this is in my girlfrriends 06 cobalt ls

the other day the display on the head unit froze when she was changing the volume. The volume display was stuck on the screen. Could'nt change the volume, cd track, power off the head unit, or anything. it was completely not responding, but still playing the cd.

I figured if it reset it may be okay, but when she turned the car off, the head unit stayed on. Even when she opened the doors, it still stayed on.

So i unhooked the car battery and hooked it back up, hoping to reset the head unit.

Now the head unit does not power up at all when you start the car. Everything else is fine, but the head unit doesn't power, nor do the buttons on the head unit light up.


I called the dealership who made an appointment, and told me that the radio has a safe guard in it, and when i unhooked the battery, the radio shutdown because "it thought it was being stolen." they told me with their computer they could reset the head unit for $40. This kinda sounds like a load of crap to me...

also, the fuses are all okay.


any ideas ?

 

yeah that definitely sounds bs

 

I think this is in the wrong section..hopefully EROD doesnt see this or he'll **** a cow

 

 

So guys, if this is bs, what's the fix to it?? Hmmm.

 

i actually heard that when i was talking to dealerships about putting my car in storage. The radio has a code in it that you need once it becomes deactivated from pulling the battery. i never heard of people having issues with it, but 40 bucks is better than a new HU, which is what they told me because i didn't have the code for it.

 

buy a new hu ! lol (was ment for g85's post)

 

So if this was true everytime you change your battery you would have to have them do this. They are full of ****. It sounds like a problem with the head unit.

 

I have heard of this before. I have also had my battery die and my radio be fine though. But I've never unhooked it. If I were you, I'd take it to another dealer, say that it was working, froze, you shut the car off, radio stayed on, opened the doors, radio stayed on for the 10min wait period then shut off. they will then diagnose it and reset it for you. Chances are there is something wrong with it anyways. I would not admit to having disconnected the battery. I have heard of many car companies doing this as an anti theft device.

 

Above post. New HU is more expensive than the reset. lol

 

I just picked up a new deck for my car so if you want mine old one I'd be willing to sell it cheap you pay shipping if there is something wrong with your old on. Anything under 20,000kms tho is under warranty. I've had this one replaced once.

 

I've removed my hu from the car, spliced wires, and reconnected it. No problems what-so-ever out of it.

don't know if it makes a difference, but it's an 08 model.

 

There IS a security feature built into your radio, but it should display LOC or something if that is the problem, read your owners manual, it will tell you about this.

 

thanks for all the comments. I think the HU is probably just bad, I thought it sounded like bs because I thought if the battery died, you would have to do this every time.. Looks like i'll probably just buy a new HU.

 

Like I said, if you want another stock head unit, I have one for an '06 im taking out in a few days, nothing wrong with it, just upgraded to a nav. Make an offer and you pay shipping and its yours.

 

I had my battery disconnected for a week when I was doing some work on it. Reconnected the battery and my radio worked just fine.

The lockout is only if the radio is taken out of the car and put into a different car. It sounds like the HU is just fried. If the car is still under warranty have them replace it, otherwise get yourself a new HU.

 

moved read sig

 

its bs that it shut off in the first place. so who knows how to fix it. this is the first time i've ever heard of anyone unhooking the battery and having the radio go out. so what happens when you change the battery?? you set aside $40 to fix the radio?? i don't think so.

 

def bs i had to unplug my batt for my sub install. none of that no power up ****. your dealers full of it

 

cobalts dont have "safe guard" on the radios, however they need to be programmed.... take it to another gm dealership and tell them your radio stopped working, warranty should take care of it