[The Tony Show]

First post here, thanks for having me.

Just bought a 2007 Convertible with the Shaker 500 (out of warranty, of course). Found out that the AUX IN and radio button backlighting doesn't work, and a search of this forum found multiple posts about replacement radios needing to reprogrammed by a dealer (TSB 05-10-19). Took it to the dealer who claims they tried the programming and it didn't work because the module inside the radio is bad and therefore the head unit needs to be replaced.

I've seen several threads here about people having a radio replaced for skipping problems and the backlighting on the new unit not working because they didn't program it, but I can't find any evidence of someone replacing the radio because of the lighting issue to start with. The radio hasn't been replaced at all- it's the original unit, but the backlighting and AUX just stopped working.

From what I gather, the backlight problem is strictly programming, so my question is this: Has anyone here had the backlights and AUX IN stop working just "out of the blue" (not after a radio replacement) that wasn't fixable by programming and required a new head unit?

Thanks in advance for any help. Been very active on the CTS-V forums over the years, and looking forward to doing so here as well. :bigthumbsup

 

[The Tony Show]

Well I talked directly to a company in NY that handles refurbishing Ford radios, and apparently this is true. According to the tech I talked with, the Shaker radios have a "chip" inside them that stores the programming that can get corrupted and prevent the radio from being programmed. Most problems with backlighting and AUX IN can be fixed by programming, but in some cases where the radio is unable to be programmed there's no way to fix it outside of refurbishing or replacing.

Ordered a replacement head unit on-line, but figured I'd post this up in case anyone else has the problem so they know.

 

[The Tony Show]

New radio installed and it works perfectly after programming. For others who might have this problem in the future:

Using the radio's diagnostic menu (hold buttons 3 + 6, then press 1 during the speaker test) it was throwing two codes:

B1342- ECU
B2477- Programming

The important one is the B1342. If you clear the codes by pressing 2, then EJECT, run the self test again and B1342 shows back up then the ECU in the radio is fried and it can't be programmed.