Saving a 98 Suburban from the scrapper

[Eveready]

I have been having some issues with my radio lately. Usually it works ok but once in a while it wont go on at all like it has no power. Then when I am driving or sometimes after turning the truck off and back on it will power on no issues. Today I was driving to work and it suddenly went out but came back on in 5 seconds. I am not a big fan of the aftermarket radio so i am going to take this opportunity to go back to the stock radio I think.

From what I know about aftermarket it should be as easy as unplugging the adapter from the stock connection and then putting in the new one. Now to scour the junkyards for a stock radio at a reasonable price, unless someone here has a stock radio they want to sell? I believe mine should be the one with the cassette player on it because I have the remote CD player in the pocket below.

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Are you sure you are not having early battery issues? Mine did that when the battery was near flat. It quit and would not turn on. After I charged the battery I did a hard reset on the radio and it has worked fine ever since. I found out that aftermarket radios can behave weirdly when the battery is low. I put a solar maintainer on mine and the issue has gone away. If your battery is old that might be the root of the radio problem.

 

[Wiscoburban]

Are you sure you are not having early battery issues? Mine did that when the battery was near flat. It quit and would not turn on. After I charged the battery I did a hard reset on the radio and it has worked fine ever since. I found out that aftermarket radios can behave weirdly when the battery is low. I put a solar maintainer on mine and the issue has gone away. If your battery is old that might be the root of the radio problem.

The battery is actually 2 months old. i will check voltage on it but it shows over 14 every time im in the truck and it starts right up.

 

[Eveready]

The battery is actually 2 months old. i will check voltage on it but it shows over 14 every time im in the truck and it starts right up.

Not likely the problem then. More likely a bad solder connection and could be where the adapter is tied into the wires from the radio. A cold solder joint there will cause the problem you mentioned. The main advantage to the aftermarket radios is a bluetooth connection to your cell phone. With many governments passing new rules about cell phones the hands free option is really useful.

 

[Wiscoburban]

Not likely the problem then. More likely a bad solder connection and could be where the adapter is tied into the wires from the radio. A cold solder joint there will cause the problem you mentioned. The main advantage to the aftermarket radios is a bluetooth connection to your cell phone. With many governments passing new rules about cell phones the hands free option is really useful.

Yes very true about the blue tooth, however I much prefer the stock radio. Thanks for the tip I am thinking it is probably the issue and I am going to try and take it out and check those wires. If I can avoid spending the money right now I would rather solder up some wires then drop the money on a radio. The aftermarket one also has a USB port to charge my phone which is nice on long trips.

 

[Eveready]

Yes very true about the blue tooth, however I much prefer the stock radio. Thanks for the tip I am thinking it is probably the issue and I am going to try and take it out and check those wires. If I can avoid spending the money right now I would rather solder up some wires then drop the money on a radio. The aftermarket one also has a USB port to charge my phone which is nice on long trips.

If you have a USB port on the radio it is also very easy to stuff a thumb drive full of Mp3's and use it to play those commercial free on a long trip. I too like the "look" of the factory radio but for me the convenience and safety options (bluetooth) outweigh that. Most people would never notice the difference if the aftermarket is a clean installation.

 

[Wiscoburban]

Had a week off of work but didn't get too much done on the Suburban. I did pull the radio out to check all the connections and they all looked ok to me. Most were wire nutted properly and some solders but all look good and tight. I came to the conclusion that it just might be on the way out and when it goes I will just replace it at that time but for now it works ok for me. While i had the panel off though I did find out why my 4wd switch only lights up some time. it had a loose connection so I tightened that and now the orange indicator light stays on.

I also played around with my locks a bit. My situation is that my drivers door is the only one that works with my power locks, remote or door button. After playing around I realized that my driver rear and my passenger door wont go down manually they are stuck and when I try to push them they wont even move. My passenger rear door moves manually but not with the power lock and my rear hatch doesn't lock. I think what it might be is that I need all new actuators on all the doors except the driver, which looks like it may have had a new handle on it and I suspect maybe a new lock actuator as well. Its weird that they wont even manually lock for me unless the actuator froze or the mechanisms in the door are really rusted. I guess I will put it on my list for future projects since I would like them to lock eventually but for now it is fine.

 

[Wiscoburban]

Got our first snow of the season. Changed the oil in the snow blower real quick just in case it was needed. Also had a flat tire on my mower, ordered 2 new tires and dropped them at the local shop to have them put on the rims. Shop called me yesterday said they cant get them to hold air and I might need inner tubes. Its not too often I need the mower and the snow blower in the same week lol, but hopefully if the snow melts I can get in 1 more cut.

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[Wiscoburban]

Got another decent snow here for Veterans day, made for a nice drive in today. So far in the 2 snow drives I have done with the suburban I am happy with my tires. Today there was only 1 stop light that was on an incline that gave me some trouble but I never needed 4wd for it. The suburban is noticeably better in the snow then my previous trucks probably because the rear end weight.

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[Wiscoburban]

Got called into work today and turned 150,000 on the way in

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[Wiscoburban]

Got my suburban back from my father in law he had to borrow it for a while. Took the family out for a ride in it first one as a family of 5. The dog loved having the seat to himself.

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