I am taking my truck in one last time to get Ford to fix my radio problems. I am taking it in next week. I have had this problem since January and I think 6 months is trying my patience. So far they have replaced 2 brand new radios and an amplifier kit in. This will be my 5th visit so if they can't fix it, I am going to an audio radio place where they do it for a living. It must be a short or a defect part somewhere. Radio, CD, or bluetooth cuts in and out and no pattern to it. No, it is not bumps or rainy related. Come on Ford, you can do it! I don't think they have a clue though. I even asked for their top tech guy to work on it after the repeated failures and was told they had their top guy working on it. Yikes!

 

Likely a short somewhere. Problem is, it could take days to find it.

Good luck getting it fixed!

 

I assume you mean that the power flickers? Is the radio losing its electrical feed? Or is it remaining on, just sending out bad signal to the speakers?

If it is really losing electricity when it happens, then tracing the problem should be fairly easy.

If its odd behavior while never losing power, it could be the buttons on the steering wheel sticking or sending signal on its own without you pressing on them. It could be a problem with the audio dimming that happens when you put the truck in reverse. Aside from your phone being hooked up and possibly giving random signal to sync to change audio parameters, those are the only outside sources I can think of that would be physically apart from the radio itself that could produce strange things. Might just be a sticky button, did ya spill coke on the steering wheel?

 

Mine just started doing this yesterday. Drive about an hour..then it cuts off. I can hear my bass only in the subwoofer..but nothing in speakers...Bluetooth is connected power is on nothing in speakers minus sub. Then about 5 mins later it just comes back on.....then about 20-30 mins later off again. I can change channels media tpe, navigation works( not voice because I can't hear acknowledgements).. Just weird..it's like your normal speakers and tweeters are gone.

Shane

 

Ok, then it's a twitchy overload protector on the factory amp inside the radio?

If it thinks it's too hot, it would shut down until cool, then come back on.

A nicked speaker wire somewhere causing a fault (prob not that sophisticated)

Could still be an erronious mute command from the body control module .

I don't know why I'm trying. It's something.

 

Shane, that is what mine does sometimes.

A part of the sound goes south, like the vocals and I hear a bit of bass. Other times, the whole radio goes into hibernation. And if on the bluetooth, they can hear me but I can't hear them for these short 5 or 10 second breaks.

I had a new amp system put in by Ford after the 4th visit regarding the same problems. I can see they are getting frustrated too! It is a big headache for me and frankly, I am getting fed up with it.

If Ford can't fix it, I am taking it to the car audio place since that is all they do is work on installing and fixing systems. I'll bet they beat Ford with this one.

BTW, Sometimes the sound goes off every 10 or so seconds, and other times I can go a long time before it acts up. And doesn't matter if it is first thing in the morning while still cool, or mid-day after driving for a bit.

And it is not a sticky button and no coke or anything in my truck. This is electrical or a defective part somewhere.

PS: I washed my truck yesterday so obviously it rained last night and today.

 

Honestly and seriously, a malfunctioning button or muting audio when trans is in reverse is very possible on its own withou a spilled drink or anything else introduced by a person. Things can just happen.

How does the sound compare with what happens when you go into reverse? Sounds to me like it's more severe. Not sure.

The audio mutes when the sync lady talks to ya, maybe she lost her voice? Maybe that button has a short in it?

I think I'm irritating y'all so I'm out. Best of luck, get a great stereo and enjoy it!

 

A friend of mine had a very similar problem on a Cadillac he owned. Not sure how it ever got fixed, I'll have to ask him.

 

Mine's been randomly shutting off and the only way for it to start is for me to kill the truck and wait for the accy delay to shut off, then restart (pulling the #29 fuse (or 28, can't remember) reboots it as well. It's a pain in the ****, that's for sure. I was having some problems with the right side speakers cutting out (mostly in cold weather) and read that alot of guys were having problems with the lockpick harnesses. I ripped mine out today (which is what my amp was tapped into). So now I'm worse off than stock, factory deck pushing factory door speakers, no sub. It's lame but I need run it like this for a while to take the lockpick out of the equation. If it continues to power down, I'll be on the phone with the dealer.

Random pic from today's shenanigans:

 

Anxiously waiting on a result.

Shane

 

My drivers side front speaker was cutting out occasionally and it was in fact the lockpick causing it. Once I removed it I have never had the issue again. Has anyone determined if the issue with the lockpick is in the connection or the internals of the unit?

 

I thought the lockpic was a one time attachment and reprogram. But I am new to this so I am subscribing.

Navigation Lockpicks and Prius Accessories

 

No lock pick here.

Shane

 

It is a one time plug in, but my harness wasn't making a good connection so the unit was causing problems. At least that's what I'm hoping in my case. I'm not sure if the OP has a Lockpick though

It's the harness that's caused problems from what I've read online.

 

Thanks Matt
Nice angle pic in your sig.