Cold Weather + Radio = No Sound?
 

So I left the house this morning and it was about 14 degrees. The car started no problem. I turned up the volume on the radio...and nothing. I thought I hit the mute button, but that wasn't it. The radio had power and was operational but I didn't have sound. I powered the radio off and on a few times, but nothing.

After the car warmed up I powered the radio on but this time it had sound.

Is weather a factor with the Bose system or was it just a coincidence?

Radio or CD player?

In other equipment, I've had cd / dvd nav players not function due to freezing conditions and/or very high humidity.


Slightly off-topic, but did Mazda do ANY cold weather testing for this car? It seems like there have been a bunch of cars suffering random, transient electrical problems this winter.

Extreme cold can cause marginal connectors/cables to contract just enough to interrupt signal, most likely in your case a speaker line. Transient anomalies such as these can be tough to isolate. Warmer weather on tap for this weekend tho'. :)

High humidity can cause short circuiting (contact arching).

Did you try adjusting the volume with both the steering wheel controls and the knob on the head unit? This is the sixth NJ February my 8 is going through and have not had any radio issues.

Yup, tried both...

yes
this picture was taken in Sweden in 2002. there are more pics of it, and a video of a black one driving taken at the same time , floating around the forums. i don't seem to have the video myself anymore- lost to the realm of computer changes. I remember grabbing the video from off line and uploading it to BlueAdepts FTP server.

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1233875935




edit : ohhh....that's why i don't have it- that video was on my work pc :D: never was here

http://images.rotarynews.com/images/RX8_Snow1.jpg

http://images.rotarynews.com/images/RX8_Snow3.jpg

oh here is the black one

http://images.rotarynews.com/images/RX8_Snow4.jpg

Both the radio and CD player...

I don't buy that. You are talking about plastic housings.

The connector its self goes way into the terminal.

Zoom, my question on the (apparent lack of) cold testing was somewhat tongue-in-cheek.


There seems to be a pattern emerging where after successful starts in very cold weather, battery voltage is drawn-down(?) to the point of having the ECU believe the engine is not running. This most often manifests in no throttle or no power steering, or other transient codes.

I don't think it is a simple as moisture in connectors.

They should have used a MT for testing

dude i know i just liked draggin up those old pics:)

of course they used both

My car sat out in -15 temps for a day about 3 weeks ago, and the radio/CD (Bose) took about 15 minutes for sound to appear - the HU was working (ie., changing channels, discs, etc) but no sound...this is my fourth winter here with the 8 but that was a first.

I've been having the same exact problem with the radio/cd player this winter, where everything is on but there is no sound until the car warms up. Wierd thing is this is the 5th winter with the car and it has never happened until this year, granted I think it has been considerably colder this winter than any I can remember.

I'm of course talking about the metallic interfaces (wire/contacts) which are more impacted by large temperature variances.

I've not had any radio problems but I do have a temperature related issue with one of the suicide door microswitches, affecting dome light.

btw: I'm an electrical engineer and work on Gov't communications systems 'in every clime and place.' I've seen such anomalies on both ends of the temp scales, and humidity, many times, especially as the Armed Forces move more and more to commercial components.

So today its around 50 and the stereo doesn't work and it did not come on after driving and having the car completely warmed up. Are there any remedies to this or an easy way to get at the wiring? I'm guessing there has to be a bad connection between the stereo and the speakers. I also noticed if I don't turn the engine on but just turn the key to the stereo, there is a pulsing/clicking sound coming from somewhere in the dashboard. Almost sounds like a crackling speaker. First I thought this was completely due to the cold but now being about 50 Im not so sure anymore.


EDIT: The clicking sound is coming from right in the center of the dashboard up towards the windshield.