Help! Radio/Navigation screen not lit

[KakNJak]

2006 XLR 28,000 mi. The screen for the radio and navigation is no longer lit. Dealer says the entire radio unit must be replaced: $800 - $1200. No light bulb to replace? I need advice, please.

 

[ccclarke]

The infotainment LED screen doesn't use light bulbs and must be replaced as a assembly. (I'm assuming you've checked the fuse.)

You can fix your unit one of two ways. Go to a gun shop, buy a bullet and bite on it while paying big bucks for your dealer to have an obsolete system replaced with a new obsolete system. The navigation disk hasn't been updated in years.

Or. . . go here: Kenwood DNX893S in the XLR
to find Rexster's detailed post on this subject and pay even more for an updated system with all the modern goodies.

It basically boils down to how much money you want to put into the car.

CC

 

[Z1.]

Not a Big Deal

2006 XLR 28,000 mi. The screen for the radio and navigation is no longer lit. Dealer says the entire radio unit must be replaced: $800 - $1200. No light bulb to replace? I need advice, please.

Yes, there is a bulb (fluorescent tube) and it's replaceable but it's housed inside the LCD assembly and quit fiddly to get to. It would be best to replace the whole LCD assembly which is around $80 to $140 from Hong Kong and takes around 45 minutes to replace ($150 labor). But it could also be the AC inverter that provides power to the fluorescent backlight. Replacement of the inverter requires de-soldering the bad one and replacement on the LCD board behind the LCD assembly. Either way they are fixable.

Putting in an aftermarket radio devalues your XLR. My company is working with Farenheit on a radio that looks like the original radio, works with the BOSE amp and has screen mirroring and Bluetooth.

 

[rexster314]

Yes, there is a bulb (fluorescent tube) and it's replaceable but it's housed inside the LCD assembly and quit fiddly to get to. It would be best to replace the whole LCD assembly which is around $80 to $140 from Hong Kong and takes around 45 minutes to replace ($150 labor). But it could also be the AC inverter that provides power to the fluorescent backlight. Replacement of the inverter requires de-soldering the bad one and replacement on the LCD board behind the LCD assembly. Either way they are fixable.

Putting in an aftermarket radio devalues your XLR. My company is working with Farenheit on a radio that looks like the original radio, works with the BOSE amp and has screen mirroring and Bluetooth.

I don't know how it would devalue the car. They're not what you would call collectible to begin with. I seriously doubt anyone would insist on having an out of date, slow, dvd powered NAV, when there is a new upgraded NAV that does everything. However, I still have the old clunker stock radio, that will take about 15 minutes to reinstall after taking my Kenwood out.

 

[richardyoo]

My company is working with Farenheit on a radio that looks like the original radio, works with the BOSE amp and has screen mirroring and Bluetooth.

I'd like to learn more about this new radio

 

[ccclarke]

I wonder if it's similar to this: TIN-61B

At least the XLR can be upgraded. With CUE, it is what it is. The system is so integrated with the rest of the car that you can't replace the head unit without losing so many other features to augment infotainment. While I'm happy with the performance of my (14 speaker) Bose system, others aren't, and are frustrated with the inability to make meaningful changes.

Sometimes older IS better!

CC

 

[rexster314]

Plus, I'd like to add that on the conversion I did, I picked one of the top of the line NAV units. This can be done with virtually any brand or unit on the market. You can get a Jensen nav unit through Crutchfield for $350. No matter what goes in that hole in the dash, if it's not the Delco that came with the car, anything else is aftermarket as well. No matter what it may look like, even a lookalike face.

 

[05 GRAND DADDY]

Yes, there is a bulb (fluorescent tube) and it's replaceable but it's housed inside the LCD assembly and quit fiddly to get to. It would be best to replace the whole LCD assembly which is around $80 to $140 from Hong Kong and takes around 45 minutes to replace ($150 labor). But it could also be the AC inverter that provides power to the fluorescent backlight. Replacement of the inverter requires de-soldering the bad one and replacement on the LCD board behind the LCD assembly. Either way they are fixable.

Putting in an aftermarket radio devalues your XLR. My company is working with Farenheit on a radio that looks like the original radio, works with the BOSE amp and has screen mirroring and Bluetooth.

This interest me please keep us up to date on this replacment look a like!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Z1.]

Denso

Plus, I'd like to add that on the conversion I did, I picked one of the top of the line NAV units. This can be done with virtually any brand or unit on the market. You can get a Jensen nav unit through Crutchfield for $350. No matter what goes in that hole in the dash, if it's not the Delco that came with the car, anything else is aftermarket as well. No matter what it may look like, even a lookalike face.

The radios in XLRs are not AC Delco, their made by Denso. AC Delco makes better radios; Denso is a Sh*t company that refuses to work with other companies and designs obsolescence in all their products. I can see why Cadillac chose them. I almost was able to poach a Denso Engineer at their Vista, CA. plant that has been laid off.

I'm thinking of changing that idea of replacing the radio to just making some upgrades (way cheaper). If you just swap out and modify some the components inside, would it not pass as original?

 

[Z1.]

It's pretty Integrated

I wonder if it's similar to this: TIN-61B

At least the XLR can be upgraded. With CUE, it is what it is. The system is so integrated with the rest of the car that you can't replace the head unit without losing so many other features to augment infotainment. While I'm happy with the performance of my (14 speaker) Bose system, others aren't, and are frustrated with the inability to make meaningful changes.

Sometimes older IS better!

CC

The radio in the XLR is pretty integrated. Remove the radio and you loose a key component in the onboard Class 2 network. No BOSE amp (which I really like), no ONSTAR, warning chimes, CD Changer, steering wheel control and satellite radio. All because aftermarket radio manufactures refuse to implement class 2 communication with their radios (they have GMLAN) which would solve most of the upgrade problems facing XLR owners. There are still thousands of GM vehicles on the road using Class 2 communication, so limited demand is not the reason. Greed, I guess. They insist on selling costly extra modules and workarounds that waste energy, add weight and don't work well.

 

[rexster314]

The radio in the XLR is pretty integrated. Remove the radio and you loose a key component in the onboard Class 2 network. No BOSE amp (which I really like), no ONSTAR, warning chimes, CD Changer, steering wheel control and satellite radio. All because aftermarket radio manufactures refuse to implement class 2 communication with their radios (they have GMLAN) which would solve most of the upgrade problems facing XLR owners. There are still thousands of GM vehicles on the road using Class 2 communication, so limited demand is not the reason. Greed, I guess. They insist on selling costly extra modules and workarounds that waste energy, add weight and don't work well.

The only thing you lose when upgrading is the HUD readout for the radio. In my case the cd changer was belly up and would cost over $500 for repair. Small loss. Everything else works as normal, including Bose amp and all the other features you mention above. Losing the factory Nav and cd changer enabled me to gain an updated Garmin nav system, HD radio, Bluetooth, USB and iPhone connections, Android Auto and a backup camera. I didn't install Sirius but can later, as I can also install MHL connection to mirror my Android phone screen. Also have steering wheel control, OnStar, back up warning sensors

 

[Z1.]

How?

The only thing you lose when upgrading is the HUD readout for the radio. In my case the cd changer was belly up and would cost over $500 for repair. Small loss. Everything else works as normal, including Bose amp and all the other features you mention above. Losing the factory Nav and cd changer enabled me to gain an updated Garmin nav system, HD radio, Bluetooth, USB and iPhone connections, Android Auto and a backup camera. I didn't install Sirius but can later, as I can also install MHL connection to mirror my Android phone screen. Also have steering wheel control, OnStar, back up warning sensors

The buttons on the steering wheel are controlled by the CD changer. Do you have to have a interface module between the radio and the buttons somewhere to get that functionality back? The BOSE Amp is controlled only by Class 2 messages. Is there an interface module to control the AMP?

 

[rexster314]

The buttons on the steering wheel are controlled by the CD changer. Do you have to have a interface module between the radio and the buttons somewhere to get that functionality back? The BOSE Amp is controlled only by Class 2 messages. Is there an interface module to control the AMP?

1. Yes

2. Yes

 

[Z1.]

Cost and Efficiency

1. Yes

2. Yes

Interface modules cost money, take up space, use extra energy resulting in slightly more strain on the alternator and a little less fuel economy. Nice.

 

[rexster314]

Interface modules cost money, take up space, use extra energy resulting in slightly more strain on the alternator and a little less fuel economy. Nice.

I was wondering what your comeback would be. If you believe that above, there's nothing more to say.

 

[richardyoo]

Interface modules cost money, take up space, use extra energy resulting in slightly more strain on the alternator and a little less fuel economy. Nice.

The PAC SWI-RC is tiny... it hardly uses any power. Its essentially a microcontroller that reads resistance from the steering buttons and spits out some serial data the aftermarket radio understands... it probably uses 100ma at most... just changing one incandescent light bult to LED will more than make up the difference.

 

[KakNJak]

Best solution so far...

Yes, there is a bulb (fluorescent tube) and it's replaceable but it's housed inside the LCD assembly and quit fiddly to get to. It would be best to replace the whole LCD assembly which is around $80 to $140 from Hong Kong and takes around 45 minutes to replace ($150 labor). But it could also be the AC inverter that provides power to the fluorescent backlight. Replacement of the inverter requires de-soldering the bad one and replacement on the LCD board behind the LCD assembly. Either way they are fixable.

Putting in an aftermarket radio devalues your XLR. My company is working with Farenheit on a radio that looks like the original radio, works with the BOSE amp and has screen mirroring and Bluetooth.

This is the best solution by far. I had been concerned about an aftermarket substitution and to replace the entire unit is way out my budget range: I am subsisting on Social Security and a small retirement. I bit off a large bite in my XLR purchase, but I couldn’t ignore owning my DREAM CAR. Could you send me the details about the Hong Kong LCD assembly and how to order it? Any suggestions as to who in the Las Cruces, NM area would be qualified to do the replacement? I do not have a shop manual. By the way, the displays are visible at night: just not in broad daylight, so the problem is NOT a blown fuse.