Do you have a car radio that turns on but there is no sound coming out of it? This can be a frustrating experience, especially if you were listening to your favorite song just before it happened.
Although most people don’t know how to fix the issue, you can solve this by following some easy steps. Let’s get started!
First Things First!
Before we get into the car radio troubleshoot for a no sound issue, let’s double-check some key things-
- Check whether the source is working properly. If you’re tuning FM, make sure the antenna is good. If you’re playing music from your phone, you must ensure that the phone is properly connected, the same goes with CD and flash drives.
- You need to ensure that the input is correctly toggled on or off. In some devices, you may need to manually toggle on the AUX input for playing something through it. The same with CD and Phone. Make sure you’re good here.
- Last but not least! Check the volume. Many times people finish the troubleshooting process without checking the volume knob to find out that the system was muted.
If you own an aftermarket radio, you may check How to fix Pioneer car stereo no sound issue or Troubleshooting Kenwood car stereo no sound issue, if that’s what your stereo is.
Reasons Behind Car Radio Turns On But No Sound
There are many reasons that can cause the radio to turn on without producing any sound. Here are those-
Blown Out Fuse
If the speaker fuse is blown out on your car radio, there is a good chance that you will not hear any sound. This can be frustrating because once the fuse blows, the speaker cannot be turned on again until you replace the fuse with a new one.
To fix the issue, find the car owner’s manual and locate the speaker and stereo fuses. Check if they are blown out or not. Replace them if you find them bad. Proceed to the next step if the fuses are good.
Corroded Cables
When your car stereo turns on but there is no sound, it might be because the cables connecting it to the speakers are corroded. The corrosion can block any electrical current from flowing through those connections and as a result of this, you won’t hear any music or voice coming out of your speaker system.
You need to first test each cable to see if they are good or not. Check the wiring behind your radio and speakers to ensure that there is no short-circuit, which can cause this issue too. Corroded cables need to be replaced with fresh cables in order to solve the problem.
Short Circuit
If you have tried to turn on your car radio after checking the cables and fuses, but the sound system is still not working, then there is a chance that some parts of your speaker system are short-circuiting.
Short circuits are generally easily found as you’ll hear hissing or spark sounds coming from the spot. As soon as you find out about this issue, stop using the radio because any additional electricity through these speakers can damage the system.
This problem can be fixed by replacing all the parts of your sound system that are causing a short circuit. You may seek help from an experienced person when doing this because you will need to use some special tools in order to build new connections between wires and speakers.
Input or Output Jack Gone Bad
If your aftermarket car radio turns on but there is no sound, it could be because the input or output jack is malfunctioning.
To find out if this is why you are not hearing any music coming from your stereo system, turn off the engine and pull over to a spot where you can safely park your vehicle for some time.
Then try to play FM radio that doesn’t need any input from your end manually. If that works but the AUX cable connected phone or the CD is not working, there is a good chance that the input has some malfunction in it. You may need to claim a warranty if you are under one, or need to replace the AUX jack or CD player entirely.
Disconnected Wire
If your car radio is still without any sound despite trying all the methods above, check if there is any wire disconnected. There’s a chance that some wire has come off from its place and to solve that, you need to check all wires manually with a multimeter.
Check on both the stereo and speaker’s end so that you can find out if there is any tear in between.
Speaker Gone Bad
If you have checked all the other reasons and they are not causing any sound issues, then it’s time to check your speakers.
Speakers generally don’t go bad rather tiny parts and connectors get disconnected inside causing the speaker to completely shut off. If you are sure that the signal is properly coming from stereo to the speaker, then the issue might be inside the speaker. So, you need to take the speaker to a service center for professional help.
How to Fix Car Radio that Turns on But No Sound Easily
However, before trying any troubleshooting process mentioned above, we recommend trying three easy methods first-
Reboot the Stereo
First, turn off your car engine and remove the key from the ignition. Then get out of your car and disconnect the negative terminal of the battery. Wait for a minute before you reconnect the battery.
Now, get into the car and ignite the engine to see if the problem persists or not.
Hard Reset
If the sound problem is still there in your aftermarket car radio after rebooting the system, you can try a system reset. We have separate guides for Kenwood hard reset, Pioneer factory reset, and JVC restore factory settings. You can follow them to accomplish it and see whether the problem remains or not.
Upgrade the Radio Firmware
Finally, if nothing is working so far and you are sure that the sound system isn’t defective, there might be some issues with your aftermarket radio firmware.
You can upgrade it to remove any minor bugs in the software because sometimes they cause this issue too. Just download a new version of firmware from the manufacturer’s website and install it by following the manual.
Conclusion
If you’re experiencing the issue of your car radio turning on but no sound, there’s a chance it may be caused by one of these four issues: disconnected wire, speaker gone bad, input or output jack gone bad, and short circuit.
We recommend trying to fix this problem with our three easy and noninvasive methods first before diving into any troubleshooting process outlined in the article above.
If all else fails, consult an expert for help. Hopefully, this post has helped resolve some confusion about how to best handle sound problems in your car stereo system- good luck!