C4 Bose Radio Woes
Thread Starter
2nd Gear
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 2
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C4 Bose Radio Woes
Hello,
My name is Tim. I have been browsing the forum for a while, however, this is my first post. First, the car is a 1988 convertible corvette with the Bose radio system. The car has been almost completely stock since originally buying it. The only modification that I can tell was an aftermarket cd deck installed by the previous owner.
The problems began when I first got the car about a year ago. The radio would play intermittently. No buzzing or whining, just it would cut in and out. After doing some research on this forum, it seemed as if the relay was to blame. I ordered a replacement from Mid-America Motorworks. The relay is quite a pain to get to, so in order to detach the cable from the old one, I essentially "broke" the cable from the old relay and plugged in the new one, all by feel.
Unfortunately, now the radio does not work at all, as it would blow the "radio" fuse whenever it was turned on. After some research again on this forum I started checking on the amps in each speaker. First the rear two speakers were disconnected, but the fuse still blew. I then unplugged both door speakers and again, the fuse blew. Next I made sure that the radio unit itself was functioning properly. I disconnected the pink wire coming from the back of the radio unit and it worked! The antenna went up, the functions of the radio worked, however, there was no sound. Fearing the aftermarket cd deck was somehow causing a short, I then unplugged the relay but plugged the pink wire back in, and tried again. Again, the functions of the radio worked and antenna went up.
To summarize, the problem is the radio system blows the fuse every time it is turned on. The problem area is somewhere after the radio unit but before the speakers. When I pulled the relay in the last test, I inspected it and found some brown/black substance on part of the contacts and around the outside of the relay. My question is, in "breaking" the cable out of the old relay, did I damage or release a substance that is causing a short and thus blowing the fuse?
I have been smashing my head over this for the last few days so any help is greatly appreciated!
Tim
My name is Tim. I have been browsing the forum for a while, however, this is my first post. First, the car is a 1988 convertible corvette with the Bose radio system. The car has been almost completely stock since originally buying it. The only modification that I can tell was an aftermarket cd deck installed by the previous owner.
The problems began when I first got the car about a year ago. The radio would play intermittently. No buzzing or whining, just it would cut in and out. After doing some research on this forum, it seemed as if the relay was to blame. I ordered a replacement from Mid-America Motorworks. The relay is quite a pain to get to, so in order to detach the cable from the old one, I essentially "broke" the cable from the old relay and plugged in the new one, all by feel.
Unfortunately, now the radio does not work at all, as it would blow the "radio" fuse whenever it was turned on. After some research again on this forum I started checking on the amps in each speaker. First the rear two speakers were disconnected, but the fuse still blew. I then unplugged both door speakers and again, the fuse blew. Next I made sure that the radio unit itself was functioning properly. I disconnected the pink wire coming from the back of the radio unit and it worked! The antenna went up, the functions of the radio worked, however, there was no sound. Fearing the aftermarket cd deck was somehow causing a short, I then unplugged the relay but plugged the pink wire back in, and tried again. Again, the functions of the radio worked and antenna went up.
To summarize, the problem is the radio system blows the fuse every time it is turned on. The problem area is somewhere after the radio unit but before the speakers. When I pulled the relay in the last test, I inspected it and found some brown/black substance on part of the contacts and around the outside of the relay. My question is, in "breaking" the cable out of the old relay, did I damage or release a substance that is causing a short and thus blowing the fuse?
I have been smashing my head over this for the last few days so any help is greatly appreciated!
Tim
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,496
Likes: 475
From: New Jersey
Hello,
My name is Tim. I have been browsing the forum for a while, however, this is my first post. First, the car is a 1988 convertible corvette with the Bose radio system. The car has been almost completely stock since originally buying it. The only modification that I can tell was an aftermarket cd deck installed by the previous owner.
The problems began when I first got the car about a year ago. The radio would play intermittently. No buzzing or whining, just it would cut in and out. After doing some research on this forum, it seemed as if the relay was to blame. I ordered a replacement from Mid-America Motorworks. The relay is quite a pain to get to, so in order to detach the cable from the old one, I essentially "broke" the cable from the old relay and plugged in the new one, all by feel.
Unfortunately, now the radio does not work at all, as it would blow the "radio" fuse whenever it was turned on. After some research again on this forum I started checking on the amps in each speaker. First the rear two speakers were disconnected, but the fuse still blew. I then unplugged both door speakers and again, the fuse blew. Next I made sure that the radio unit itself was functioning properly. I disconnected the pink wire coming from the back of the radio unit and it worked! The antenna went up, the functions of the radio worked, however, there was no sound. Fearing the aftermarket cd deck was somehow causing a short, I then unplugged the relay but plugged the pink wire back in, and tried again. Again, the functions of the radio worked and antenna went up.
To summarize, the problem is the radio system blows the fuse every time it is turned on. The problem area is somewhere after the radio unit but before the speakers. When I pulled the relay in the last test, I inspected it and found some brown/black substance on part of the contacts and around the outside of the relay. My question is, in "breaking" the cable out of the old relay, did I damage or release a substance that is causing a short and thus blowing the fuse?
I have been smashing my head over this for the last few days so any help is greatly appreciated!
Tim
My name is Tim. I have been browsing the forum for a while, however, this is my first post. First, the car is a 1988 convertible corvette with the Bose radio system. The car has been almost completely stock since originally buying it. The only modification that I can tell was an aftermarket cd deck installed by the previous owner.
The problems began when I first got the car about a year ago. The radio would play intermittently. No buzzing or whining, just it would cut in and out. After doing some research on this forum, it seemed as if the relay was to blame. I ordered a replacement from Mid-America Motorworks. The relay is quite a pain to get to, so in order to detach the cable from the old one, I essentially "broke" the cable from the old relay and plugged in the new one, all by feel.
Unfortunately, now the radio does not work at all, as it would blow the "radio" fuse whenever it was turned on. After some research again on this forum I started checking on the amps in each speaker. First the rear two speakers were disconnected, but the fuse still blew. I then unplugged both door speakers and again, the fuse blew. Next I made sure that the radio unit itself was functioning properly. I disconnected the pink wire coming from the back of the radio unit and it worked! The antenna went up, the functions of the radio worked, however, there was no sound. Fearing the aftermarket cd deck was somehow causing a short, I then unplugged the relay but plugged the pink wire back in, and tried again. Again, the functions of the radio worked and antenna went up.
To summarize, the problem is the radio system blows the fuse every time it is turned on. The problem area is somewhere after the radio unit but before the speakers. When I pulled the relay in the last test, I inspected it and found some brown/black substance on part of the contacts and around the outside of the relay. My question is, in "breaking" the cable out of the old relay, did I damage or release a substance that is causing a short and thus blowing the fuse?
I have been smashing my head over this for the last few days so any help is greatly appreciated!
Tim
Thread Starter
2nd Gear
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 2
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