Hankhill

1996 ES300 Green with tan leather 2 owners including me Bought used with just over 50k miles in 2000 for $12,500 125k miles currently Added Pioneer 12 disc changer (FM Modulator) last year (approx. $500) Serviced by an independent foreign car shop Problems: 1/ Recently a valve stem seal gave way. Smokes on start-up about once every 5 or 6 starts. 2/ Antenna has never functioned properly. Disconnected motor and left in 'Up' position. Cost to fix would be approximately $75 at a shop. 3/ Center caps on driver's side wheels rattle like hell. No major repairs to speak of outside of a brake job (with rotor work) and replacing the regulator for the driver's side power window. That valve stem seal is going to run me about $600 when I take it in for repair, though.

And the culprit turned out to be...(drum roll)...loose wires connecting to the CD changer. I took the car to 2 stereo shops and asked them, expressly, to check the wires and various connections to make sure everything was tight. Paid one of these chuckleheads $25. Both came back and said...'no loose wires and no shorts.' Both told me the same thing...there's something wrong either in the stereo head or the amp. Then they both tried to sell me a new stereo; their reasoning being, it would eliminate any problem in the stereo and we would bypass the amp, thus eliminating that possibility. I was not convinced, however, there was a problem in the stereo itself...or in the amp for that matter. Today, I noticed something I hadn't experienced before. When I hit a bump the sound 'waivered' a bit. Aha!! So...when I got home I left the stereo on, popped the trunk and started to fiddle with the wires around the CD changer. Lo and behold when I wiggled the wires in one direction, the stereo came on....wiggled them in a different direction and the stereo turned off. I tightened up what I could and from that point on, the stereo has stayed on. Thanks you to everyone who offered advice. It was a tremendous help. I have read through a lot of the other posts on this board and have to come to realize what a fantastic resource it is.

Update: Battery is clean, fuses were replaced and the alternator was checked and found to be fine. Problem still exists. I did notice, however, that when I turn on the headlights, the sound turns on....doesn't necessarily stay on...but it turns on. When I turn the lights off, the sound turns off. Is it possible the ground within the stereo itself could be messed up? That's the only other thing I can think of.

Thank you, guys. I will check the battery ground in the a.m. and will take the car in and have the alternator checked tomorrow. I hadn't thought of those 2 things. I'll post back and let you know the results. I have not noticed a dimming of the lights in relation to fluctuations in the stereo's performance. No dimming at all, for that matter.

Here's a new one on me. I hope some of you guys might have some insight. I have a 1996 ES300 that came with AM/FM, cassette and 6CD changer. About 6 months ago I replaced the factory installed CD changer with a Pioneer model that was compatible. Everything has been just fine for the past 6 months...and I don't believe the CD changer is part of the problem, but I want you to have all the information. 2 days ago, the sound on my stereo started cutting on and off. The stereo, otherwise, remains on. I began noticing that the sound would turn off when I put my foot on the gas and accelerated. If I put my foot on the brake, the sound would turn back on. If I am coasting, the sound will generally stay on....although the sound appears to be a little weaker than when I have my foot on the brake. If I have the car on Cruise Control, the sound will generally stay on. If I come to a complete stop, the sound will turn off...but after a few seconds sometimes it will turn back on. There has been no unusual trauma to the stereo or its components. I don't blast my stereo. I did take it in to car stereo shop yesterday and watched him test the connections and make sure there were no shorts in the system. Beyond that, they had no clue what going on (and then, in true audio shop fashion, they attemtped to sell me a new stereo). Any clue as to what is going on? Has this happened to anyone else? Suggestions?