Stereo only working intermittently

[IanClement]

Hi guys, I have a frustrating problem with my stereo where some days it will work and some days it won't. Basically it'll often work for a while (a few days) and then just die for while with no power. I've tried the original Nissan stereo for a test and that has the same problem so I must have a wiring fault somewhere.

I've tried pulling on the wiring that sits behind the unit in the dash but can't find a problem so I think the fault must be further back but not sure where to look. Considering taking the dash apart tomorrow but would be useful to know if there's anywhere else I should check beforehand.

Any help is appreciated as it's been like this for a couple of months now and it's doing my head in.

 

[Guy]

Stereos in K11s are earthed by the radio cage. You could rule out an earth fault by bolting a wire to the back of the radio and the other end to the chassis .

 

[IanClement]

Thanks, just tried it and no difference, not working at the moment.

 

[Hugh]

Check all connections are tight.

 

[IanClement]

An interesting day so far. I decided to take the dash apart to see if I could wiggle some more wires into life but no good so I thought I'd get the old Nissan stereo out again and try connecting an earth wire as suggested by Guy; when I tested it before I don't think I put it back in the cage to earth it as this time it worked.

This pointed the fault back at my JVC unit but I thought I'd test the short wiring connectors that convert the nissan connections into standard. They all tested perfectly but I noticed that one wire was not connected and had tape around it; it turned out to be the earth of course and when I connected that to the chassis the stereo burst into life.

So all is well now it seems although I have two minor issues - 1) where do I connect the earth wire to as I can't see anything obvious in the dash and 2) does this mean that I have an earth fault somewhere seeing as everything worked fine beforehand?