Car Stereo experts of AO - LOOK HERE

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hey guys. i need your help again.
i have had a cd player in my car for quite some time now.
but just recently, it's begining to go dumb.

sometimes the light behind the volume and tuning control won't light up. i wish that was the least of my worries

when my car is not started, it plays fine.
when my car is started and in park, it plays fine.
when my car is started and in drive or reverse, it goes nuts. it starts making these sounds like an old record gettin' scratched to heck on a record player, and the lights start blinkin' on me.

BUT, if it does play while in gear, it will go nuts as soon as i accelerate.
i let off the gas, it plays(sometimes). i get to a stop sign/light, it goes nuts.

sooo...pretty much the only time it actually plays CD's is when it's..

1.) car is off
2.) car is on, but in park
3.) very seldom plays when i am driving.

the radio works fine, but the CD player is crap. it can't be the CD, cause i put a brand new one in.

could it be the ground wire??
loose wire??
what??!!

if it helps, it's a DUAL. if i hadn't ever seen one before, i would pay quite a bit. it looks super cool, but is CRAP.

lmk if you guys have any ideas.

[RRfireblade]

I'm going with a ground fault.

Easiest way to check that is with a test light.Ground the test light to a GOOD ground source(frame of the car)and touch the probe to the chassis of the radio.If it lights up even the tiniest bit during those occasions,you have a ground prob.It may be an internal problem(intermitten connection/cold solder joint)or external.(bad connetion etc)

[paintbattler]

Hmm.. That sounds weird. It may be the ground. Is it a CD or the radio or what? If radio, maybe your antenna? Also, do you have an amp or anything? Maybe your alternator is drained.

[Miscue]

Sounds like an electrical problem with your car.

[RRfireblade]

Originally posted by Miscue
Sounds like an electrical problem with your car.

That's utimately what I'm thinking.I've run across quite a few cars that build resistance in the factory radio grounding circuit over time.It's often aggrevated by other systems of the car functioning.(E-Tranny,various dash lights/gauges etc)

[Miscue]

I'm thinking on the lines of: alternator/battery not functioning properly. When you're moving, car uses more electricity and brown-out situation occurs. That's my guess, I don't know much about car electrical systems.

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thanks everyone for the help

if it is an electrical problem with my car, how am i going to be certain about this??
my battery has just been replaced, so i'm hoping that's not it.

i'm completly illiterate when it comes to this sort of thing

[paintbattler]

Originally posted by whydoineedausername
my battery has just been replaced, so i'm hoping that's not it.

No. It shouldn't be the battery. It seems to me that your not getting enough power to it. Have you checked the wires behind it? The might have become loose. I'm not an "expert" but I do know some things.