Audio Systems: Sound loss; no frequency lock, pioneer stereo, scan feature

Question
I have a Pioneer stereo that's about eight years old. For the longest time, we've had to hit the top of the dashboard occasionally to get the station's reception to "stick". But now, all of a sudden, we get no sound out of the speakers at all. No static, nothing. We can't search for stations either--the scan feature won't lock onto any frequency. Did something come loose? Could I fix this myself?

Answer
Ryan,
A clue to the problem is that you had to hit the dash to make the stereo work. Most likely a defective connection/s has completely failed. A good looking over the stereo circuit boards with a X10 magnifier should help you locate the defective solder connections.

TOM,
T&D ELECTRONICS
tdeser@zoominternet.net