Radio back lights fading in and out?

[Mark Maniscola]

My radio backlight has been fadding in and out. But only when my lights are on. Anyone know how to fix this?

 

[Todd Z]

With the lights on, Adjust the dimmer on the left side of the dash, move it a little.. IF not the

radio may be going bad...

Todd Z

 

[alex schneebacher]

I have the same problem, but it happens when the lights are on or off. The radio works fine, just kind of annoying.

 

[David Torres]

If it's the dual media (CD & Tape radio) it's a common problem. There's lots of stuff on the net about this problem and several places that will fix it for around $75-$100. I had the same problem on my dual media ford radio in my '98 Ranger. It was explained to me as the radio gets too hot and the fluctuations from hot to cold (when it's off) actually causes the solder points on a particular circuit board to weaken and break. If you're looking at the front of the radio it's a maybe 1" x 2.5" circuit board mounted in the upper left side of the radio. If you open the radio up you can gently remelt each solder point with a soldering iron to freshen up the solder points. Also put a good dab of solder where the heat sink is attached to the rear of the board. You will need a soldering iron with a very fine tip though because the solder points are very close together.



I've put a link here for a place that actually sells the info on how to repair the problem your self. However with enough searching on the net you can find how to do it. Unfortunately it's been so long I no longer remember where I found the same info posted for free.

 

[David Torres]

Found the link to the guy who posted instructions on how to do it. There aren't any photos but the description is good and it's free.

 

[Mark Maniscola]

Thanks for the info, I'll try that.