Feb 4th 2004: Grrrrr, I'm angry! I just found out my display has lost the
glass-welded vacuum seal plug.
Consequently all the gas escaped and I'm left displayless. I tried Alpine,
Chrysler, Jeep dealerships, car stereo repair shops, all for the want of
a new display. They either don't know what I'm talking about or refuse to
sell me the display. I will upload some JPEGs soon so you can see my problem,
but if anyone knows where I can get a replacement display, go ahead and email
me. No worries if I can't get one, I have another plan; I'll explain soon.
Alrighty then, for you not-so-lucky pups that think you have the same problem
as mentioned above, follow this link
Jeep Display Dead.
So, did ya have the same useless display as I did?
Alas don't despair; read on for great joy and rejoicing!
Apr 23rd 2004: OK, I followed my own advice! I just sold the CD player from
my Jeep for $95 on ebay!
On the ebay listing I was upfront and honest about the display not working
and the thing still got bid up to $95.
I added $25 to the $95 and bought a brand new CD player!
Follow this link for details and rejoicing
New CD player!
Sep 27th 2004: OK guys, once you get your display working do you notice anything weird with those buttons?
Shout outs to big Mike for this fix. Seems like, for example pressing the am/fm button causes the presets to change.
Well my friends Mike figured out the fix for this. Remove the front plate that exposes the switches,
remove the spongy green plastic covering from within the switch, clean the conductive black plate that resides
beneath the green cap with a q-tip and some IPA (isopropyl alcohol). Yep, that's it folks - all should now be fine; Mike's email available upon request.
Thanks - ANDY.
I'm the owner of a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee and I gotta tell ya, I love
my Jeep!
That's not to say that everything is wonderful in Jeepland, but for a vehicle
with over 100k miles it runs bloody good!
Ok, let's fix that stereo display that just won't illuminate any more. This
is a fairly common problem with the Infinity Gold stereo system installed
in Jeeps, Dodges and Chryslers throughout the 1990s. Like I said, I love my Jeep, and the stereo
combined with the 100 Watt power amp is a cool sound system.
As a kind of side note, be aware that just because the display won't illuminate
don't assume the display itself is bad. You may even notice a black spot
in the corner of the display indicating that the thing has blown. That black
mark probably happened in the factory when the unit was first fired up and
is an indicator that the display is fine.
The unit is actually a vacuum gas sealed liquid crystal display. Sound like
a mouthful eh? Just don't expect to find a replacement bulb, ain't gonna
happen - there is no bulb!
Before we begin, don't blame me if you blow up your stereo; this fix will
probably work for around 75% of all bad displays and involves no re-wiring,
TNT or any other incendiary devices; except, well I guess a soldering iron
- be careful now, ok!
Ok, now the disclaimer is out of the way, let's get started.
First things first; remove the stereo from the vehicle. Just a few screws
and a little tugging and tweaking should be good.
If you have trouble removing the stereo go to Car Stereo
Help for step by step instructions.
Once you have the thing out, remove the upper plate (just a few more screws)
to reveal the main circuit board beneath. Hopefully you'll now be looking
at something that resembles the picture below.
This is the top left area of the circuit board, notice anything fishy?
See the 15 ohm resistor (marked 150) just above Q913: lots of discolorisation
around the part, the lands and the connecting circuitry towards R924 (15
ohm resistor, also marked 150).
Now, in my non-too-professional opinion, that brown discolorisation is the
result of too much heat passing through that particular circuit. Excessive
heat causes the first, and sometimes the second 15 ohm resister to pop off
the lands, causing a break in the circuit.
All you have to do is re-solder the component terminations back to the lands.
If you're a lucky pup then you have re-connected that break in the display
power supply circuit and life is good!
Seems to me, they should have used a through hole resistor here with a higher
Wattage rating. Such a resistor would be able to dissipate the heat better
than the lower Wattage rating of an SMT resistor.
Well I sure hope that this helps, if not, all is not lost:
1. Did you know, even with the display out, these stereos sell for around
$75 on ebay? Go ahead, sell the stereo then buy a brand new CD player,
crazy eh?!
2. Contact the guys at carstereohelp.com
they'll fix your stereo for around $125.
3. Leave it! What the heck it's only a display, if this the biggest problem
we have then life is good, real good!
Testimonials:
1. Andy: I just wanted to say thanks for making the webpage with the hints
on the '95 Jeep Cherokee Stereo problems. Me and my dad pulled the radio
and re-soldered the 150 ohm back to the board in no time at all. My dad
was about to by a new stereo for $150 until I found your webpage! You saved
us a lot of time and money, thanks again!!!
2. Howdy, I used your advice on how to fix my infinity gold stereo display
screen and it worked great! I just wanted to say thanks!
3. Andy: My fiance has a '95 Intrepid with a display that would not work similar to your Jeep scenario.
Thanks to you, I just avoided wasting a couple hundred dollars on a new stereo! It took me 30 minutes to re-solder the connections and it works good as new! Thanks again!!
4. I don't know what I would have done, nor how long I would have held out with a non-working display, but I'm sure glad I don't have to worry about that any more!
Thanks again!
5. Andy, I’ve been without an Infinity Gold display in my 95 Jeep Cherokee Laredo for over two years (everything else worked) when I came across your web page explaining a common problem with their display. I finally got fed up enough to rip the darn thing out and try to repair it myself and low and behold it worked. Thanks a lot. I really appreciate the information and picture showing the suspect resistor.
6. DUDE! It worked man! You made my Jeep driving experience that much better! A soldering iron and solder, totalling a whopping 8 bucks, saved me 125 dollars! You da man! Thanks a load.
7. Thanks to your web page, I fixed the display on my 95 Grand Cherokee Infinity Gold CD/receiver.
Ok that's enough, now go home!