Elderly relative has one of these - he recently had the battery replaced (but swears that the radio was okay immediately after!!!!).
The radio is now incredibly faint on only one station and the word "SAFE" appears in the display when switched on.
I guess it has lost its code. As so often happens such codes get lost when the cars go through dealers hands. Any ideas for a cheap fix?
Forgot to mention: We have the instruction manual for the car - but not for the radio.
There should be a card with the car paperwork with the number. The number may also be written on the radio. A vauxhall dealer may be able to tell you, or take it to a specialist decoder, who can tell you the code or recode it.
There are places advertising on the internet where they claim to be able to get a code from the radio serial number (probably printed on the side of the radio). I've no experience of using these and I suspect it could well be cheaper to replace the radio. An indication of this is if you go to ebay there are more people selling radios without codes than sell working radios.
I was quoted £40 for a Blaupunkt key card. You could get a decent new radio for that. Codes should be less.
Does the word "Safe" categorically mean it is locked? We don't have the manual.
The radio definitely needs the code entered (that is what safe means).
If you really cannot find the code card then a Vauxhall dealer can obtain the code for you. It will cost £15-£20 for a search.
They will want to pull out the stereo to get the serial number from the side. They can do it from car chassis but the stereo may have been changed.
Re-coding is easy and they will show you how. Alternatively, email me for instructions.
One car I had, there was a 4 digit code scribbled on the paperwork somewhere. It just happened to be the radio code. Any clues lying about on yours? Sometimes some smart person writes the code on the metal casing of the stereo so thieves don't need to re code them.
Is there a credit card sized piece of orange or red card with "radio passport" or something written on it? I have seen these in the wallet thing you get with the manual.
Bob
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