Why does my '01 Dodge Durango radio have loud static?

My Durango's radio started having VERY loud static a couple weeks ago. The radio sound quits working and loud static comes across and I am unable to turn the volume down to quiet the static. This does not happen constantly, but quite often. I cannot have the radio on very long before it happens. I can turn the radio off and on a few times and it will stop, only to do it again in a little bit. It is not static like a bad radio station, but like a machine gun (best way I know how to describe the sound) - it scared the begeebies out of me when it first started happening.





Within the week prior to this starting, my dash was taken apart to get to the A/C evaporator for replacement. Could something have happened to the wiring when the dash was torn apart? Or could it be the radio has gone bad?

Why does my '01 Dodge Durango radio have loud static?
For a few years, I helped design (and build prototypes of ) car radios for Chrysler electronics. Now I work for Texas Instruments in chip fabrication. Not that I know everything about it, but...





In my experience, the most common cause of the problem you described was a bad semiconductor component. Either a discrete capacitor, transistor or one of the chips on one of circuit boards. In this kind of defect, the component usually is defective (or has been damaged somehow) and is very leaky.





Because it is leaky, it gets hot. When the radio is on long enough, it gets hot enough not to work. When the radio is turned off, it cools down pretty fast and works for a while when the radio is turned back on. If the component you are having an issue with is in the tuning circuits it will give you static when it goes out. If it is in the control of or amplifcation circuitry you can get even more obnoxious noises.





As for the cause, it is possible that some debris ended up inside the radio, shorted out some circuit temporarily, and cause the component failure. It is just as possible that the radio power was diconnected with the radio power on and a resulting voltage surge caused the issue. I have killed my own Dodge radio this way myself. But, I think it is almost just as likely a coincidence and that the compoent simply died a bit prematurely.





if you are a highly technical type, one test for this fail is to buy a can of 'circuit coolant' (something like freon), use a small tube (looks like a WD40 can's tube), and spray it on the components on your circuit boards, one at a time, while the radio is bad.





When you hit the right component the radio will breifly work while the component is cool. Of course this is only going to get you somewhere if you have the ability to replace the component. Most folks can't and - unless the radio is very expensive, or under warranty, it is cheaper to replace the radio. If you are trying to replace a orignal factory radio, you can ususally find a second hand one that was taken out when someone upgraded the original equipment.
Reply:Check all your connection..
Reply:This happened to me once and i found a speaker wire that was grounding out. Or the radio ground may need a check.
Reply:The connection for the antenna may not have be installed properly. Also there's a capacitor (condenser for some people) that is on the ignition system that could cause a problem, I'm not sure of its location on the Durango, and I'd check that antenna connection first since dash was taken apart recently.
Reply:check your radio ground thats the problem when replece the ac they mess with the ground wire i bet
Reply:you need a static bloker on you alternator.(not the actuall name but a auto parts store will know what u mean. its very easy to install.

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