Volume knob doesn't function. Help.
09-07-2005, 07:04 PM
#1
Volume **** doesn't function. Help.
Hey guys, so for the longest time my volume **** refuses to function properly -- thank God I have steering controls. I was wondering if it was possible to pull the **** 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 **** so that the music quiets down instantly.
09-08-2005, 09:14 AM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 242
I have the same issue. I just have to go in and take the stereo apart and see if the **** 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.
09-08-2005, 09:22 AM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 242
I have the same issue. I just have to go in and take the stereo apart and see if the **** 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.
09-08-2005, 10:53 AM
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 442
Originally Posted by NYPD-Arnold
Positive. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It used to work flawlessly. How would you go about "calibrating" it though?
09-08-2005, 05:14 PM
#12
Originally Posted by VQ30GTR
I have the same issue. I just have to go in and take the stereo apart and see if the **** 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.
Ok, Arnie, try this - pull the **** 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 **** back on, and your're done.
09-09-2005, 09:42 AM
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 242
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 **** 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.
Originally Posted by Metal Maxima
Optical pot?! wtf are you talking about, dude?
Ok, Arnie, try this - pull the **** 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 **** back on, and your're done.
Ok, Arnie, try this - pull the **** 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 **** back on, and your're done.
09-09-2005, 03:22 PM
#20
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!
09-09-2005, 07:14 PM
#21
Originally Posted by TrojanMan2116
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!
09-10-2005, 03:55 PM
#24
Originally Posted by NYPD-Arnold
Didn't work. There's something screwed up with the spindle itself. =(
, what he said!! I used the canned air about 2 weeks ago and it seems to be working fine!!!
09-10-2005, 04:03 PM
#26
Originally Posted by Metal Maxima
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.
10-11-2005, 06:44 PM
#27
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 834
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
10-11-2005, 08:28 PM
#30
Newbie - Just Registered
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 1
Originally Posted by Lovemycar
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
10-11-2005, 08:53 PM
#31
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 834
Originally Posted by Waaaxima
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?
10-12-2005, 05:55 AM
#36
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!
10-12-2005, 06:00 AM
#37
Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 36
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.
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.
10-12-2005, 07:31 AM
#39
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 442
Originally Posted by Lovemycar
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
An identical part won't fix that problem because the **** 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).
10-12-2005, 08:21 AM
#40
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 834
Originally Posted by AcerX
An identical part won't fix that problem because the **** 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).