[Matt G]

EDIT: I have been informed that all I really did by switching those connectors was disable the CD changer. What is more likely the fix is simply a bad connection that I missed at first but ended up securing when I unhooked and re-hooked up all the wiring in the back. My bad.

Hey guys. A little backstory: I got my 3g a little over a month ago, and the previous owner seemed to have trouble with the radio. Initially she said it didn't work because of a wiring issue, but then we found out about that anti-theft code pain in the ass (this was all before I actually bought it but were in contact). What I suspect is that she had an aftermarket head unit in it but didn't want to mention in the ad that it had been removed and replaced with the factory one.

Anyway, after I had finally bought the car, on the way home I decided to re-activate the radio with the provided code and it worked! But only for about two days, then it all kind of went haywire. I would get no display on the screen, though it would light up. All the buttons didn't work either. I could power on/off, listen to the radio on the station I happened to be on and listen to a tape, but nothing else. Keep in mind this particular 3G has the tape deck and CD changer head unit.

I ended up disconnecting the battery the other day to do a spark plug/wire/distributor cap/rotor/valve cover gasket job (thanks fellow 3Gers btw), which of course re-arms the anti-theft code reactivation system.

This time I never got the codE prompt on the screen (I forget what that is actually called). Everything was dead this time. I could power on the head unit and hear a slight hiss from the speakers but that was it.

The first thing I checked were all the fuses relating to it (again, thanks Club3g!), and they all appeared to be good. Being stumped, I pulled out the head unit and first checked all the connections, which were secure. I then disconnected all of them. While plugging them back in, I noticed that one of the connectors fit in a second spot (refer to the picture below). Basically, I moved the connector at the #1 spot to the #2 spot. Immediately I got the codE prompt, used my activation key, and now everything works again!

I say potentially in the title because it just seems really odd that everything DID work very briefly in the original position and yet still works again after plugging into a different connector. Then again, I know very little about wiring, especially in my 3G. Is this wrong somehow?

 

[primula]

That's the CD changer cable.

I would assume you would want to connect "connecter 1" and "connecter 2"

What you did now is essentially disconnecting your CD changer from the radio.



If I remember correctly, the "Screen" is part of the clock console on the dashboard, if it's not showing anything from the radio, there's probably a loose connection from the wiring to the clock module, that has happened to be before.

 

[Matt G]

That's the CD changer cable.

I would assume you would want to connect "connecter 1" and "connecter 2"

What you did now is essentially disconnecting your CD changer from the radio.



If I remember correctly, the "Screen" is part of the clock console on the dashboard, if it's not showing anything from the radio, there's probably a loose connection from the wiring to the clock module, that has happened to be before.

Oh. That's good to know, thanks. I feel like kind of an idiot now. I just figured maybe something was hooked up wrong based on my suspicion that the previous owner may have had something aftermarket in and swapped it last-minute. I tried to find a diagram labeling what each connector was but couldn't seem to find one. I guess it still works out for me though because frankly I don't bother with CDs anymore, I just use my tape-to-headphone jack for listening to music through my phone/ipod or listen to talk radio.

Mods, if this is a stupid/misleading thread, go ahead and delete it. I don't want to confuse/mislead people if I have misdiagnosed something.