Blacked out display
 

Ok I read the other suggestions for diag on the blackout issue for the radio, and still having the problem. i checked all my fuses, they are all good. I checked the four gold screws that hold the face on, they are all tight. All the plugs are intact and good. STILL black. No radio. When i first plug in the big connection on the radio the changer clicks on and cycles through the discs. So there is power going in. I just cant figure out whats up. Even the HVAC isnt working. So I think its something to do with the front piece/display. I just cant figure out what to do. I dont have the screws in that holds her down but I checked and there is no metal contact there. And I have never heard of having to fully install just to do a check. Help!

anyone?

My suggestion is take her to the dealer. It may be harness related. I don't know if there is a TSB on this but if there is, it should be covered warranty or none. If under warranty, a TSB is not necessary.

mines an 04, i dont know that it has the warranty anymore

hmmmmm, what was your original warranty, an how many miles do you have on the car?.....original owner??? Usually warranties run from Date of purchase..EX: I have the extended warranty, and it runs from 7/06/06 ( date of purchase) until 7/06/13, or 75K miles which ever comes first...same thing applies with a regular 4-5Y 50K warranty I think they come with.(dont quote me on that) Best thing to do is take her to a dealer. They should be able to run your VIN and find out anything you need to know. It shouldn't cost anything for a looksee at the records, and they are nation wide networked, no matter where any dealer work was done, they can pull it up.

try taking the radio ouut and pushing it in...it might have unclipped from the cartridge.....if not then it fried like mine did and you have to replace the unit

the experts FINALLY show up!!! hehehe. Thanks Chris.

it was working fine right before i took it out to install the audio link. and the lights all go on, the fan blows on the hvac. but the acc wont turn on, the temp doesnt change, and the actual radio wont turn on and the display up top has power but wont show anything. i dont get it.

if the front faceplate is not completely connected to the actual headunit then it will do this. check on the drivers side for a small connecter that plugs in. should be the size of the F1 key :P

yeah I saw that, I actually double checked it, then completely uninstalled it and reinstalled it to make sure. Still no change. Someone was talking about a screw that can cause my problem, I am sadly just not sure which one or what hes talking about. I never screwed the HU back in, just put it back in place flush. IDK if that has anything to do with it... but right now I cannot afford to buy a new one, so I have to find a way to fix this...

did you remove the jesus bolt before pulling the head unit?...if not then you might as well pray because you fried it.....its a bolt that you would say oh jesus if you were to try and remove it

Yeah the bolt is on the face plate, not the gold "jesus bolt" on the drivers side, you don't touch when removing the head unit. If you pull the unit out incorrectly, this will unacttach the face plate from the radio. You can easily pop it back in, but when you do, the radio might not work since a connection inside became loose when the faceplate and the radio seperated. Try putting them back together pressing this area till the unit comes back. I had the same exact problem and this fixed it. Everything is connected to this area so if it is loose, everything goes out.

so i have tried everything i can think of, still no fix. Think the radio is fried. I am going to Mazda tommorow to find out if my car is still warrantable. If not, anyone know how much a new HU is for the 6 disc bose system?

Once you have the diagnosis from Mazda check out this site. You might be able to save some bucks using them. There are three different listings, and I don't know exactly what you do need, so once that is determined, this might might give you a price range for parts at least.

http://www.mazdaparts.com/CategoryPr...ge:Electronics

if not i have a few as well. The head unit does not matter as long as its bose or non-bose. So as long as you got bose, i can send you the main headunit (part that would be fried) and you can install your 6disk and reflash the firmware by yourself as per DIY on here. Just diagnose it and let me know what you need and i got it for FAR cheaper than anyone. Thanks!

thats beyond helpful guys thanks. yeah that site looks like its the whole setup, HVAC and all. Is that turned on and off through the radio because those are the only two things not working. the faceplate lights up and all, including the controls for the hvac but only the fan turns on. no ac. This is by far the most confusing and annoying radio I have ever dealt with on a car. Oy.

the only positive thing here so far is that this gives me time to fab up a subwoofer enclosure for the car while I figure out my next move.

Yeah that metal screw im telling you about is the problem. Try clicking it into place on the radio so the faceplate is reconnected to the radio. This should fix your problem. I had the same symptoms as you.

I must be missing the screw you are talking about. Do you mean putting in that gold bolt on the side with the radio and and playing with that? Because that is the only bolt that was played with before I started having those problems, and I tried adjusting all four of the gold screws that seem to hold the faceplate on. I welcome the idea of being an idiot and missing the one ur talking about, would save me some cash.

pic
 

is the screw circled in red the one in question that you suggest is causing the problem? Cuz I unscrewed and retightened all four of those. Nothing changed...

can anyone tell me if thats the one?

Sorry I haven't responded in the last few days. I have edited the pic by putting an arrow pointing to the location of the bolt. It is the gold one on the top which is located on the passenger side of the radio. Inside this bolt is where the loose connection lies. Try pressing on it and see if the radio comes back. You would do this with the radio plugged in, but not put in the dash. Hope this helps.

ahhhhh
 

My car is in the body shop fixing a minor fender bender on my rear bumper. but this picture has me very excited, because I didnt look there haha. Soon as I get the 8 back ill try this out. mucho apprecianado, cross ur fingers for me hahaha

No problem. Hopefully this works for you.

ok so I got my car back, pulled the radio out, but i looked down there and couldnt find any bolts. I found two screws that hold the temp control to the faceplate, gold. I tried completely taking he faceplate off totally. Then put it back in. Im getting the same thing. I am very curious about this bolt that you speak of, but cant find one. Is it slightly out of sight?