Hey guys, I'm new to the board and a new Camaro owner. I bought my '94 Z28 with a full audio system in it (Kenwood head unit, two 10" MTX subs, Rockford Fosgate amp, and a factory (?) 10 disc changer) and everything was working fine until about a week or so ago......I got in my car and the CD player folded out just like normal and started playing, but there was no display. Nothing on the faceplate was illuminated, and I immediately thought it was some kind of connection problem. So I drove around like this for the next two days or so, not having time to stop somewhere to have someone take a look at it. I finally did, and the guy in the Car Audio Department at Best Buy said that it wasn't a connection, because the faceplate motor still worked (it folded out to eject CDs, etc etc) and therefore it was most likely a terminal problem that had to be fixed by sending it off to Kenwood.

So I called the Kenwood help line and the guy there said the exact same thing. So I was planning on pulling it out and sending it away to them, but then like two days later the unit just stopped working totally. It still folds out when I turn on the ignition and everything, but it won't turn on and nothing works, not even the eject button. So now my CD is stuck in there and the unit absolutely does not work at all.

So, my question is, can this be a bad connection after all (a longshot) or has the unit just finally run its course? I went to the installation department at Best Buy the other day and told him what I just told you guys and he said it would have to be fixed, but his advice was to just buy a new one and chuck the old one, because it would cost a lot to repair and with the trouble of sending it away and not having a stereo for a few weeks.....it just wasn't worth it. But I'm not sure about that.....if I did have to get a new one, I was looking to get a pretty decent one, but no more than $250 probably.

I'm not sure of the age of the Kenwood that's in there now.....it's satellite radio ready, so it can't be that old. I highly doubt there's a warranty still on it, because the previous owner of the car had the car for more than a year, so even if he put it in himself, a one-year warranty would've already expired.

I'm just looking for advice as to what my next move should be......pull out the dead unit and send it to Kenwood, and pay the $100+ that it'll cost......or just buy a new one for about $250 or so? I'm inexperienced in this area so any help you guys could give me would be much appreciated. I'm just at a roadblock right now as far as what I should do next.

Sorry for the long post, LOL. If anyone has additional questions about anything I might have forgotten, just let me know. Thanks in advance.

 

Some head units have seperate positive power wires to run the illumination of the screen. So a disconnect is possible but very unlikely. I'm sure its just dead. For 250 you can get a Very good head unit imho but you can get a good one for about 150 or so. Take a look at this

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-VCkeNcy...0&I=500CDA9847

 

Well, it's definetly an internal problem. However, it could be as simple as a bad contact between the chassis of the HU and the face plate. Say one pin that gives you illumination on your faceplate isn't making contact, but the pin that will allow the deck to operate the faceplate motorization will work.

But if it's anything more serious, it will cost a lot of money to fix. What I would do is take it to a repair shop and have them estimate the cost of repair. They usually charge 30-40$ to check it out, and it make be as simple as replacing a couple parts inside the deck. 30$ to save you 250$ seems worth it to me.