I also have a Shaker 500 system and apparently it has a lot of weaknesses. The first to happen was the disk player having a mechanical humming and then popping over and over every time the car was started as if it was trying to eject a disk. Research said it was a small gear made of plastic that is part of the ejection process that can strip causing it to keep cycling. I ended up just removing the CD part of the unit as I didn't use it much anyway but lost the CD's I had in it. Then I had a very loud hum and popping when the car was started. It ended up being one of the two amps was bad so I just disconnected it (inside of the drivers side footwell panel), there are two - one for each side of the car. Both the 500 system and amp are available online pretty cheap so you can so you can replace them if desired, I mostly listen to talk radio so didn't really care.

 

My sound has completely gone out in my 2016 Ford Mustang. Ford wants $3500 to replace radio navigation and satellite. Two stereo stores said to take it back to Ford because they thought it was a manufacturer issue. Can I just take it somewhere and buy new speakers. Waiting on a call back from customer service folks.

 

It doesn't sound like the problem is the speakers -- putting new speakers in will simply cost you money and you still won't have any sound because the audio isn't sending them any signal.

 

Sounds like I should take it to an audio store or someone who knows how to find and fix the system. Is it the radio that should be replaced?

 

I've been getting the loud pops more and more these past few monthswith the unit in my 2014 convertible. it's the basic system (which sounds pretty good, otherwise). For the past 4 years, the bluetooth would freeze up, I did call Ford tech support, who told me I was not patient enough or some such rubbish. My solution for the past 4 years (it would lock up and only let me use the radio) was to disconnect the negative battery terminal for 30 seconds and restart everything. Worked like a charm.

Until today. the music came on when I started the car, about 20 seconds in, a loud <<POP!!>> and even the clock vanished. I can get the clock to appear for about 1/2 second by either hitting the CLOCK or the power buttons. I disconnected the battery for 15 minutes and no joy.

Given what I've seen here in this post, I'm moving forward as if the thing is completely dead and won't be coming back. I've been on the Crutchfield page and it looks like the installation kit is about $300 and then I pick a stereo that fits it and I should be good to go. So, for me, about $500-600 total. Has anyone on here used the kit that's available from Crutchfield?

---Steve

 

Update: Now the clock seems to flash for a few minutes on start up, then goes blank. Bluetooth was still trying to connect (my phone kept "waking up" but not connecting, and the Bluetooth icon would light for a while, then go out again, then try to reconnect. I've had my phone "forget" the SYNC now but the Bluetooth icon still intermittently comes on. Nothing on the display, buttons do nothing other than the load CD (says "no disc", so the display works).

Is there a way of HARDWARE resetting the stereo?

 

Seems like something that should have been a re-call... 2020, still having this same issue with my 2013 mustang.

 

As I suspected, this issue appears to be a lockup of the software either in the radio itself or in SYNC.

I began the operation of removing the stereo from the car (BTW, the videos at Crutchfield are excellent for letting you know where the screws and retainers are, so that you can remove panels without breaking them!), Removal was really easy and I can easily see that an experienced person could get the stereo out in about 10 minutes or less!), Because I had heard so many reports of people getting their functionality back simply by disconnecting and reconnecting their stereo, I tried this first.

SUCCESS!

When you remove power at the battery, this is not sufficient for resetting this system, which means that there must be some sort of memory backup either in the stereo or in the SYNC unit (in the dash, over the glovebox). I disconnected ALL the connectors (the two multiconductor plugs and the antenna), let it sit for a minute, then reconnected the stereo. I DID NOT have the battery disconnected (unplugging a component should not require this). When the stereo was completely disconnected and the ignition to ACC, the display showed "MUSTANG". I turned the ignition back OFF and reconnected the stereo. Everything started working again.

Just to be sure, I ran through the Bluetooth pairing menu and deleted ALL phones and ALL memory via the setup.

As someone who has been a technician, test engineer and field service engineer for two decades, I'll lay odds on the source of my problem as being a software / firmware lockup.

Again, the initial symptoms were a loud POP, loss of all sound AND DISPLAY, as well as total non-response to all buttons, aside from the CLOCK or ON/OFF giving a brief display of the time. I disconnected the battery several times for up to 3 hours and only got a flashing time display whilst driving.

Removing the stereo and completely disconnecting it (two multiwire connectors and the antenna), then reconnecting it, fixed my problem.

I will say that if this happens again, I may replace the stereo for time's sake.

Good Luck!

Steve

 

Hey all, I had the same issue. Based on the tips here, I pulled the circuit board and used a heat gun at around 800 for a couple minutes to reflow.

Brought it back to life...for how long, who knows, but figured I’d share for anyone else search for tips out there like me.

Thanks!

 

Well, it happened again, about a week or so ago.

I disassembled the console and removed panels, as before. Again, once all the harnesses were disconnected and then reconnected after several minutes, the stereo and SYNC came back to life.
I would dearly like to know if anyone here has found the one signal line that needs to be interrupted in order for this reset to occur. There are two harnesses in the rear of the stereo that get disconnected. After these all get disconnected (plus the antenna) and reconnected, the system works again.

I will add that I had had multiple times between February and August where the stereo would go "out to lunch" for a few minutes to a couple of hours before functioning again. Intermittent problems are the bane of any tech's existence and it's no less of an annoyance here. I hate the thought of having to spend $600 or more to buy an aftermarket system to cure this problem.

Cheers --

Steve