Ford Owners,

I recently posted this in another forum on this site then moved it here to spread the word.

I own a 99 F150 and the radio display was flickering then stopped working all together. The radio I have is a tape deck, radio, external CD changer type. I put up with the problem for a few months then got fed up and decided to tackle the problem. After spending some time on it I discovered the problem to be faulty soldering on two resistors for the display. I was lucky and the resistors were not blown (remove and test or you could test circuit resistance). Instead they just needed to be resoldered. Before I found and repaired the problem I searched the internet only to find many sites offering to charge me for a solution. No charge here!

To fix the problem you will have to remove the Radio and disassemble the face plate. From there you should find two resistors for the display. In my particular radio they were labeled as R464 and R465 and next to the tape slot cut out. The solder joints were discolored and upon closer inspection (magnifying glass) I found further faults with the soldering. I then gently tugged on the resistor and it came right off the PCB (printed circuit board). I hope this helps!

Here are some pics describing the process with more detail

Remove the radio


Remove the faceplate from the radio


Repair any soldering that appears to be faulty or the component is loose. Use a magnifying glass to visually check the joints for cracks or lack of solder. I found that Ford, or whoever built the radio, could have used more solder to stabalize the joints a little better. As mentioned above my problem was that resistors R465 and R465 were loose on the board. These two resistors control the current for the display. Once I resoldered them the radio worked!



Cheers!

 

I tried the repairs suggested by Ryan and they worked great. I haven't had a display for a year or so and decided that it was either buy a new radio or try and fix this one. My problem were the two 130 soldering connections, re-soldered and it worked like a charm. Thank you so very much. Great forum.

 

Do you know if this is the same as the head unit with the cd player in the unit?

 

my 1998 f-150 radio illumination lights flickered then went out .
I really didnt want to get a new radio because this one works good and because of the 6 disc c/d changer in the drivers console .
I just wanted to thank you i took the radio out took off the cover and the right top circuit wasnt solidered good , did the fix you suggested and put it back in and now it works great !!!
thanks you rock!!!!!!!!!

 

For Ford F-150 trucks which have the AM FM CD Cassette radio, often the DC to DC Converter was responsible for display malfunctions due to its own inherent design flaws. We offer our own brand of DC to DC Converter for Ford Explorers, F-150s, and many other Ford vehicles from the late 90's to the early 2000's. Pioneer no longer makes these parts, but ours are 40% less expensive than the ones that Pioneer was selling. These are high-quality, newly manufactured pieces which have been specifically engineered to correct the design flaws which caused the originals to malfunction prematurely, and they come with a full-color instruction manual for easy installation. You can purchase them from our eBay site, http://stores.ebay.com/1factoryradio, and also on the 1 Factory Radio website, www.1factoryradio.com.

 

Well I just took my radio apart and WOLLA i found the 130 resistors top and bottom are loose on the board . I am on my way to get my tools to resoder them. Will update with results when done

 

Well it's done followed the directions of Ryan 1979 to a T and it works . The display is as bright as it was when it was brand new. Short story. I bought this 99 f-150 XLT 2 weeks ago and the radio display was inop. So I went on E-Bay and bought another unit for around 55-56 shipped .

Got the poorly packed unit just put in a box without any insulation what so ever. It is a wonder it even fired up. With that said I installed it and the display worked by was not as you would expect it to be. Dim in one corner and not bright at all over all .

Less than a day I mean 24 hrs it went completely blank again no display . I found this post I repaired my original and it is as bright as new . And I repaired the one I bought from e-bay. Needless to say this will probably end up back on e-bay. Thanks Ryan 1979 . Now to work on the odometer

 

Thanks for the guidance and pics associated with this Ford snafu.

 

Just bought my son 99 f150 for sixteenth birthday. In great shape. Just a few little fix'em ups required. Most important to him, of course, a radio that not only sound like it works... But looks like it works. Thanks for posting this man! You made this a simple fix... fun even. Check no radio LED off the list!

 

I recently bought a 2001 f150 Crewcab - 225,000 miles. Radio display not working (and the time, temp, and direction display in the overhead console). I followed the instructions and now have my display back on the radio. Many thanks!!! Found similar instructions for the overhead display. Didn't work. Probably my soldering skills. .500 is better than 0!

 

I have a 2003 factory installed radio. It has a single cd and a cassette player. The upper portion of the display does not work( the area where the time/radio station etc. is). my radio is different than the one Ryan 1979 posted. Any help?

 

I would try the fix above. Worked great for my 2001 - CD player and radio. Getting the radio out of the dash was the toughest part. Don't push your coat hangers (I used allen wrenches) in more than 1.5 inches and slightly push out at the same time. Look at Youtube. I wish I had.

 

I have no problem getting the radio out. I bought some of those tools at ORiellys. The problem I have is trying to determine which solder joint is defective.

 

None of mine appeared loose either. I looked at them close with a magnifying glass. I'm 58 and have to look at everything with a magnifying glass! My radio had the 3920 and 130 resistors. I just added a little solder like the picture. I work a little with similar circuit boards in my business. Sometimes you might see a little dark mark where the connector is shorted. These resistors will blow sometimes when folks accidently switch the power and ground wires.

 

I just bought a 2000 F-150 w/cassette/6-cd changer. All worked but the display. So I removed the radio and started examining all the surface-mount resistors on the faceplate under 5x magnification. None were suspect. Then I focused on R464 and R465. I saw a speck of flux, solder or crap spalled off the solder on R465 that was bridging the PCB path to the LED display. One little finger-nail flick and blow me away: IT WORKED. The speck had to be less than 1/4 of a mm (<250 microns)! But that was the entire problem. Focus on those two resistors and their path.