1998 Ford Explorer Radio Display

1998 FORD EXPLORER
206,000 MILES • 4.0L • V6 • RWD • AUTOMATIC
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OHYEA
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  • 153 POSTS
The radio display/clock doesn't seem to work anymore while the buttons are still light up. What can I do to fix this? The controls still works but just not the lighting in it or display.
Aug 23, 2015 at 11:28 AM
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CARADIODOC
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
  • 34,323 POSTS
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
I've repaired dozens of Ford radios for this problem. The issue is the power supply module and broken solder connections. These are real frustrating to repair because there are so many places to look for bad connections, and when you think it's fixed, the problem acts up again about a week later. I always told used car dealers I was going to keep these radios for two weeks to run them on my test bench, or I'd send them a different radio.

You can go through the dealer and their two grossly over-priced repair centers. They will not fix your power supply board. They replace three boards that will develop the same problem in a few years. Yours has probably been repaired at least once already for this because no radio ever made it 17 years.

This applies to the cd / cassette combo radios. The cd radios and the cassette radios can develop intermittent display too but it's not as common.
Aug 23, 2015 at 1:39 PM
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OHYEA
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Never had work done on radio, I guess I will just leave it be. Another thing is that when I turn volume up to a certain loudness it would reset the sound and go to a quieter volume, does that mean it's time for some upgrade with the speakers?

Also, for the other post with lifters tick, the tick is gone and hasn't came back. Tyvm
Aug 23, 2015 at 1:47 PM
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CARADIODOC
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
  • 34,323 POSTS
  • ASE Certified Mechanic
I'm not aware of any common problem with the volume. There's two different versions of the cd / cassette radio. One version has a problem with no sound, but it's the other version that has the intermittent display problem.

Happy to hear about the ticking problem being solved.
Aug 23, 2015 at 2:38 PM
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