For the past few months my radio had been powering itself off and on. Sometimes for a second, sometimes it would go off for several minutes. It seems to happen whenever I hit a bump but sometimes not. So i checked the connections at the back and played with the wires thinking I might have a short there but the radio stayed on the whole time.

Okay, I figure... must be an internal thing to the radio. I'll get a new one when I get some excess cash.

So today the radio goes off and about the same time I decide to put down the power window and... no response from the window. Drivers or passenger side window buttons and the passenger side controls are non responsive too.

Then while I'm holding the button down, the radio comes back on and the window starts going down.

Sooo.... I'm thinking I've got a short or a loose wire somewhere. (?)

Other interesting clues:
The fan/dash lights are unaffected by this. (I've not tested the electric door locks or rear view mirror yet)
Restarting the car has no effect.
Often after having this problem when driving when I turn the car off, the radio will go off right away (as opposed to staying on until the doors are opened)

Windows and the radio are on a separate circuit, aren't they?

 

Fire/Flood no.

One minor front bumper hit (enough to crack the plastic but nothing else) and one anonymous parking lot hit in the rear. Both were years ago and long before I had any problems of this nature.

 

Just had the problem happen again and got some new info.

It's the windows and car stereo only. The car stereo dies and both the passenger and drivers side window controls will not work. Rear view mirror, door locks and interior lights all function normally.

It's a 97 Z28.

A friend suggested that as both the radio and the windows use the same fuses and the same voltage perhaps one fuse is loose (or going bad) and affecting the other... So I'm going to try replacing the fuses for those two this weekend.

Unless anyone has any other ideas?

Bueller?

 

Trace the radio hot lead to where it's tapped in, then look for a loose lead in the fuse block. The wire may have been pulled loose of the spade in the block.

 

I determined this was caused by an accessory power module going bad. It's the thing that keeps the windows and radio going for a few minutes after you turn the car off.

 

Glad you found it. Were is this module located? Good to know if I or others have the problem.