Radio/HVAC Problems in '02 I35

[chillin2345]

Hi Everyone,

First time poster here. I’m hoping to get some advice on multiple problems I’ve been experiencing with my ’02 I35. I guess I’ll describe the order of events in chronological order.

I recently noticed that when I play CD’s in the OEM Bose radio (w/o navi), the CD’s skip. It started happening with CD-R’s and then moved onto all CD’s. I have read previous posts on this forum (which said this problem was pretty common) and decided to repair the unit at Short Circuit in San Jose, CA. That is…until I realized it would cost $275. But at the same time, the July 1st hands-free law in California was fast approaching.

Instead of repairing the unit, I decided to just get a Bluetooth system installed and not use the CD player at all anymore. I ended up getting a Parrot Bluetooth MK6100 bluetooth car kit installed by Circuit City. The kit was originally installed properly, with the exception of the placement of the remote and display. So I had to go back a second time to get it repositioned. But the installer didn’t do that great of a job of repositioning and I noticed the buttons on my climate control unit no longer lit up when the headlights came on, with the exception of the “mode” and “off” button. Circuit City says they didn’t touch the climate control unit, but I suspect they had to remove the climate control unit (along with the radio head unit) in order to install the Bluetooth car kit.

So now, the problem’s I have to deal with is a skipping CD player and a climate control unit with buttons that are no longer backlit. My questions are:

1) To solve the skipping CD player issue, I was thinking of going to a “pick-n-pull” auto salvage lot, find a Maxima/I30/I35 radio and just swapping the radios out. Is this advisable?

2) If I swap out the radio for, say a ’03-’04 I35 radio (with Sirius Satellite radio capabilities), would it work in my ’02 I35? What would it take to get Sirius to work in the “integrated” head unit? Essentially, what additional parts would I need (in addition to the head unit) to make the built-in Sirius work?

3) Is there any way to diagnose the problem with the non-backlit climate control button lights? Could it be a crossed wire, a short circuit, or maybe a problem with the whole unit? Can I find another climate control unit at a salvage yard and is it advisable to use that in my vehicle?

4) As a side note, I’m also having problems finding a glove compartment light replacement. Is this a special part that I can buy only from the dealer?

Thanks for your help in advance!

[allensteiner]

hi,

1) maybe the laser reader lens is just dirty and that's why cd's skip?2) it should work fine if the harness is the same - you'll need a sirius antenna to receive3) pull it and see if circuit city guy spliced into the wiring, check the bulbs (that's what i've got in my 95) to see if they just burned out4) don't know about your gen but i thought it was just a bulb

i might be wrong about all these because i suck at electronics but maybe someone else will chip in soon.

[MattB]

2) If I swap out the radio for, say a ’03-’04 I35 radio (with Sirius Satellite radio capabilities), would it work in my ’02 I35? What would it take to get Sirius to work in the “integrated” head unit? Essentially, what additional parts would I need (in addition to the head unit) to make the built-in Sirius work?

I've been trying to figure this one out for a while because I'd love to add built in XM to my I30. At some point during the '03 production run, they began pre-wiring I35s for satellite radio. Noone has been able to tell me exactly what was added or where I could get the parts, but to my knowledge it's not just as simple as plugging a SAT ready head unit and getting an XM or Sirius tuner for it.