Hey everyone.

My Wife's Honda radio volume knob is on the fritz... While turning the radio up, the volume goes down and while turning the radio down, the volume goes up.. Or vice-versa. I'm thinking the radio is toasted. Anyone have similar issues?

p.s. this radio has the CD changer in the trunk... cassette player is down below on the center console.

The volume knob is doing the same thing in my 1997 Civic. The set up is pretty much similar to yours, factory deck, cassette deck by cup holders, and Alpine CD changer in the trunk.

Plus, on top of that, the keyless system isn't working properly either. It takes anywhere from 6 to 20 pushes of the button to lock or unlock the car.

Hmmm..Well guess its good to know that its not just an exclusive fluke thing.. Anyone else out there know the potential solution to this? now that we have 2 members with the same issue :) I'm probably just going to replace the radio here shortly with a bare-bones alpine..nothing fancy....

I have the same problem with my setup (same as yours). The volume thing doesn't happen all of the time though, only when I try to turn my volume up or down really fast. I haven't a clue as to what that is.

I am planning on replacing the radio and installing an aftermarket alarm. I installed an Alpine CDA-9885 in my other car, and I became extremely spoiled with hooking my 80 gig iPOD up to it! I think CD changers are obselete now!

I absolutely agree with you. I have to use the tape deck adapter for my ipod touch, and I don't even use the cd player anymore. I eventually plan on getting an aftermarket alarm system, so once that goes in I'll be changing out my factory deck and speakers.

My '97 Honda Civic does the exact same thing. I don't have a CD changer, though, just the head unit with a CD player down by the cup holders. However, the factory keyless entry quit working about six months after we bought it 2 years ago, and the dome light doesn't come on when the passenger door is open (driver's side works fine). I know that these are run through the factory stereo, so does that mean that the stereo is messed up when it comes to keyless entry? It was the first car that my wife and I ever had with keyless entry. . . we thought we were finally living the good life ;)

ORIGINAL: sprinx

...However, the factory keyless entry quit working about six months after we bought it 2 years ago, and the dome light doesn't come on when the passenger door is open (driver's side works fine).



Check whether fuses 14 and 28 under the dash are blown. Check whether the black ground wire from the keyless receiver in the audio unit is connected.
Is the battery low/dead in the transmitter?

Check the dome light switch for the passenger door.

ORIGINAL: gunz4me

Plus, on top of that, the keyless system isn't working properly either. It takes anywhere from 6 to 20 pushes of the button to lock or unlock the car.


Have you tried replacing the battery in the transmitter?

ORIGINAL: RonJ


ORIGINAL: gunz4me

Plus, on top of that, the keyless system isn't working properly either. It takes anywhere from 6 to 20 pushes of the button to lock or unlock the car.


Have you tried replacing the battery in the transmitter?


That was my thought on the "6 to 20 pushes" problem as well!

ORIGINAL: RonJ

ORIGINAL: sprinx

...However, the factory keyless entry quit working about six months after we bought it 2 years ago, and the dome light doesn't come on when the passenger door is open (driver's side works fine).



Check whether fuses 14 and 28 under the dash are blown. Check whether the black ground wire from the keyless receiver in the audio unit is connected.
Is the battery low/dead in the transmitter?

Check the dome light switch for the passenger door.




I checked those two fuses (and I pulled the fuse marked RADIO from under the hood to reset the radio), but still nothing. If I wanted to check the dome light switch for the passenger door, what would be the easiest way to do that? I know where it is; do I need to remove it? It clicks when I push on it. I can't find it right now, but I remember reading (on a forum somewhere) when I bought the car that if you removed the radio, the keyless entry would stop working and the passenger side door would not activate the dome light. Can anyone else corroborate this?

ORIGINAL: sprinx
If I wanted to check the dome light switch for the passenger door, what would be the easiest way to do that? I know where it is; do I need to remove it? It clicks when I push on it.


Remove the switch. First inspect it for damage and verify that the green wire is still connected. If necessary, you can compare it with the respective driver's door switch that works. If all looks fine, use a test light to verify that the green wire is receiving battery power. This is done by touching one probe of the test light to an exposed metallic part of the green wire and the other probe to a convenient metallic part of the body frame. If the test light turns ON, as expected, replace the switch.

I can't find it right now, but I remember reading (on a forum somewhere) when I bought the car that if you removed the radio, the keyless entry would stop working and the passenger side door would not activate the dome light. Can anyone else corroborate this?

The control unit for the keyless entry system is definitely integrated into the stereo receiver.

1) Is the battery in the transmitter fresh and was the transmitter properly activated when the battery was replaced (see pictures below).

2) If you rule out the transmitter (essential for next step), then do the keyless receiver control unit input test described in additional pictures below. You will need a multimeter. This test will localize the problem to a specific component versus the control unit itself.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii320/RonJ_HCF/picture_0937.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii320/RonJ_HCF/picture_0941.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii320/RonJ_HCF/picture_0942.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii320/RonJ_HCF/picture_0938.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii320/RonJ_HCF/picture_0939.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii320/RonJ_HCF/picture_0940.jpg

I reprogrammed it using the instructions from the Honda Service Manual, and now it works great! I did have to actually hold down the valet switch while I pushed the button on the transmitter (the manual makes it seem like the valet switch is released once the actuators click). The passenger side door still doesn't activate the dome light, but I think maybe I never noticed that before because thedome light comes on when the doors are unlocked via the transmitter. So, that must be a completely separate problem that just seemed to occur at the same time that the transmitter stopped working. It's kinda weird that it quit working when it did, because I didn't change the CR2025 battery or anything (until yesterday, anyway).

Sorry if I hijacked this post. My volume knob still does the same thing that fatstrat02 was complaining about, unless I turn it reeeaallly slowly. It's pretty annoying, especially when my wife is talking to me, and I want to hear what she is saying, so I try to turn the radio down while she's talking. . . and it gets louder and I look like a jackass=) But now I can replace the radio and shove this one back in the dash to keep the keyless entry.

Thanks so much everybody, especially RonJ!

Easy fixes are always nice!

My guess is that the switch for the dome light on your passenger door is bad. It'll be pretty easy to test and fix.

The volume knob on my radio has the same quirk. I think that the radio would need to be replaced to fix, which I don't think is necessary as it's more of an annoyance than anything else.