Chrysler Repair: Radio appears to work, but no sound output: 01 van, chrysler town and country, blown fuse

Question
Hi i have a 2001 Chrysler Town and country and the radio on it has a 4 disc changer on the bottom of the dash near the floor. my radio doesn't seem to turn on ever all the lights come on around the radio the numbers, volume control all that, the cd changer works, but i cant get my radio to actually turn on , with the lights and all still on the radio that is what is throwing me off am i pushing the wrong buttons? a reset or something i don't know off? please help if at all thank you

Answer
Hi John,
I don't have a manual for the '01 model but if it is similar to my '98 manual there could well be a 10 amp radio fuse in the fuse/relay panel under the dash on the driver side in position #8. So take a look there and if the #8 fuse isn't labelled as "radio" then look for a different fuse with that label. Then inspect the fuse carefully to see if it is either frankly blown or that the conductive wire may have a subtle crack in it that is the same as if it were blown. Other than a blown fuse you can look under and behind the radio for a single black wire that runs from the radio rear to the metal instrument panel support nearby that serves as the "ground" return current path to the battery to make sure it is not disconnected at one end or the other.
If the unit appears indeed to be working, e.g. the digital readout that shows what station has been selected is working, then the radio fuse and ground are ok.
Then I would check what is called the "name brand speaker relay" which is a device in the same underdash panel that connects power to the speaker amplifiers so you need to see if it is functioning. It is located in the bottom row of 4 relays, #2 position counting from the left. You should feel/hear it click when you turn on the radio. If you sense no response from it that may be why you get no sound from the speakers. You could try jumping a wire between the two parallel vertical slots on the right side of the relay socket (you will see those, perhaps labelled 30 and 87, after you remove the relay) and if that then makes the system work it would prove that the relay is not doing its job of providing power to the speaker amplifiers. If there is no relay in the socket at all then that means you don't have the deluxe radio system and so this issue is moot. But chances are you have such a relay so check it out.
Let me know what you find, please.
Roland