The Most Ridiculous Thing I Have Ever Heard

So I accidentally left my dash lights on the other day at work, the battery died and I got a boost.

Now Hyundai is telling me I have to pay $25 to get the radio working again as it has some anti theft thing on it and you have to enter a code if the power is disconnected!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is it just me or is that ridiculous?

Chris

Reply to
Guncho
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I own an Oldsmobile. Just purchased a service manual for it, and was reading about exactly the same thing. In GM's, it is called, "Theftlock."

Supposedly, if you ever disconnect the battery, this Theftlock will kick in and completely disable the radio until a code is entered.

Have NO idea what you are supposed to do BEFORE you disconnect a battery (dead or not). The manual doesn't even give me a step I might try without contacting the dealer for details.

As you said, "the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard."

They'll always find a way to get you somehow.

Tom Wenndt

Reply to
Rev. Tom Wenndt

what year,

Reply to
Finn

1999 Hyundai Accent Stock Hyundai tape deck.

Chris

Reply to
Guncho

It's ridiculous alright.

Next time use a battery saver. All it is is a little 9v battery that plugs into the cigarette lighter socket.

I think I heard the new Hyundai's don't have that "feature".

Reply to
Bob Adkins

I think I might have fixed that on my 2003 Elantra. I bought another (Better) radio!! as soon as I got the car as this one didn't have CD player.

Reply to
Deck

I'm not sure about that year, but on older cars there was a sticker on the left side of the glove box with the radio code on it. If it's not there, call Hyundai Customer Service and ask them where you can find the code. It sounds like you have an unscrupulous dealer; a good one would simply tell you where to find the code over the phone.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

According to the dealer they have to look it up on the computer system and is not something they do for free.

Older models had a sticker somewhere in the car. I don't think a 99 does.

Chris

Reply to
Guncho

So here's the story:

Left the dash lights on for 10.5 hours and the car wouldn't start. Tried to boost it and according to Canadian Tire someone must have reversed a cable and blew the alternator fuse. Now the radio won't work but it doesn't say CODE or anything on the display. Checked the two fuses that say "Audio" and they seem fine. There's a fuse missing for "TCU ECT" but I don't know if that's related.

Any ideas?

Chris

Reply to
Guncho

You had it right from the start; you need to enter the code to enable the radio. Did you check for a code sticker or call Hyundai (corporate) as I suggested? It's rather pointless to ask a question then ignore the answer.

If there's a fuse missing, it's because there's nothing connected there and you don't need it.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

Brian

I will call Hyundai customer service, however, everything I have read about this type of situation says that if your radio is looking for a code, it would say "CODE" on the display. Mine is blank. I have also read that if you hold down the #4 when turning it on, there would be a bunch of lines displayed, then you would go here :

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and get the code. Mine doesnothing.

Isn't it possible that the fuse on the radio blew?

The dealer I called said to disconnect the battery for 30 minutes. What would that do??

Chris

Reply to
Guncho

Called Hyundai and they don't think the problem is that I need a code. They think my radio is blown.

:(

Chris

Reply to
Guncho

If something is scrambled in the digital control circuitry it will let any charges bleed to 0 so you get a clean power on.

Jump starting has the potential for a good power spike. In any complex circuitry noise spikes and/or power spikes can store the wrong data in storage circuits like RAM. Turning the unit off for a while lets the charge drop to 0 eliminating an improperly set condition. The more complex the system the more likely something can happen. Most electronic equipment made today uses some kind of controller and software to provide the bells and whistles if not the basic operation.

Reply to
nothermark

It may have a Hyundai radio. Hyundai is an OE supplier to other car makers; they make them under a different name and the radios may look the same as the Hyundai-branded ones. There's a site showing the models, and unfortunately, I've forgotten it.

Or, someone is selling a chip with this function and different manufacturers are using it in their radios.

All the answering machine makers have been using a chip that won't let you backspace over part of a message -- the part where your caller mumbles their phone number real fast.

Richard

Reply to
Richard Steinfeld

Sorry, I misunderstood. What you say above about the code is correct.

I don't know if there is a fuse ON/IN the radio, but there is definitely one in the fuse panel.

It resets the ECU and any other computers in the car. It should reset the radio, assuming that it still works. Either way, you need to check the radio fuse.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

Since the car was improperly jump started, that's entirely possible. Considering that you could have also fried the ECU or other critical electronic components, a dead radio seems like a pretty inexpensive lesson in the overall scheme of things. Look at the bright side, it gives you an excuse to put in a better aftermarket unit. Sound like time to go to crutchfield.com to me!

Before you junk the radio, pull it out and test the power leads coming into it to make sure you're getting power to the radio. If not, check for an inline fuse near the connector (there probably isn't one). If the fuse at the fuse panel is good, you may have burned wiring somewhere? Did you smell anything nasty when you mis-jumped the car?

You could also try connecting the radio directly to a 12VDC power supply or battery, if you have one, to see if it works outside the car.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

Once again Hyundaitech saves the day!

In email he advised that the problem was most likely that the fuse on the radio was blown and he was right.

Cost me $90 Cdn to fix it but's summer and I have music again!

All in all it was a $200 mistake. I'm pretty sure it wasn't me who reversed the cables but I will certainly be far more careful in the future.

I also picked up a pretty sweet Hyundai flashlight kit for like $7.

Thanks everyone for your assistance!

:)

Chris

Reply to
Guncho

I wish I was that easy to make happy. If I had dropped 200 bucks for a fuse, I would look like I had been sucking a pickle. :-*

Ya, its good to have a tech on the forum. HT is priceless.

Reply to
Bob Adkins

$200 on two fuses.

:)

The flashlight kit did make me feel better. Like finally I wasn't the one getting screwed.

Chris

Reply to
Guncho

Yes, that is ridiculous. I would argue with them, or go to another Hyundai shop and tell them it just stopped working!

Reply to
Tamara Thornton

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