1994 Nissan Maxima, radio display comes and goes - why?

[94Maxima]

I have a 1994 Maxima with a radio/cassette made my Clarion for the
Maximas. Mine was installed in 1996 to replace the original when it
went bad.

Six months or so ago, the radio display, green LED type, stopped
working, completely. In other words, the display was pure black,
whether the radio was turned on or off.

This condition lasted a couple days, then the display returned. That
lasted for a couple months, then it went bad for a few more days and
returned. Then two months ago while the car was in the shop having
electrical work done, a fuse blew and the radio didn't work at all
until that fuse was replaced. The display didn't work then, and
hasn't worked since. Until tonight, and now it's back as good as
ever.

During this time, I have done nothing to try to fix or identify the
problem. It's just come and gone on its own. When it first started,
it was summer here, with temperatures typically 85 Fahrenheit or
hotter and 35 or 40% humidity. Now it's winter, and tonight it's
below zero F. The car is in a garage when it's not being driven.

What could be wrong with my radio display?

 

[Sofie]

94Maxima:
I don't know either...... What could be wrong?
There could be lots of wild guesses based on your non-technical description
of the symptoms.
A real tech with real test equipment and proper tools and documentation
would have to have the radio on a test bench to make a half way accurate
diagnosis. Unfortunately since this is a "factory" radio you will be hard
pressed to find a shop that will work on it.
I suggest that you go to your favorite Nissan dealer to see if they can send
it in for your or provide a rebuilt unit that will be compatible with your
car's plugs and wiring.

 

[Mike]

chances are, its a VFD. and the solder to the filiments are cracked. Just
resolder. it will fix it.

 

[Ken G.]

Remove the radio then remove the cassette player part . Look in the left
front of the circuit board you should see a spot where it looks darkened
& hot .

Be carfull because a surface mount resistor could fall off the board .
Clean up this area and resolder the surface mount parts in that area
that look old and fatigued . do a nice clean solder job and it should
work again .

 

[Mike]

what i meant, is ive seen the vacuum flourescent tube filiment pins come
loose over time in car climate control systems, and radios. I just resolder
any cracked solder joints, and this usually fixes the problem.

 

[Chris H]

Mike, can you be a little more detailed for this fix? I wouldn't mind
taking a stab at fixing my 94's radio.

Chris
90 & 94 GXE's

 

[BeeP]

Flaky LED very common on these radios, among myriad other issues.
Here's a couple of places to compare for Nissan/Clarion OEM car radio
repair:

http://carstereohelp.com (Florida)
http://www.johnson-electronic.com/ (Massachusetts)

Good luck.
Bob
95 SE Auto
89 SE Auto traded

 

[Ken G.]

Thats nice sence these radios have no LED`s LOL