car radio troubleshooting

[someguyincanada]

I was wondering if anyone knows any websites that have walkthroughs for troubleshooting car radios.   The reason being is out of four speakers i only have the the front drivers side working, and its gotten to a point that i want sound out of the other ones lol. if anyone can help the radio is a CDX 5100.

 

[48Highlander]

That's more likely to be a problem with the speakers or the wiring.  testing it should be fairly simple.  rip out the radio, find the wires going to the front speakers and switch them with the wires going to the back speakers, then turn on the radio.  if the back speakers work, it's a problem with the radio, otherwise you need to check the wiring and the speakers themselves.

 

[someguyincanada]

is it hard to take a radio out for the not so mechanically inclined?

 

[48Highlander]

Not at all.  It differs for every car, but invariably you have to remove the portion of the dashboard which fits around the radio.  This part could be the most difficult depending on the make/model of your car, but it should be fairly easy on most.  The interior of cars is put together almost like a lego set   With a wrench and a screwdriver you can remove every single piece of the interior in about 45 minutes even without knowing what you're doing, so removing the dash shouldn't take long.  If you REALLY get stuck for some reason you can always pick up a repair manual at Canadian Tire for about $20.  It won't explain troubleshooting techniques for the radio, but it does describe in detail how to dissasemble (and more importantly reassemble) your entire vehicle.

 

[someguyincanada]

the radio is not stock and my car is a pos 1996 ford aspire

 

[48Highlander]

Doesn't need to be stock.  Figure out how to remove the dash around the radio and then all you'll need to do to get the radio out is take 4 screws out of it's mounting bracket.

I don't have a repair manual for that car, you can try asking on a car repair forum.  Try this one:

http://www.faqfarm.com/Car/Repair/p201

 

[someguyincanada]

thank you the site had exactly what i needed.

Cheers
Jay