Volume knob doesn't function. Help.
 

Hey guys, so for the longest time my volume knob refuses to function properly -- thank God I have steering controls. I was wondering if it was possible to pull the knob off somehow to see what the problem is? I sure don't want to replace the entire HU because of this. Despite the steering controls it's still nice to be able to quickly spin the knob so that the music quiets down instantly.

Blow underneith it with "canned air" It should work.

I have the same issue. I just have to go in and take the stereo apart and see if the knob has a mfr. and a part number on it. I believe it is an optical pot, which allows it to spin all the way around. Blowing air will not do anything, as it is sealed. They do go bad, but not very often, usually opticals are pretty reliable. I will let you know if I get to do it this weekend.

I have the same issue. I just have to go in and take the stereo apart and see if the knob has a mfr. and a part number on it. I believe it is an optical pot, which allows it to spin all the way around. Blowing air will not do anything, as it is sealed. They do go bad, but not very often, usually opticals are pretty reliable. I will let you know if I get to do it this weekend.

Dammit...that sucks.

Are you sure it isn't just uncalibrated? Sometimes when you use the console knob, the steering knob won't be at the same volume position(and vice versa).

Positive. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It used to work flawlessly. How would you go about "calibrating" it though?

If you do have the same "problem" I have then it is just a quick fix. Just turn/press the uncalibrated knob or button until it starts changing the volume again.

Yeah, I don't quite think that's it. It randomly works; more often it doesn't work, though.

It's a sign Arnold....the stock Bose is crying to be removed.

Screw it. I'm not putting much money into the car. I'm gonna' have a little something running with the HU by next week that will render the HU useless, anyways. =D

Optical pot?! wtf are you talking about, dude? :ugh: :ugh: :ugh:

Ok, Arnie, try this - pull the knob off. This will leave you with just the stem. Now try adjusting the audio controls with JUST the stem. If this does the trick, which I am 99.9999999999% certain it will, then your problem is the cheap plastic nissan uses for 100% of their parts. All you then need to do is wrap the stem in a single layer of electrical tape, jam the knob back on, and your're done.

So the knob will just pop right off if I pull on it?

Yup. :jump:

...how did it work? :noes:

An optical pot is a potentiometer that uses a sensor and little bars of black and clear alternating. A typical potentiometer physically moves a wiper arm across a resistance thus changing the resistance, or volume in this case. It has a defined start and stop. An optical spins all the way around, like our volume knob does. So there is no resistance build up or oxidation that changes resistance and can cause dead spots after a while. If I hit a bump hard enough my stereo goes full up, indicating damage to the sensor, or the "flag" on the pot.

Will do it later today. At work now.

Oh please, you do no work there!!

You're right. I'm actually on the phone now. Hahaha. It's so dead dude.

my volume button was doing the same thing and it bugged me so much, thank god i had steering wheel buttons. i just pulled it off and put a peice of tape under it and it works perfectly, thanks for the tip!

Excellent. ;)

Sweet! So this means Metal's tip is correct. Can't wait to fix it tomorrow! =D

*excited*

Didn't work. There's something screwed up with the spindle itself. =(

Ah, ick. If I live near you, we could take it apart...unless you want to brave it on your own! I am selling my OEM unit in a few days if you'd want it.

:werd:, what he said!! I used the canned air about 2 weeks ago and it seems to be working fine!!!

How much? Is it in working order and etc?

Guys can you help me my 2001 maxima none bose system is having trouble with the steering wheel audio control the hole unit stops working i have to play with it to get it going again or just control it from the audio system it self nissan want 79.00 for the part is there another fix

Take is apart, see if anything's loose? :scratch:

can you tell me how to take that control switch off

I've got the same thing going on in my 2001 w/Bose. It seems to be affected by the temp inside the car. If its warm the steering wheel controls are fine. If it's cold, forget it until I've had the heater on for a while. If I have the A/C blasting long enough, it'll quit working. Also, if I turn the wheel slightly to the left or right (or just wiggle the wheel back and forth while holding any of the buttons), they work? Seems like some contacts might be dirty or something?

your right its been raining for a few days and my cars been sitting it my be do to moister because it works fine any other time any idea on how to fix or are there any threads oout there

Having that problem too with the steering.

any idea on how to fix this it must be a thread out there some where i may just buy
the part from nissan 79.00 bucks tell me what you think should i just leave it alone

Hey, it's driving me nuts. I don't know what to do with it. I just sprayed some compressed air and it did nothing. I just can't wait to get rid of this car next year and get my Z.

does anyone have a solution for this i'm ording the part to day from nissan

My great advice for the bose system is to go ahead and removed the hu from your dash. place it on the nearest solid yellow line. Pull out your trusty breaker bar, and go to town on it so bad that it'd make "Office Space" blush. Cleanup is easy, just let the vehicles going by run over it and let them spread the debris all over the road, then the rain will just wash all your troubles away. Hope that helps.....kthaxbye!


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It appears to be somewhat systemic from the sounds of it. Much like the dreaded ignition coils...

I have the same issue with my radio and it has been there for over a year. The funny thing is that it does not appear to be getting worse; it is just annoying as hell.

I am waiting for it to get to the point where I can not take it any longer and then just replacing the entire unit; probably with a Sirius enabled receiver.

I agree with the one poster that said it sounded like a bad pot. It has all of the classic tell-tale signs of a pot gone bad. It is not worth fixing unless you are engineering savvy and know where to get a similar switch.

On another note... my friend at work had the same issue with his Civic. He went to get a new CD/Radio unit installed and the installer said that they had to leave the old radio in place because it also acted as the receiving unit for the remote entry. His old radio is now tucked way inside his dashboard and the new unit sits in it's place. I am hoping that this is not the case for the Maxima. Just the thought of having to leave the old unit tucked into the dashboard makes me cringe.

Anyone out there ever replaced their stock radio for an aftermarket? I would be interested in hearing how it went & what it ended up looking like.

is it worth jsut replacing the the switch because they do sell them at nissan for 79.00

An identical part won't fix that problem because the knob control and the steering controls are not synchronized very well. Look at my original post for how to deal with this. I don't know how often if gets "out of wack" for you but it only happens occasionally to me ( which is probably irrelevant but whatever).

i don't have a volume control problem on the radio itself is the steering wheel controls thats cutting in and out and saying that if i just replace the the steering wheel controls this won't work>?