but there is power. The display is on! Alarmingly, it also may send out a LOUD crack, sometimes like static, but louder than if the radio signal was simply bad. This can be dangerous, as it is completely unpredictable and scares the living cr*p out of me. Most times, all I need to do is turn the unit off, wait a minute, then turn it on again. All's fine! But... sometimes it comes back. Again, totally unpredictable. Of note, this crack of sound can come on while the radio is playing, too.

Any ideas. I know Honda will rake me over the coals to replace the whole unit... and I would not feel good about selling this car, in time, to an unsuspecting person.

ssphoto
Dec 11, 2011, 06:46 AM
Well. I couldn't stand driving w/o the radio. Since I am very busy at work during business hours, I had limited time to "shop around". As a "base" comparison to what I was going to research, I called Honda -- they wanted $120 to install, and over $700 to replace the radio = $820! Outrageous! I then called various junk yard and auto parts stores and they outright said they didn't handle this kind of thing.

So... I made the decision to simply, and MORE CHEAPLY, add a ANOTHER radio. I had an Alpine radio/CD Player/MP3/USB/AUX unit installed where the storage compartment used to be. No big loss since I didn't keep a lot in there anyway. The reach is not too bad either. The original radio still has power, but no signal is sent to the speakers, so I can still use the clock.

So far, things are good and for only $220! And now I can play digital MP3 files where the Honda unit could not. Time for install was only 1/2 hour at the shop where I bought the unit; total time for research and install about 1 hour.