Weird Monsoon Problem
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From: Long Island, NY
Weird Monsoon Problem Ok, the battery in my car died today. I jumped it and when I did the radio isn't working and it is now making a weird humming noise the whole time. The radio will not turn on and the display is blank. I tried to do the theft lock unlock proedure with no luck. Any ideas?? The battery is weak in the car and I am going to replace it tommrow or the next day, I highly doubt a weak battery will cause this problem. I checked the radio fuse and it was good I am really stumped here anybody ever have this problem??? Thanks in advance!!
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12 Second Club
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From: Long Island, NY
UPDATE-
The amp was fried and I don't know if the radio is fried. Anybody have stock monsoon deck and amp they'd let go for cheap?? The radio has power to it but is it normal that the radio doesn't work if the amp is broken??
The amp was fried and I don't know if the radio is fried. Anybody have stock monsoon deck and amp they'd let go for cheap?? The radio has power to it but is it normal that the radio doesn't work if the amp is broken??
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Check the RADIO ACCY fuse. It protects the amp separately from the radio so the amp may not be fried (in fact, they rarely fail so it's more likely that something other than the amp itself is the source of the problem).
Also, check the POWER ACCY fuse. It protects the radio in addition to the RADIO fuse and can cause the symptoms you describe.
Also, check the POWER ACCY fuse. It protects the radio in addition to the RADIO fuse and can cause the symptoms you describe.
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From: Long Island, NY
WhiteBird00- Thanks for you advice, I physically pulled the amp from the car and checked it and it is literally fried. It smells like burnt amp. I am going to get a new amp and hopelly all will be fixed Im trying to get a stock radio as well just in case. I checked the radio fuse but I will go back and check all the fuses and make sure they are not damaged. Thank you again for your advice!
I'm having the same exact issues. I changed all 3 fuses (radio, radio accy, power accy) and checked wiring behind the headunit (which was fine) and it still just comes on with blank display and just static. So I pulled the amp tonight. How do I know if the amp is bad? It doesn't smell or anything, but I don't know what else it could be. Did you get yours working yet?
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
In your case (a Firebird), the amp powers all the speakers except the tweeters in the doors and hatch area. So if the amp was the problem, you'd still have sound coming from the tweeters but all the other speakers would be dead.
It's different in a Camaro because all the speakers are powered by the amp so there would be no sound at all if the amp is dead.
It's different in a Camaro because all the speakers are powered by the amp so there would be no sound at all if the amp is dead.
In your case (a Firebird), the amp powers all the speakers except the tweeters in the doors and hatch area. So if the amp was the problem, you'd still have sound coming from the tweeters but all the other speakers would be dead.
It's different in a Camaro because all the speakers are powered by the amp so there would be no sound at all if the amp is dead.
It's different in a Camaro because all the speakers are powered by the amp so there would be no sound at all if the amp is dead.
Sorry to hijack this thread...I started one of my own but didn't get any answers. Since you seemed to be having similar problems, I thought we could both get help here.
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Verdad Gallardo Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
That's like calling a doctor and saying "my stomach hurts, what's wrong with it?" You'll have to do some diagnostics to determine the problem.
Start with power and ground. Get a test light or multimeter and check that you have power all the time on the orange wire at the head unit as well as power on the yellow wire next to it when the ignition is on. Check that the black wire provides a good ground. If one of these isn't right then trace backwards to the fuse (test the fuses and that there is power at the fuse sockets).
If power and ground are okay, get yourself a speaker of some sort and test that there is audio signal at each of the speaker wires coming out of the head unit - the pinout diagram is in the Monsoon FAQ sticky. If not, your head unit is the problem.
Because of the blank display, I suspect that you'll find either a power problem or a dead HU. If you know someone with a working GM radio that you can borrow for a few minutes, plugging it in would be a quick test to determine if the HU is the problem.
Start with power and ground. Get a test light or multimeter and check that you have power all the time on the orange wire at the head unit as well as power on the yellow wire next to it when the ignition is on. Check that the black wire provides a good ground. If one of these isn't right then trace backwards to the fuse (test the fuses and that there is power at the fuse sockets).
If power and ground are okay, get yourself a speaker of some sort and test that there is audio signal at each of the speaker wires coming out of the head unit - the pinout diagram is in the Monsoon FAQ sticky. If not, your head unit is the problem.
Because of the blank display, I suspect that you'll find either a power problem or a dead HU. If you know someone with a working GM radio that you can borrow for a few minutes, plugging it in would be a quick test to determine if the HU is the problem.
Thanks for the help Whitebird...that's exactly what I was looking for. I had no idea where to even start. My headunit has power all the time at the orange wire, has power when switched with the yellow wire, and I was grounding the whole time to the black wire so that is fine. I haven't messed with the speakers at all and I don't see how ALL the speakers could go bad at once, so I pretty much now know it is the headunit. I've been talking to Ian at Kee Audio though and I think I'm going to get a new setup from him soon! 
