RS246.com Forum :: The World's #1 Audi R, S and RS Enthusiast Community

A while back I was doing some work on the car and needed to take the faceplate off the centre console. I was told by a friend that it would just pull off, so when I gave it a good tug, the tabs behind the stereo front snapped.

The problem is that ever since, the stereo won't turn on. I pulled the stereo out the other day and am pretty certain i've found the culprit. There was a £1 coin rattling about inside. I'm guessing that when I've yanked the faceplate around the stereo, i've dislodged the coin and it's shorted something inside the stereo.

The fuses are all ok, infact when I try to run a Vagcom check the cassette motor spins a little bit proving that it's still got power. Vagcom doesn't show anything because it fails with "too many communications errors".

Is it time to look for a new stereo?

Do you get anything on the display or any kind of sound be it a crackle or thump when you switch it on?

I'd be tempted to take it out again and try it with just the power connected to see if it powers up then attach the aerial and lastly the speakers.
Not sure if they have an etxernal fuse at the back that you can check.

If all else fails buy a nice Becker head unit, they look the most OEM stereos out there.

The display doesn't come on at all and there's no sound from the speakers. There is a 7.5amp fuse at the back of the unit which looked fine.
I did try attaching just the power yesterday, but still nothing. Do Becker Head units work with OEM CD changers and fit without an extra faceplate?

All aftermarket head units need an adaptor since the Audi ones are wider, sadly your boot mounted changer won't be compatible with other brands.

Changers are old hat these days with the advent of MP3 anyway.

As a last resort you could try to find a good used Concert head unit but the volume pot has a tendency to blow hot and cold, switch/electrical contact cleaner squirted into the volume control will work for a short time I guess.

http://www.beckerwarehouse.co.uk/
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/