okay, so i was driving to the bank, when my radio turned off automatically. I pressed the on button and it wouldn't turn back on. After 2 or three minutes of pressing the dam power botton it came back on. THen it worked for about 20 minutes, then again it shut off, and it wont turn back on. I took it out and checked the cables, everything seemed fine. so i have no idea why it won't turn on.

-this is an after market stereo
-intalled into an 1993 325i
-i believe it might be the fuse on the back of the sterio
-any ideas guys...... :buttrock

i've had this problem with my car before.... check the rest of the car for things that don't work... look at your fuse box and make sure the fuse that goes to it is okay... if it is the fuse behind the stereo look for crossed wires or something to make sure it doesn't continue to happen...

this happened on mine, first it would work on and off, then not at all, then i lost speedo, tach, brake lights and the fuses would just blow when i installed new ones... i took it in and they searched for hours to tell me they didn't really find anything besides a couple exposed wires behind my stereo that could've touched once in a while.... no problems since.... so just make sure you don't have something simple like that... especially if it continues to blow the specific fuse...

Bryan

Well, I dont think that its a fuse. If it were a fuse, the radio wouldnt come back on at all.

Now, what I think is happening, (I have several aftermarket radios), is that the unit is overheating and the thermal shutdown is activating to keep the radio safe.

Ask yourself these questions...

Is your heater blowing on the unit?
Is there ANY air flow behind your dash? (There SHOULD be a little.)
Is the area around the front panel of the unit hot to the touch?

If you answer yes to questions 1 and 3, and no to 2, then you should probably do something about your massive amount of heat. It takes something like 130 degrees to trigger that sensor!!!

Well, I dont think that its a fuse. If it were a fuse, the radio wouldnt come back on at all.

Now, what I think is happening, (I have several aftermarket radios), is that the unit is overheating and the thermal shutdown is activating to keep the radio safe.

Ask yourself these questions...

Is your heater blowing on the unit?
Is there ANY air flow behind your dash? (There SHOULD be a little.)
Is the area around the front panel of the unit hot to the touch?

If you answer yes to questions 1 and 3, and no to 2, then you should probably do something about your massive amount of heat. It takes something like 130 degrees to trigger that sensor!!!
Radios have cooling fans inside to prevent overheating. I know my way around a car's electrical system, and it sounds to me like there are some exposed wires somewhere, or you just have a defective head unit.

Radios have cooling fans inside to prevent overheating. I know my way around a car's electrical system, and it sounds to me like there are some exposed wires somewhere, or you just have a defective head unit.

No, most radios do NOT have cooling fans. Only computers have cooling fans. There are no fans in aftermarket radios.