Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Audio Speaker/HU Issue

Hi, I have a problem. For about two days now when I'm listening to the radio after a few minutes it starts to crack (static) then almost mutes itself. What I mean is that you can hear it playing but it's very, very faint almost like it shut off. It does this only on FM stations, on AM or when I use a CD it works fine. Anyone have any idea what this could be?

Is it the stock radio?
We need more ino.
Alot of systems actually reduce power after extended periods of play to prevent overheating I believe. I know my Kenwood X815 does this, more so during the summer.

My apologies, it is a Sony Xplode CDX-L550x. I could understand it reducing power after long periods of play but mine does it after about 5 min. It also only does this on FM mode not AM or playing a CD which is what really has me confused. Is there a seperate FM antenna/cable going into the HU? Is there something I should look for behind the HU and/or the antenna connections? Any other ideas?

Sounds like the FM tuner section of your head unit is faulty, based on the fact that AM and CD work fine.

IF it were an antenna problem it would most likely affect AM too and it wouldn't take 5 minutes for the problem to start happening.

So, even though it takes a few minutes for the problem to occur it could be the FM tuner?

Yes, it could be the FM tuner--maybe a component in the FM tuner section is heating up and failing when it gets warm.

I doubt it's the audio amplifier, why would the problem not happen on AM and when playing the CD if it were a problem with the audio amplifier?

To diagnose a problem where a component fails when it gets warm, professional technicians will use "freeze spray" to chill the various components until the problem goes away, at which point the likely culprit is the last component that got freeze spray applied.

Does the problem seem to be temperature dependent at all?