I have owned 5 C3's and 2 C5's and just bought my first C4. It is a 45,000 mile 94 convertible with 6 speed. When I turn the radio on it doesn't produce any sound and turns itself off after a few seconds. This happens also when I insert a CD.....turns on for few seconds then turns off and the CD does not initiate. Anyone know the cause?
Thanks

 

Could be a few things but more than likely you've got 1 or more bad amplifier(s) on a speaker(s). Unplug all 4 speakers/amps then turn the radio "on" to see if it stays "on". If the radio stays "on" plug in the speakers/amps one at a time. I don't remember if a shorted antenna motor would cause a similar issue.

Once you really get into the C4 you'll have to tons of material to write a few more books.

 

Thanks for the info. I will check the amps. I don't think that the problem is in the radio, but rather an external component as you said. I recall one or more of the speakers making some noise one time when I turned the radio on and I think that it was one of the rear speakers.

I am clueless on how to unplug the amps so I invite input on that.

I must get a factory shop manual as this is my first C4 and I'm a "babe in the woods" at the moment. Are the Haynes manuals useful on the C4. I usually get both manuals. Just sold my set of C5 manuals a couple weeks ago.

The C4's and C5's are so heavily controlled by computers, sensors and other electronics that one must be an MIT graduate to work on them sometimes. Too bad the comfort, handling characteristics, gas mileage of the C4's and C5's can't be combined with the simplicity of the C3's!

 

I have a 1990 convertible and although the bodies are different I think the interiors are the same. To disconnect the front speakers you will need to remove the carpeted covers that are on the interior covering the frame rails. The screws are visable when the door is open on the outside faces. Once they are removed the plastic case that the speaker and amp are in will be visable. On the outer face of the enclosure you will see a connector pushed into a recess on the case with foam around it, pull that up and out. Push on the interlock on the plug and it will easily pull apart. The rear speakers you will need to get the carpet out of the way for. First remove the speaker covers, 4 screws in each and remove the latches from the two storage compartments. They will have both a phillips and a 7mm hex screw on them. Once those are off the carpet will lift up. The carpet will have three push plugs on the back at the top but you can unplug the speakers without removing them. They will have the same plug configuration as the fronts did.
The amps are in these enclosures and are easily replaceable but you will need to remove the cases from the car to do it.
A side note, Look on the fiberglass boxes for the rear speakers. Mine have pictures dipicting the Chevy slogan baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, chevrolet!

 

Hmm! Sounds like speaker removal will have to wait for warmer weather. My garage isn't heated and it is freezing outside even though I live 60 miles south of Nashville!

Thanks a million for the speaker removal info!

 

You asked about the Haynes manual?Don`t waste the money for one.They cover all the c4 years and the info is too broad to be very helpful.Just take the $20 and put toward a set of factory service manuals.Alot more info and very specific for your model year.

 

I found the problem with my radio/CD/cassette system today! As it turns out the problem with the radio turning off after a few seconds was caused by my antenna not extending fully. I turned on the radio today to check the antenna and discovered that one of the sections was sticking because the antenna was so dirty. I pulled the antenna to it's full height manually, cleaned it with mineral spirits, then turned the radio off & on a couple of times to make sure it extended fully. Once the antenna was working properly the radio and CD player worked perfectly (well as good as those systems played anyway). I guess that the antenna would go up part way and stick causing the radio to turn off. What a relief!

 

Your antenna not fully extended may cause poor or fuzzy reception with some stations if not fully extended. But the antenna is not going to affect the CD player going on and off or making it dead. I think there is an intermittent problem that may still be in there.

First thing that comes to mind is a main Bose relay which supplies main 12 volts power to each speaker amplifier. This relay are known to cause problems. And without B+ to the speakers there will be no audio from radio stations, tape or CD player

The rod for the antanna can be repalced by itself if need be.

 

When I bought the car about a month ago the radio would turn itself off a few seconds after I turned it on. I just mentioned the CD player because I had to turn on the radio before I could try the CD player. This is my first C4 and I'm still learning. I've had 5 C3's and 2 C5's and they had their own quirks!

 

Good luck and enjoy your C4. There's no lack of opinions or information here on this Forum.

Hope your radio problems are a thing of the past. I have serviced and repaired all 4 of my speaker amplifiers. There is one capacitor (per ampifier) that will affect sound quality. If a speaker has low volume or muddy sound, that might be your probelm. The rest of the caps will affect squeeling and popping.

So if all is good with the radio for now, on to the next challenge.

 

Many thanks pcolt94! I just read your thread on the cruise control problem and it is a great write-up. Are the capacitors that fail in the speaker amps difficult to replace? I haven't done any soldering on circuit boards in many years.

 

The soldering for that vintage of technology is not difficult or tricky. However a basic but good ( 30 watt) soldering iron with a good tip is required. In addition some sort of de-soldering tool. A vacuum solder pullet tool is necessary to. Just **** it and pull trigger, get it at radio shack will do well. Get a little solder wick for clean up if needed.

Having decent tools is necessary and expertise will not overcome bad equipment, you can destroy the circuit card in many ways. Skill is obviously is a good thing to have but you can hone it by practicing on something else.

The capacitors are glued in with this stuff. This is for the bumps and vibration of the car to take the stress off the circuit connections and to give larger heaver components more rigidity with the circuit card. Personally I don’t put any glue or silicone glue back in, just makes a mess.

 

I was a Radioman in the Navy for 24 years and have done some soldering, but it's been years since I did any soldering on a circuit board. One thing that I do know is that cleanliness is the true secret to a successful soldering job! If everything is not clean, your soldering job will be second rate with possible bad connections.

I used to have a "solder sucker" and hopefully it's still in my toolbox. Actually, I won't have to do any soldering on the boards as I got the system working. The antenna not extending fully was causing the problem. I'm going to install a switch in the antenna motor circuit so I can disable it when using the CD player. Gotta wait for some decent weather as I would like to do the job outside my garage on a sunny day with the top down so the lighting will be better.