Radio not working

Tiny
OBADRE
  • MEMBER
  • 2008 CHRYSLER SEBRING
  • 50,000 MILES
After lightly washing under the hood with water and a rag, the radio will not turn on. There is no power to the radio. Since I noticed the problem I drove the car about 25 miles, thinking that if there was water breaking the electrical circuit the heat would dry it out, the problem is still there. Please use your experience and knowledge to diagnose the problem. Can you figure out what the problem is?
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Thursday, August 29th, 2013 AT 12:48 PM

8 Replies

Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 42,544 POSTS
Those cars have an ingratiate power module under the hood which is sounds like you got wet. Lift the lid on the unit and let dry, also check the fuses in the under hood fuse box as well. Let's check the fuses this guide will help with the fuse locations below.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-fuse

Check out the diagrams (Below). Please let us know what you find. We are interested to see what it is.
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Monday, February 6th, 2017 AT 4:27 AM
Tiny
DKEE
  • MEMBER
  • 0 POST
Thank you for this post I had this problem and had to replace the radio cost me $164.00 all fixed I love this site. I used this video to help me.

https://youtu.be/1bIa3jdJWVQ
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Tuesday, October 29th, 2019 AT 4:01 PM
Tiny
TRESE
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 2008 CHRYSLER SEBRING
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 56,000 MILES
Car is stored for winter. Had replaced battery last summer due to being totally dead in spring. Took it out this year - battery dead again. Charged it up and there is no power to radio at all. The clock works but no radio. Reset the fuse but did not solve the problem. What do I try next? How do I know if it is a bad fuse?
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Tuesday, October 29th, 2019 AT 4:02 PM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,699 POSTS
It's uncanny how everything always comes in "twos". I just covered this problem with someone else this morning. The main problem is you're letting the car sit too long. Unless specified differently by the manufacturer, the electrical system is allowed to draw up to 35 milliamps, (0.035 amps) to maintain the memories of the numerous computers. Chrysler says at that rate, a good, fully-charged battery will still be strong enough to crank the engine fast enough to start after sitting for three weeks. That is now the industry standard.

There is always a fuse to remove or a cable to unplug when the car is going to be in storage for more than three weeks. They are delivered to the dealers that way, then we had to enable the circuit as part of the "new vehicle prep" that every car goes through. The common way to disable the system so the car can be stored is now to pull out a pair of fuses in a yellow holder. Those are labelled for the Air Bag system, but they are also the "IOD", (ignition off-draw) fuses.

Very often fuses will blow due to the current surge when reconnecting the battery or when connecting jumper cables or a charger. There's a fuse box under the hood and one inside the car. The smaller fuses have a pair of test points on top to make testing each one with a test light a quick job. Turn on the ignition switch and anything related to the circuit that's not working. Test for voltage on both test points for every fuse. If you find 12 volts on both test points, that fuse is good. If you find 0 volts on both sides, that circuit is turned off. You're looking for any fuse that has 12 volts on one side and 0 volts on the other side.
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Tuesday, October 29th, 2019 AT 4:02 PM (Merged)
Tiny
TROYF19
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
  • 2001 CHRYSLER SEBRING
  • 120,000 MILES
"I have a 2001 Chrysler Sebring Sedan I want to replace my stock radio with a Pioneer DEH-2500UI. Do I need and special wire converters to connect the new radio or will it just plugin to the new one the same the old one did?"
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Tuesday, October 29th, 2019 AT 4:02 PM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,699 POSTS
No aftermarket radio will plug in directly. You'll need to splice the new wiring harness into the car's harness. If you buy the plugs that plug into the car's harness, then splice the new harness to them you'll be doing the next owner a favor. The best radio you can get is the Chrysler CD / cassette combo radio made by Mitsubishi. A lot of owners install them when they buy used cars. If you use the adapter harness instead of chopping off the car's plugs, the next owner will be grateful.
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Tuesday, October 29th, 2019 AT 4:02 PM (Merged)
Tiny
TROYF19
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
What harness would you recommend to get to hook up to my new radio?
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Tuesday, October 29th, 2019 AT 4:02 PM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,699 POSTS
Best Buy and other stereo stores will have connectors that will plug into the car's harness, then you splice the harness to it that comes with the replacement radio. Both will come with instructions that list the function of each wire. You just match them up and solder them together. Once two wires are soldered together, flatten any sharp points of wire that are sticking up, then seal the connection with heat-shrink tubing. Never use electrical tape. It will unravel in a gooey mess on a hot day, then the connections will be able to short and potentially damage the radio.
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Tuesday, October 29th, 2019 AT 4:02 PM (Merged)

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