AU III Fairmont Ghia Premium Problem!

DashXR6T · 02-12-2008, 09:04 AM

The Premium Sound on my car is playing up. When i just bought it the lady said she never used it but then i played around with it and ejected 2 cd's of hers. Then i put in 6 of mine it played and went alright for about 2hours then once i came home and then went back to my car it started to play up. Wouldnt eject, change between discs and goes from playing CD to FM radio. I reset the battery last night and what it's done is it doesnt detect there is anymore cd's left in almost as if it's eaten the cd's because it doesnt say disc 1,2,3 etc the numbers are gone. Any ideas would be great!

Cheers!

Dauphin · 02-12-2008, 01:14 PM

May I be the first to say that your unit is now experiencing the first of what will be many repeat occurances with this unit. It is a well known problem and you'll need to take it to a specialist, or Ford, to have the unit opened and the CDs extracted. They can also fix it but it will happen again in six months or so, and again and again. Time to look for a new headunit.

It happened to my AU2 Fairlane Ghia three times before I gave up on it.

SSVPom · 02-12-2008, 10:19 PM

It's stuffed, or will be very soon.

My AU2 is on it's 2nd head unit, which just packed up a few months ago and will not be getting fixed. It also has 'empty' CD symbols on it's screen, but there are in fact 5 of my discs stuck in there....

Dauphin, what did you replace your Ford head unit with and did it mean you lost steering wheel controls and operation of the amp and sub ?

Cheers.

MRJUCY · 02-12-2008, 10:35 PM

It's not hard to pluck the CDs out once you have the headunit out but it is likely to happen again down the track.
You can have an aftermarket unit setup to work of the factory steering wheel buttons but from memory it's a couple of hundred bucks so most people don't bother as it's really not that far to reach.

ronwest · 02-12-2008, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRJUCY

You can have an aftermarket unit setup to work of the factory steering wheel buttons but from memory it's a couple of hundred bucks so most people don't bother as it's really not that far to reach.

I had the CAT-09 unit (enables steering wheel controls for some aftermarket headunits) which cost me $200 in Feb 08 from JB's.

CAT unit cacked recently so I took it back (12 months warranty) and it was replaced without fuss with the latest CAT-10 unit.

The price tag on the CAT-10 was $297 !!

DashXR6T · 02-12-2008, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FairmontPom

It's stuffed, or will be very soon.

My AU2 is on it's 2nd head unit, which just packed up a few months ago and will not be getting fixed. It also has 'empty' CD symbols on it's screen, but there are in fact 5 of my discs stuck in there....

Dauphin, what did you replace your Ford head unit with and did it mean you lost steering wheel controls and operation of the amp and sub ?

Cheers.

I'm having that problem too with the empyt cd symbols on it's screen and i have 6 cd's stuck inside. It's really killing me not being able to play my cd's is it that much of a headache and is it possible to screw out the stereo out and get the cds?

dreadly · 03-12-2008, 12:07 AM

Run 4 cd's at the most and you'll have no dramas... You dont need to take it anywhere get 2 bits of U bent wire.. maybe even a coat hanger cut up. Put in the holes carefully force out- there'll be 1 big wireing loom clip if i remember right up plug. have ya code handy for late installation. take off the cover to the unit, and you should be able to kinda gimmy/pull the cd's out 1 by 1.
The premium sounds great just use 4 disks max!
And hook up an ipod tuned to a radio station. ;)

5L · 03-12-2008, 06:48 AM

am i the only one that doesnt have any problems with my stock premo sound head unit?

lol i bet it stuffs up on me now.

Dauphin · 03-12-2008, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FairmontPom

Dauphin, what did you replace your Ford head unit with and did it mean you lost steering wheel controls and operation of the amp and sub ?

I got a cheap DVD unit from Hong Kong via eBay because I wanted to do the wiring myself. I lost the steering wheel buttons as a result.

One tip - get a head unit with a rotating knob for the volume control, instead of buttons. A lot easier to use when on the go.

NF FairlaneGhia · 03-12-2008, 10:21 AM

Is it possible to use any sort of screwdrivers or other accessories to open it about or is the Coat Hanger the only choice?

Dauphin · 03-12-2008, 11:07 AM

U-shaped coathanger wire seems to be the usual choice. You can get a tool off eBay or someone at a car stereo place might do it for you if you ask nicely.

I've never been able to do it with coathangers and there's been a warning of being very careful as you can bend something inside and it'll ruin the clip and you will have a very hard time getting it out.

NF FairlaneGhia · 03-12-2008, 01:01 PM

Hmm any links of pictures of the coat hanger and of what it should look like and a step by step process?

dreadly · 03-12-2008, 02:34 PM

The dangers not in hitting or breaking a clip... it more if they pop out suddenly you''ll end up scrtching your units face.
If you have 4 long thin screw drivers they should work... with only two hands but pop one side at a time or get someone to help you... If your on good terms with your ford dealer pop down and ask to borrow them the proper tool, will take 30sec to get it out.. unclip.
Take home remove the cover and get cd's out 1 by 1... Its not that big a deal once you've done it once you'll know what i mean... swing us message if ya get stuck? ;)

DashXR6T · 03-12-2008, 06:05 PM

Is anyone from Melbourne that could meet up with me and give me a hand on this because i don't want to screw the head unit. The Leds are also playing up here and there digits go missing and the screen plays up by not showing everything at times in order for it to work you need to hit it or push in the deck to get some digits back.

mik · 03-12-2008, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AUXR8220

am i the only one that doesnt have any problems with my stock premo sound head unit?

lol i bet it stuffs up on me now.

mine still works fine but it does get a bit choppy on bumpy roads ....i guess after 7 year`s that is to be expected.

**SSD-85** · 04-12-2008, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AUXR8220

am i the only one that doesnt have any problems with my stock premo sound head unit?

lol i bet it stuffs up on me now.

Your not alone mate, and every au factory cd player i've had has worked flawlessly, maybe the QLD ones were built better lol

RedHotGT · 04-12-2008, 10:40 PM

I just bought an AU II ghia with this head unit, and now I'm scared....
maybe I'll just buy some cassette tapes.... it seems to play them ok...
(actually come to think of it, I don't know where I found that cassette tape anyway)

scrivens · 05-12-2008, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NF FairlaneGhia

Is it possible to use any sort of screwdrivers or other accessories to open it about or is the Coat Hanger the only choice?

Here are the usual instructions:

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthr...7&page=2&pp=25

Note the sideways movement of the tools to push the clips inwards from the catch so you can slide the unit out.

DashXR6T · 05-12-2008, 05:59 PM

Today i went to Highpoint to ask a few places such as JB Hi-Fi, Dick Smiths no success there so i went to Sunshine and asked the guys there at Autobarn they were also no help they recommened going to Ford. I went to City Ford and ask the guys there and they said you will need to get the stackers sent in for them to check it out. Isnt there a easy solution guys by finding out what the problem is without getting the stacker sent in? If the stacker was fault error codes would come up and when i press cd it would not try to make an effort and make noises by reading the discs. This is getting stressful!

adrian k · 06-12-2008, 07:06 AM

I pulled mine to bits when it gave up the ghost, and the problem was that the little racks that the CDs go into fell off their guides. it was virtually impossible to get them back in and i landed up breaking them trying, so had to get another one. mine was in the middle of changing the disc when i hit a bump, and that was it...

Tickfordboss · 04-06-2010, 09:35 PM

Im from adelaide and I just bought a 2000 auII Fairlane Ghia with leather trim vct tickford motor only 156k and believe or not the cd player still works but I am having an Alpine double din put in with all the trimmings just to be on the safe side.

grandpa_spec_F6 · 04-06-2010, 10:43 PM

I've got a series one with the stacker in the boot, after driving along a DEAD FLAT road and having it eject every few hundred meters, I got sick of pulling over.

Went down to my car audio mate and had him set me up with aftermarket gear. While I miss the volume controls, honestly, unless you really want to keep the car in original condition, go aftermarket, so much less hassle imo.

EATHSV · 04-06-2010, 10:58 PM

My regular single disk player shat it's self just after i got my car. I still had the full alpine mp3 system that i pulled from my old ed so i fitted that.

Autobarn sells a really good single din and pocket bracket kit, I got one of those and it looks factory.