No Sound From Radio - Blown Fuses

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BluePlatinum
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Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2018 1:31 pm
Location: Florida

No Sound From Radio - Blown Fuses

Postby BluePlatinum » Tue Oct 02, 2018 2:05 pm

Hello All, we purchased our 2013 Pathfinder Platinum new in Nov. 2012 and it came with the BOSE sound system. The vehicle is rarely driven, kept in the garage, and has around 14,700 miles on it. Nothing has been modified, has been serviced at the dealer, and has all recalls up to date. Occasionally, it gets hooked up to a battery tender just to keep it topped off.

Took it out for a drive recently and discovered there was no sound coming from the radio, CD, NAV, etc. Checked all the settings and they are normal. Raised the hood and checked the related fuse(s) in the box next to the battery and all were good. Next, I pulled the fuse panel cover under the dash and discovered the following:

There were two "Audio Amp" fuses (15A each) that were BLOWN!
The other "Audio" fuse (15A) was fine.

I pulled the two blown fuses and attempted to install new ones, and they blew as soon as they would come in contact with the terminals.

Any ideas why this would all of a sudden happen, and what might be causing it?


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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Tue Oct 02, 2018 3:26 pm

Short circuits occur when the electrical circuit contacts a ground before the "load" (a "load" being the part that is being powered, such as an electric motor, speaker amp, light bulb, etc.) and the fuse serves as protection for that circuit. It "could" be a short inside the amplifier. Without access to a wiring diagram for your vehicle's system, I don't know if there is one or two amps nor other devices that may be powered off of that fuse. A factory service manual would be helpful as not only would it provide the wiring and circuit diagrams, but would also show where the amp or amps are. I would locate and unplug the amp or amps and install good fuses. If they don't blow, it's a pretty good chance that it is an amplifier that is shorted. If there is one amplifier, plug it in and see if the fuse blows. If it does, then you likely have a bad amplifier. You could take it a step further and do a test on the circuit to make sure it is no shorted to ground or has high resistance within the circuit. If there are two amps, then I would do one amplifier at a time and see if the fuse or fuses blow.

BluePlatinum
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2018 1:31 pm
Location: Florida

Postby BluePlatinum » Tue Oct 02, 2018 4:23 pm

Thank you for the reply!

It's odd that, on such a low mileage vehicle, this issue would occur in the first place. We don't listen to the stereo at a loud volume level when we do drive it. No modifications, and the vehicle is kept in clean, immaculate condition -- it's in nearly new condition -- even smells new.

Seems that with an amp going south at 14k miles, there would have been many more Pathfinders with similar issues. Might end up having to make a service dept. visit after all. Good excuse to get the 15k service done while it's there. :)

Typical vehicle ownership -- paid off, out of warranty, and now the repair bills begin...

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Tue Oct 02, 2018 11:19 pm

Parts break...even not so old parts. But, as I said, it could be a shorted wire, as well, or another component that may be on that fuse's circuit other than the amp, if any. Without a wiring diagram, I can't say.

BluePlatinum
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Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2018 1:31 pm
Location: Florida

Postby BluePlatinum » Wed Nov 21, 2018 11:51 am

Just wanted to post a quick follow-up in case any other 2013 and later Pathfinder owners with the Bose sound system experience the same issue as we did...

Ended up taking the vehicle to the dealer since the radio diagnosis required computer diagnostics, and since the vehicle was due for its 15k service anyways.

In the end, they said it was a spike / surge of power throughout the entire circuit to the Bose Amplifier(s). They had to remove the rear seat to access the items needing replacement. According to the invoice, this is what they replaced:

3 Fuses (#24319-C9915) - $ 12.72 each
1 Amp Assembly-Speaker (#28061-3KG0A) - $ 763.02 each
1 Fuse (#24319-8991B) - $ 11.12 each
1 Fuse (#24319-C9915) - $ 12.72 each

Total Parts = $ 825.02
Total Parts & Labor = $ 1157.39

Hopefully, this will be of benefit to someone out there in the future.

harolderz
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Joined: Sat Mar 16, 2019 5:19 am
Location: California,USA

Postby harolderz » Tue Mar 19, 2019 10:50 pm

Try to plug it in and see if the fuse blows then maybe it has a bad amplifier.


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