Crazy.8

When i bought my car it already had an ipod auxiliary cable hooked up and tuned to fm 88.3.

I got my subs installed probably 6 months later and a couple days after the install it stopped working. The switch wouldnt light up or play my music and 88.3 was some scratchy spanish station. I took it back to Fry's where i had my subs installed and the audio tech there fixed it for me for free. He said i had burned something but its and easy $10 fix. It took him probably 20 mins to fix it.

I was installing my synchro saver the other day and after i finished the install it stopped working again, i didnt mess with my head unit or anything like that. So im assuming whatever burned up last time burned up again.

I snapped a couple pictures of my AUX setup so yall could maybe see whats wrong. So basically what im trying to figure out is what burned up/needs to be fixed? and also how to fix it?

Thanks for the help guys.

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Looks like you have a FM modulator installed. Whoever purchased and installed it must not have been aware of the many "real" aux in options we have for the RX8.

If you follow those wires up into the dash, you'll find a small box. Connected to it will be power,ground, your audio input wires, radio antenna in and radio antenna out. The modulator simply puts whatever audio you input onto the 88.3 frequency and directly onto the vehicle's antenna wire. This is a better option that those cheap FM transmitters that many use, but still no where near the audio quality you'd get from one of the auxiliary input modules we have listed in the FAQ thread. As for what the problem is? No clue. There's not much to "burn up" here. Follow the wires back and see if you can see what's going on. Your installer said it was super easy, so maybe there's a fuse in-line that burned up? The fact you could hear the real 88.3 channel (Spanish station) makes me think the modulator wasn't even turned on. Probably no power. Maybe the wires are all bundled up behind the ash try and you bumped them around while you had the center console out? Tough to say. Just get in there, follow the wires and tear it down to have a look. If you can't figure it out, call your installer and ask, or ditch it and buy a real AUX-in solution.

Crazy.8

wow, i guess ive been listening to the radio for about a whole year. Time to bring the old thread back now that ive decided ive had enough of the radio and want my ipod back.

I pulled the headunit out looking for whatever could be wrong with it but didnt find any modulator back there. After following the aux cords i was able to locate the modulator, right behind the glove box.

Took out the glove box to check it out and attached are the pics of it all. Couldnt really figure out why it wasnt working. My AUX has an ON/OFF switch and it isnt lighting up like it used to when it worked, so maybe the modulator isnt getting any power? because the modulator is broken? or something happened with the wires?

I am positive i plugged the antennae plug back in, and my FM has always worked, so im ruling that out. and that would be the power supply as well....so maybe the modulator is just broken?

By the way: this is a Ford TripTunes kit if that matters at all.

Stars25

iTrader: (1)

See the little black capsule-ish thing that is in line with the red wire? That is a fuse, check to see if it is blown or not

Crazy.8

i popped the cap off of it and it looked fine, but i wouldnt really know if it were blown or not. Ill have to check if it pops out or something and if it does ill check it out and replace it.

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

lol Of course it pops out.

Ideally, use a multimeter and probe on each side of those butt connectors. If you have power on that side of the butt connector closest to the FM modulator, then you know the fuse and those crimps are still holding up fine. If you've got power and ground, the antenna is properly connected, and the switch is properly connected, you must have a faulty FM modulator. They're pretty cheap though. Under 50 bucks online easily. Doesn't have to be the "Ford TripTunes".