Hello, my 1999 XJR factory radio has issues, I was able to get power to the head unit, the cd changer, and the sirius unit, but no sound is coming out. I know that before I bought the car it was sitting in the garage for awhile, and the battery expired. I changed and none of the sound system worked, the previous owner said everything was working fine prior to that. Any remedies or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, DE

 

Well, the first issue is that ol' adage "...the previous owner said..." part is the main issue. How much did that previous owner know? Was he/she tech savvy? ....so on and so forth.
We recently had a member who had a miss in his and said pretty much the same and found a collapsed valve in it...so bear with that thought.
Anyways, is yours the premium sound system or base? If the premium, check the amp/cd connections in the trunk. If you have the head unit out, be sure the yellow Ford connector is properly seated and secured.
Here's a link to help you trace the wiring...http://www.jagrepair.com/images/Auto.../jagxj1999.pdf
That came from here... http://www.jagrepair.com/S-TypeTSB.htm ...just do a site search starting with your vehicle year and such.

 

"the previous owner said..." sounds like a great idea for a funny/tragic thread

 

Haha....I get you on that note. The previous owner had it for over 10 years, well cared for, garaged cream puff. He said everything was working, and I was able to get his cd's out of the changer for him. I will check that power amp, and see what is up there. Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.

 

For sure, I like the aspect...hmmmmmm?

 

Hi, I too am having trouble with premium sound on 1998 XJ8L that previous owner said nothing was changed.
The treble had to be all the way up and the bass all the way down. No Sub level in mode list. Sound up front muffled. Otherwise does sound ok other than this arrangement blew the sub foam worse.
Sorry to come in with a different problem. Pulling hair out!
Someone on forum told me to pull the head unit and make sure the premium sound switch on the back of had unit is in premium and that the head unit is the same as standard sound but switch tells had unit to change outputs. Problem is that there is NO switch on the back. Took the heat sink off. No switch. Help! I would really like to hear the full Kardon Harman sound! Not going to replace sub foam till this is fixed. Any help would be appreciated.
The pervious owner had key batteries die and replaced it but sound system did not come back right. I took head unit it and wiggled and unplugged and plugged all the connectors.

 

No sub level = car not set for premium sound (non premium cars did not come with a subwoofer)

Did you check if you actually have a sub mounted under the rear parcel shelf?

 

Yes it is a factory HK car with sub in place and all original components. Had the sub on parcel shelf. It works but needs foam and in this mode gets beat up unless bass -7. The head unit doesn't seem to know it is in a premium sound system car. Need to find out how to tell it. All connections secured and checked. Little muffled sound up front. Tweeters not working up front.

 

I think the front tweeters may be an issue with the HK designs. When I pulled mine to replace, I found that the tweeters have a plastic mount ring around the motor (magnet) which holds the tiny voice coil leads, and this ring had come disbonded from the tweeter body, and broken the leads, killing the tweeters.

The Alpine x308 tweeters I swapped in had a much better design, worked, and were also cloth domes instead of plastic that the HK's used. I've always believed cloth dome tweeters are the best sounding, but harsh/bright highs don't play well with my hearing.

 

I will check the wires and that disk. Thanks. The head liner had been replaced. I wonder if they hurt the tweeters.
Did the damage you had knock out the SUB setting in Mode go away?

 

Yes this is a factory HK premium sound with subwoofer installed. Any idea where the switch to change between premium and standard? Someone told me that the switch can get get corroded and needs to be turned back and forth.

 

Replacing tweeters didn't affect my mode settings at all. Next week when I revisit the junkyard I'll hopefully remember to take a look at the head unit I pulled for a switch. Assuming no one's taken it by then..

 

Let me know what you find. This is really hard to get info on. Any help would be great.

 

Does this help:

 

Looked at both my head unit and one in a junkyard VDP with factory HK system, and did not see a switch on either. Even slid the units out of the factory bezel just to check there, and didnt see any switches. Saw a couple soldering points which looked like they could take a small spdt mode switch, or maybe a jumper wire, but nothing already there.

The image above mentions the nav system, which was only available when jag switched to the Alpine system in 00(?) which leads me to believe the mode switch is only on Alpine units.

 

Well, that flat out sucks, I knew I found that answer too easily. I pulled the Alpine premium out of my 2000 and your more than welcome to make an offer on it if you'd like? I am not sure if they are interchangeable?

 

I have no idea on the interchange with head units. I'd guess the alpine would need the nav unit in the back (along with associated wiring) but I dont know about the amps. There was another jag with an alpine system in good condition at another junkyard, but that's at least a half hour away...

I've been real tempted to go and grab the head unit and amp, and maybe front mids as well, if the bump in sound quality is worth it. I'd probably leave the nav alone since it's not worth the effort of running wiring. I'd imagine the alpine and h/k amps use the same connectors, but I dont know for sure.

Maybe someone has tried running their Alpine unit with the nav box unplugged? I dont know if the unit would start without it, or just disable nav functions.

 

I believe I read somewhere on a post around here that if one segment of the system isn't connected, none of it works, since its all integrated. But, I don't recall if that included a found work around for it? Thus involving some splicing, errr...interfacing, and such.

 

Nope that isn't it. I was hoping. I turned several reostats and no change. The sticker says model AJ9800A is that an Alpine unit? The speaker grills and subwoofer say Harman Kardon on them. I have all the receipts and the last owner didn't change anything and said it used to work.
PS Thanks Highhorse for the pic!

 

Don't know, it was from the Jagrepair.com link. My assumption was that it stated premium/standard, that it was selectable for either install.