Car Radio Tuning Acting Up

[Cyberdragon]

I would post this under "repair" but unfortunately I can't fix it without removing the entire car dashboard (I tried to before to fix a bad dash light circuit and just ended up losing a clip without ever getting the trim off). It's this model from 1999 http://www.freshittips.com/images/images.gtcarlot.com/pictures/5418441.jpg

I've noticed it has severe trouble staying on one FM station, it is extremely susceptible to neighboring station interference when the station gets weak, which I find strange for a digital tuned radio. Is this normal? I mean the stations are .2MHz appart! It's not like an overlap either, it's like it's trying to tune a nearby station every few seconds (usually the one below it too) when it gets weak, making awful bad CB noises. I have an all valve stereo and it doesn't do that, it just goes to static when it looses the station. My only guess is that, given it's 1999, it's some sort of analog superhet with digital pots controlling varactor tuners (AM and FM) and either simple DAC monitoring of the AVC and AFC or those are also analog. So if some of the filters and oscillators have gone misaligned and too wide, it will keep detecting the other stations and trying to lock on to them.

[SeanB]

Those are hard to get out, you probably are going to have to prise the trim off around it, and then slide a tool down the 2 slots to release the latches that hold it.

Probably has some failing Sont capacitors in it in the IF section as a fault. You probably can get an aftermarket mounting fascia that will allow a more common DIN or double DIN radio to mount in place of it though.