I have a 2011 Buick Lucerne, the radio quit on me.

After looking around I settled on a radio from a salvage company. The radio came in, looked great, and was the proper part number.

I installed it and it quickly became really hot. So like a dummy, I left it in the car and decided to check it out in the morning. I found a dead battery in the morning, DUH.

Any ideas on the cause of the overheating and big draw?

Bob

I take it this is a direct "plug & play" fitting radio with no wiring modification needed? If yes, I don't see what it could be besides a giant short the new-to-you radio. Plug the old radio in and see if it heats up. I suspect it won't. Unless it was removed from the car and stored out of the weather when the donor car was scrapped, it may have sat in a car for who knows how long with its doors or windows open or missing and exposed to the elements. Were there any signs of corrosion or water intrusion in the new radio?

Used electrical components are a total crapshoot. When I worked on cars for a living, only as a last resort would I put salvage yard electrical components in a car, for precisely this reason. Sometimes a critical module like a powertrain control or Chrysler's infamous TIPM going bad was, believe it or not, the reason the car was scrapped in the first place.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,

I wanted to replace the radio in my older Lexus ES because the CD didn't work. I got one online used and the CD didn't work and had to send it back. So I asked my old man self "why don't you forget CD's you idiot nobody uses them anymore" I bought a Bluetooth device that plugs into the 12v outlet now I can stream music from my phone. It works great and I can control it with my Apple Watch. The moral of the story is I agree getting used electrical components is risky. I would have really kicked myself in the butt if I didn't do the swap myself and paid for it to be done. I'm retired from 43 years of Auto Dealership Service.

Unless you’re absolutely set on replacing the factory unit with an identical one I would suggest Crutchfield. When my factory CD player stopped ejecting CDs I went online to Crutchfield and ordered an aftermarket one with the wiring interface that they will make for you and never looked back.

I would go to Best Buy. Find a location that has the car audio bay. Figure out a good, new, aftermarket headunit with the CarPlay/Android Auto and get one with the wireless versions. I would stick with Pioneer.

quote:

Originally posted by clubleaf206:
Unless you’re absolutely set on replacing the factory unit with an identical one I would suggest Crutchfield. When my factory CD player stopped ejecting CDs I went online to Crutchfield and ordered an aftermarket one with the wiring interface that they will make for you and never looked back.

I agree on dealing with Crutchfield.
Best return policy in the business, and very helpful customer service.
As clubleaf206 stated they can make your wiring harness so the install is pretty much plug and play.
I'd stick with Kenwood or Pioneer..

Bob I'm not sure about the 2011 Buick Lucerne Data Link Connector (DLC), but you may end up with more features with an aftermarket HU (head unit) radio.

Things like TPMS, more control over your sound adjustment, why the check engine light might be on, etc..

I have done my share of installing car head units, some with speakers,
amps,and subs.

I got a quote from a car radio shop for $750.ouch.
I checked Crutfield, once my go to spot, and the price for a simple head unit and installation kit was well over 300 bucks, ouch.

I will give another used one a try before taking the plunge.

The unit I got is under a 90 day warrantee.

Bob

It has been a while, but in the late 90’s I bought an alarm system from Crutchfield with their harness. For some reason it did not work right so I called their tech support and they walked me through troubleshooting. I cannot recall the issue, but they custom made me another harness and got it to me in a couple of days and it solved the problem. I would assume they are still like that.

What happened to the old radio? It's possible that the car killed it, if something is shorted or it lost a ground somewhere.

The hands free stopped working a while back, and just recently it ate a CD of mine.


Since we just went to hands free diriving laws here it's time to do something with it.

Bob

Usually when something 12v car related gets hot, the circuit lost ground and the component takes on the full load and finds a different path, speakers antenna , etc.. If the radio chassis is the ground and it wasn't mounted completely before it was turned on, etc.

Most likely a bad radio though.