3 possible scenarios: 1. toyota designed it as such. 2. a previous owner wired it as such. 3. a short between the headight circuit and the radio circuit.
Who wired this radio? Maybe the radio is not compatible with your truck model? I'm very curious. Listen, i'm gona check it out, i have a good source for that kind of problem. Let me a few days, i'll be back to you. see you later!
I bought this truck brand new in 1999 from the Toyota dealer. The problem has only appeared in the last year.
Nothing else comes on except all the glowing indicators on the dashboard and the headlights. My radio knob has to be pushed to turn it on.It isn't on when I start the truck. It just turns on when I turn on the headlights. I think I need a new radio/cd player. It doesn't take CD's anymore and the station changing buttons no longer work.
Many radios sense when the headlights are turned on in order to dim the display at night, if memory serves. A malfunction involving circuitry related to this feature could be causing the radio's power to come on with the headlights, especially since the radio seems to be plagued by other inoperative digital circuits.
Car radios are crap. I have a bloody Mercedes with a Bose system, and it barely works at all. The volume increases to painful levels near a power line--even when playing a tape or CD! And the in-dash single CD-player crapped out so I can only play CDs on the stacker in the trunk.
A new radio will probably resolve the issue. For now, if you can, reach behind the radio and push away any cable bundle that may be touching the radio chassis. if you want to, take the radio out to see if a wire is pinched in the chassis.
Tks for your help. Yeah..a new radio is definitely in order. Probably head over to Best Buy in the near future...
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Warning - if the problem is in the wiring harness this won't solve the problem. Check ignition power (not battery power, ignition power) and ground with ignition on and off, and lights on and off. Most cars have a single harness you can unplug from the radio; this will give you access to the harness. See below: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I have an aftermarket Pioneer with stereo radio and GPS system and it has been fine for 7 years. Pioneer has been making radios for well over 50 years and they still keep on trucking with good products.
If you just want a working cd player/fm radio, check out your local pawn shops. I got one for $20, that was close to 300 when new. It even has an aux input for your mp3 player or phone.
sometimes, you need to use your intuition. or in some cases, consider all the variables and how they connect. for instance, my vehicle is an '02 and the radiator cracked because i listened to someone else to get a new cap as the the seal on the old one was worn. what ended up happening was there was no escape valve for excess pressure to release (and the radiator is worn). if i just had kept that original one on, maybe i would just needed to refill the antifreeze once in awhile.
