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ritpg - 06 Dec 2006 03:16 GMT

Left my lights on my '05 Element today and when I got out of work, of
course, the battery was dead. The lights were not on that long. I was
surprised the battery died that quickly. This happened one time
before. We were tailgating for a couple of hours with the radio on and
the back hatch open. Dead battery that time too. Today the battery
died to the extent that I got the enter code alert on the radio after
jump starting the car. I entered the code easily enough but now I get
no sound. The radio display indicates that the radio is operating: I
can switch from AM to FM to XM, etc. Turning the volume knob gives me
the usual display indication that the volume is increasing but I get no
sound at all. Does anyone know what the problem is and how I would fix
it?

Thanks.

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motsco_ - 06 Dec 2006 05:49 GMT

> Left my lights on my '05 Element today and when I got out of work, of
> course, the battery was dead. The lights were not on that long. I was
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> sound at all. Does anyone know what the problem is and how I would fix
> it?

===================================

Now that your battery is OK you need to disconnect it for 20 seconds and
then hook it up again. Some things need to reset, and a complete
disconnect is the only way. The Odyssey is WAY worse for this because of
all the interior lights and sliding doors.

'Curly'

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ritpg - 06 Dec 2006 13:53 GMT

Thanks so much for the quick response. I'm pretty sure the battery is
"working as designed" (it's definitely holding a charge and cranking
the same as it always has). I disconnected the battery for a couple of
minutes, reconnected it, entered the "code" and still have the same
problem. The only thing that is not working is the sound on the radio.
Do you have any other suggestions? Because this radio has a
subwoofer, I suspect it has circuitry independent of the radio. I
opened the fuse box on the driver's side of the engine compartment and
didn't see a single fuse relating to the radio or sound system. Are
those fuses somewhere else?

The battery never did sound like it had a lot of cranking power from
the day I drove it off the lot. It's a low priced vehicle, probably
with a low priced battery.

Thanks, again.

> > Left my lights on my '05 Element today and when I got out of work, of
> > course, the battery was dead. The lights were not on that long. I was
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> 'Curly'

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motsco_ - 06 Dec 2006 20:33 GMT

> Thanks so much for the quick response. I'm pretty sure the battery is
> "working as designed" (it's definitely holding a charge and cranking
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> Thanks, again.

=========================================

Sounds like the radio was turned ON when the vehicle was boosted. If
somebody got the booster cables backwards for even a split-second, the
radio may be wrecked. There are TWO fuses that power the radio, have you
checked them both?

'Curly'

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ritpg - 07 Dec 2006 02:41 GMT

> > Thanks so much for the quick response. I'm pretty sure the battery is
> > "working as designed" (it's definitely holding a charge and cranking
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
>
> 'Curly'

Curly, you may have something. I believe the cable did get crossed for
an instant during the boost. I have not checked the radio fuses
because I can't find them; they don't seem to be in the fuse box in the
engine compartment. Remember the display on the radio indicates that
it is working. I can see channels and when I turn the volume knob, I
see the volume incrementing. When you say "wrecked", what do you mean?

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Michael Pardee - 06 Dec 2006 12:13 GMT

> Left my lights on my '05 Element today and when I got out of work, of
> course, the battery was dead. The lights were not on that long. I was
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Thanks.

Sure sounds like a bad battery, with a possibility it isn't being charged
right. Depending on your climate, the battery either died young or not. If
you are in Arizona two years is about the best you can hope for from an
under-the-hood battery. If you are in Wisconsin that's pretty bad.

Mike

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ritpg - 06 Dec 2006 13:54 GMT

Thanks for the response, Mike. I'm not inclined to think it's the
battery. It holds a charge and cranks the way it always has. Any
other thoughts?

> > Left my lights on my '05 Element today and when I got out of work, of
> > course, the battery was dead. The lights were not on that long. I was
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> Mike

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Elliot Richmond - 06 Dec 2006 19:51 GMT

>can switch from AM to FM to XM, etc. Turning the volume knob gives me
>the usual display indication that the volume is increasing but I get no
>sound at all. Does anyone know what the problem is and how I would fix
>it?

I do not know. It does not sound like a battery problem.

Is there an external amplifier somewhere (you mentioned a sub woofer)?
The external amp may need to be reset. Some radios can direct output
directly to the external amp, by passing the radio's internal amp. If
so, maybe there is an in-line fuse somewhere in the power supply for
that amp. If it is aftermarket amp, then the fuse might not be in the
fuse block.

Is there a mute button on the radio somewhere? I have never heard of
such a thing, but who knows. I know some radios are sensitive to noise
and crank up the volume as noise increases. Maybe some system like
that has muted the radio. An owners manual would help you there. My
much older Honda radio has several little buttons that are easy to
press accidentally.

Elliot Richmond
Itinerant astronomy teacher

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ritpg - 12 Dec 2006 15:34 GMT

Problem solved. Once I read the owner's manual and found out where the
2nd fuse box was, it was simple. The fuse labeled AMP (20 amps) had
blown apparently when the +/- wires touched briefly when I was
connecting the jumper cable. I've also reprogrammed the window lift on
the driver's side. So everything is back to normal.

Thanks to all of you who responded.

> Left my lights on my '05 Element today and when I got out of work, of
> course, the battery was dead. The lights were not on that long. I was
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Thanks.

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