installing my "Custom Autosound USA-2" stereo...the previous radio was a Custom Autosound job, but it was on the fritz...

I can't get FM stations to show up on the digital display...AM reception is fine, and the stations (980AM, 1070AM show up fine on the display) -- checked the power antenna and all the connections are good...i don't actually have the ground wire "screwed" to the body...i just kind of "pushed" it under a metal area underneath the parking break console...could that be the issue? i don't want to put everything back together unless i know it is working okay...when i installed the stereo on my daily driver, i remembered similar issues, but when i put the deck in the dash and secured everything, it worked fine...could i be facing something similar here? i know my connections are solid?*&^%%&^ -- everythig else seems okay, antenna comes up and down, i can play a tape...etc....what the hell gives?

 

Make sure all your grounds are solid. On the Vette, as with other cars, this is important. But unlike other cars, the Vette is difficult.

Let me say this much: I've installed more radios than I can remember, and I've gotten to be pretty good at it. I usually turn the key and everything works fine. Then I button it up and forget about it.

The Vette on the other hand, threw me for fits. No bs. I just recently tried to upgrade the old Clarion that came with the car to a new Pioneer unit. The Pioneer died within hours. So I installed a second, identical Pioneer. That too, died. This time, it only took minutes. I took the car to Best Buy and bought a JVC unit. I asked them to check all my connections before installing the new radio. They said everything I did was fine. They were able to make the JVC work swell.

So then I took the broken Pioneer unit in to get serviced. Other than a bad right rear output, the stereo was okay. Not dead, like it was in the car. I verified power to it, more than once. So who knows?

Long story short, I've never had anything stereo-wise go smoothly where the Vette is concerned. On the other hand, I've had no real issues with other cars I worked on.

So make sure your grounds are rock solid. Double check everything. If needed, clean, grind, sand, whatever, your way to good bare metal. Make this spot your ground, cover with some light oil to prevent corrosion.

My car might be possessed. A lot of people have had no issues with stereos in their Vettes. And I hope the same for you.

Good luck with it.

:cheers: