Land Rover Repair: 98 Disco, Speakers out, flashing lights, disco speakers, guage wire

Question
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Followup To
Question - John, I am able to unscrew the radio with a small allen key, but when I go to pull it out it seems blocked after about 2 inches, DO I need to keep trying or is the tool you mention able to unscrew the radio all the way.

THanks for the help.

Rob

1998 Discovery LE.
Standard Stereo, Speakers are not working, but subwoofer is, so I can hear barely hear music from the subwoofer.
I tried to remove the radio by unscrewing the 2 screws on the face of the radio.
It would pull out 2 inches, but then it would be blocked.  
How can I remove the radio?
Could the speaker wires be loose?


2nd Question
Alarm lights(blinker Lights) most of the time do not flash when I unlock the doors remotely.
(they used to all the time)
Now once in a while they will.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Rob



Answer -
Hi Rob,

for Q1:  there is a special tool that is used to remove the radio from the dash.  Most auto Stereo shops should have this tool and may either lend it to you OR perform the removal for you (SMD 4091).  It sort of looks like a thick guage wire that is bent in the shape of a "U".  They are inserted on either side of the radio, pressed in and hooked to allow the radio to be pulled completely out.  You can try to fashion a wire to do this but few have managed to build one on their own.

I suspect your problem is within the radio and should be serviced by most radio repair shops.  LR simply jobs this out to a local shop for repair.  There is a multiwire plug on the rear of the radio that may be loose.  It might be as simple as refitting the plug.  Let's hope so. It could also be corrosion related - something our older Disco's are starting to see more often.

Q2:  this may be caused by the immobiliser (spider) unit not fully recognizing the key fob button when it is pressed.  You can try reprogram the security system (see below) or have it serviced by LR.  The spider is located within the dashboard and is are real pain to remove and repair.  Some owners have witnessed corrosion within the wires and connectors and this is the reason for random failures.  Same with the windows, doors and even wipers!

So: you can try to pull the radio out with 'shaped' wires OR you can have a auto stereo shop do the repair for you.  The fob problem is common and often LR is needed to trace down the electrical fault and repair it.

You can try to reprogram the security for your key fobs and here is the sequence:

Note: Must be carried out in 8 seconds to access learn mode. Best done with two people. You should have both remotes available or second one will not work.

·1   Open hood and have assistant hold hood alarm switch down.
 
·2   From inside car, with all doors closed, ignition off and all lock buttons up
 
·3   Turn ignition on then off
 
·4   Cycle drivers door button down then up.
 
·5   Assistant now releases hood switch.
 
·6   Turn ignition on then off.
 
·7   If done correctly, horn will beep once and dash LED will light up. This indicates the learn mode has been accessed. If this doesn't happen repeat 1 through 6.
 
·8   From inside car, push and hold first remote. The dash LED should flash 8 cycles a second for one second indicating that the code was received. If this does not happen repeat steps 1 through 6 again.
 
·9   Push and hold the second remote, if the code is received the dash LED will flash 8 cycles indicating that the code was received. If this does not happen repeat 1 through 8 again.
 
Note: Turning the ignition on at any time will cancel the learning process. The system can only store two remote codes and must be done at the same time. If you only have one remote program it twice.     


Best of luck,

JohnMc

Answer
Hi Rob,

here is a webpage that illustrates how to remove your radio: http://www.carstereohelp.com/strlandrover.htm

I think you can use your allen key to do the job but I'm not 100% on this.  There is a security feature that may be involved.  Take a look at this website and see if it helps.

My radio is removed using a DIN tool (described in my 1st response) on either side of the radio.  Your radio, a BMW design, uses the special BMW allen key.  According to the website mentioned above, you should be able to remove the screws to the point where the radio slides out.  The only thing holding it in place should be the wire harness et.al. on the back.

Seems very straight forward.

Best of luck,

JohnMc

NB  This site also offers a repair service.  They'll give further advice but they'll charge you for it...unlike me.