Radio volume decreasing and A/C not blowing cold.

AMBERLYNNE06

MEMBER
2005 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY
3.3L
AUTOMATIC
200,000 MILES

We're having a weird problem that only happens sometimes. We'll be driving the van and the radio will slowly start decreasing in volume until it's very quiet then will jump back up to what it was set at and start decreasing again. At the same time, the A/C stops blowing cold air (but is still blowing).

We had the alternator tested and it came back fine, but we're going to go have it tested again to be sure. Other than the alternator, what can we look at? Electrical system?

Any tips or points in the right direction will be super helpful as I haven't been able to find much help online.

4 Replies

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

When the radio starts to decrease in volume what happens if you raise the volume? Does it get louder or the radio doesn't respond? Does the display show the volume bar when you are using the dial and it just not increase in volume or does it not respond at all to you turning the knob?

Then when you say the A/C stops blowing cold at the same time, what happens to get the A/C to come back? Does it just start blowing cold again?

Clearly this is an odd issue so I am not sure if they are related but let's start with this info and go from there and maybe that will help narrow this down.

If nothing else, we will address them as separate issues and handle one and if it solves both then that is just a bonus.

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Monday, July 20th, 2020 AT 6:50 PM

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,755 POSTS

Hi,

When this happens, are there any other electrical components that are acting strange? For example, do the headlamps dim, or the wipers run slowly?

I'm asking because the radio and A/C are on separate circuits and one shouldn't affect the other. Also, I need to know if the radio is a base radio, highline (hands free), and does it have a CD player.

We may have to scan the can bus system to determine what is happening. CAN stands for computer area network. This is the future of vehicles. There are so many different computers and modules in a vehicle, all the wiring would add another 1000 pounds to it. So, they started tying everything together via a can bus. Some of the radios are on what is called the PCI Bus system.

Here is a video that shows how a can system can be checked/scanned:

https://youtu.be/InIlnsjOVFA

Let me know if anything other is noticeable.

Take care,
Joe

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Monday, July 20th, 2020 AT 6:52 PM

AMBERLYNNE06

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Hi, thanks for the replies!

KASEKENNY1 - When the radio starts to decrease in volume, nothing happens if we try to increase it. I honestly don't remember if the volume bar changes or not. It's only happened a few times since we got the van and honestly we just start fiddling with the radio and ac controls until it seems to just start working again.

Joe - We've never been running the wipers when it happened and hadn't thought to try them. The headlights don't dim that we notice, but it's always been during the day so I'm just guessing there honestly. The radio is just whatever came stock, it's an older radio with a tape deck but no CD player. I'll take a look at the video as well, thanks.

I also didn't think the A/C and radio would be related, which is why we had the alternator tested - it's the only thing I could think of (though I'm admittedly not very knowledgeable about cars).

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Tuesday, July 21st, 2020 AT 8:34 AM

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Okay. That is good info. If you don't mind, can you provide just the last 8 digits of the VIN? I would like to look up what radio you have because there are a number of options back then.

I can then check to see if there were reported issues back then that would be similar.

Clearly this is something that we are going to have to get a little more info on like if the volume bar pops up when you are messing with it. If it does not, then I would suspect the radio is the issue as it is clearly not responding to anything you are doing. If that is the case, I would not replace it with another stock unit. There are so many more modern radios that will fit this vehicle that would have a CD player and even iPhone compatibility.

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Tuesday, July 21st, 2020 AT 6:13 PM