View Full Version : no display on stereo - 99 GT
I have no lights or display on my stereo. If it is daylight and the sun hits it right I can see what should display. Is this a common problem?
Any thoughts?
SC/TGrandAm
02-12-2003, 09:21 PM
uhhh does your stereo work at alll? i mean does sound still come thru and all or does the radio not work at all.
If so check your fuses !!!!!!
next would be if everything works but the display then the display is blown out. Never heard of this happening before (on stock Hu's) but if so sounds like its time for an aftermarket HU!
It is very common for the LCD display to blow out on crappy aftermarket head units typically found at pawn shops though.
XtremeGrandAm
02-12-2003, 09:45 PM
It can happen and can become pretty expensive to fix. However like SCT said check your fuses first. Also check the dimmer and make sure that switch is working right.
flydog16
02-12-2003, 11:24 PM
dont unhook the radio though if stereo becomes completely unhooked like mine did then it will have to be reprogrammed by the company that sells pontiacs around you. It happened to me :)
Everything else works. just the front of the radio has no light or something. What should be displayed is there if the sun hits it just right, so it appears to be a light
I had this same thing happen to my stock HU in my 96, there is a bulb in the unit itself that has burnt out, any radio shop should be able to fix it, although I agree with everyone else...Time for aftermarket :D
Justmike2882
02-13-2003, 09:33 AM
Same thing happened to my factory unit too...But if you tap lightly on the LCD sometimes it will come on...But now its sitting in a box somewhere in my basement......I went aftermarket!
-Mike
Well, I will be selling it. So I don't think I want to replace the unit if possible. Do you know if the whole unit has to come out in order to change that bulb?
If so, is it tough to get the unit out of the dash?
XtremeGrandAm
02-13-2003, 04:08 PM
Originally posted by ga99
Well, I will be selling it. So I don't think I want to replace the unit if possible. Do you know if the whole unit has to come out in order to change that bulb?
If so, is it tough to get the unit out of the dash?
What do you mean does the whole unit have to come out to change the bulb. Are you talking about do you have to take out the HU? If thats what you mean yes the radio would have to be removed. And I cant advise you on fixing that light. Thats something that really should be left to a car audio shop. To fix your stereo it will cost around 80$-140$. So I'm going to have to agree with everyone else and say you either need to buy an aftermarket HU or just accept that the display isnt going to work on the stock one :(
Are you talking about selling hte whole car? if so I wouldnt be concerned with the display that much, its not like you will lose money on the car if its broken and if you are selling the deck then definitely dont worry about it...Mine was busted when I bought the car, hell i didnt even realize that was supposed to light up till it did work one day!, used if for a year with no display then replaced it with an aftermarket....but like i said, if you are selling the car, don't bother fixing it. its not worth it.
XtremeGrandAm
02-14-2003, 12:04 AM
Originally posted by Jibo
Are you talking about selling hte whole car? if so I wouldnt be concerned with the display that much, its not like you will lose money on the car if its broken and if you are selling the deck then definitely dont worry about it...Mine was busted when I bought the car, hell i didnt even realize that was supposed to light up till it did work one day!, used if for a year with no display then replaced it with an aftermarket....but like i said, if you are selling the car, don't bother fixing it. its not worth it.
:agree: I agree
Pte Socks
02-14-2003, 12:39 AM
hey man.. ill sell you and aftermarket pioneer deck for 75 bucks (cdn) which i bought for $200 (cdn). i bought it back when i had my old 88 mazda 626 and when i bought my ga i went with a deck with sub control on it.. so if you find that its hard to sell without it working ill sell you my old one. hell i only used the thing for 2 months!
Haunz
02-14-2003, 06:43 AM
I don't know what the deck in the newer GA's is like... but the older GA's (and most other cars) have a type of backlit display...
Open up the deck and look for a little light bulb that's burnt out... then replace it...
That's all there is to it...
Tried to replace the one in my HU Haunz, its in there really good, it should be possible, but it might need soem soidering,
Vintalage
02-14-2003, 10:57 PM
Now why couldn't Gm put an LED bulb in there instead of a regular bulb? Then this burn out problem wouldn't happen. It's pretty dumb to me. I hope the newer radios found in 2001-2003 models use LEDs now, cause it would suck to have to get that fixed.
SC/TGrandAm
02-16-2003, 08:51 AM
Originally posted by Vintalage
Now why couldn't Gm put an LED bulb in there instead of a regular bulb? Then this burn out problem wouldn't happen. It's pretty dumb to me. I hope the newer radios found in 2001-2003 models use LEDs now, cause it would suck to have to get that fixed.
um money issues, have you seen that GM keeps scimping out on things to save money but the prices of cars go up. Like on the 02 they dont even put dash lights on your feet when you open your doors like the 99's, 2000's do. Just little things like that. Every year they make something cheaper.
Not to mention an LED only lights up what its projected at unlke an incandecent. It would take numerous amounts of leds to light up a whole radio. btw the new gas' dont use leds, there isnt one speck of led in this car.
cocobob
02-26-2004, 12:40 PM
Same display problem with mine. Other illumnition on unit such as buttons work but not Tuner station display. I understand about a possible burnt bulb but what throws me off is that at the same time this happenned the theftlock LED stopped working also. Might be a power supply problem , I do not believe that the unit would have a seperate fuse for these two - anyone got a schematic for a stock 97' 3.1L cassette stereo.
matts
02-26-2004, 01:29 PM
i've known of several pontiac radios this has happened to. happened in my moms car and we just changed to aftermarket, which i had one laying in my room not being used either
SE2000
11-14-2005, 12:42 PM
Had the same problem with my am/fm cass unit, the bulb was not bad, just bad contacts. To remove the bulb, use a small straight slot screwdriver in the slot on the backside of the bulb. Use a blade to pry up the 2 tabs that lock into the pcb board. rotate and remove. use the blade to scrape some of the solder from the contact pads where the bulb connects to and reinsert the bulb. If you have a electrical tester, you can test the bulb resistance to see if you have continuity.
skatedonttrip
11-14-2005, 09:11 PM
agree with SE2000 this happened in my friend's 99 sunfire, the radio works but clock/station won't light up, we "poped" up all the lil clips around the face, and pulles it off, it's got a chip that slides into the rest of the unit, it connects with a set of wires with clips on the ends, i took one clip off so i could have a better look at the bulb in question... bulb looked fine but didn't light... decided to let it be and clipped the wires back on and reattached the face, when i turned it on a lil smoke came out and the radio dies, a week later it's working fine (becides the light.) i say f&$k the factory cd players they're garbage. i'm running an alpine in my 94 gr~a and it's soo muck better than anything stock. just a piece of mind (matt)
LordRayden
12-04-2005, 09:52 PM
you like me have that 99 delco hu, my bulb went out too, I took it apart and took out the bulb and put it back in and it worked but only for a few weeks so now i put in a new hu and changed out the 4x6's and 6x9's and it sounds waaaay better than that crap stock sound!
I'd go aftermarket my friend cause I heard that you can't get that bulb anywhere, not even at radioshack...
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