I have a 2002 Dodge Dakota Qaud Cab. I think I have the Infinity Radio/CD player, still original stock. I was told that if I have tweeter speakers attached to the door's A frame, that I might also have an amplifier in the passenger side behind the kick pad wall. My problem starting happening just within the last week or so. If I start the truck turn the radio on, the radio and everything related to the radio/cd player works. If I drive for awhile the sound quits, but the radio functions all seem to work. If I keep driving the sound will come back on it's own play for awhile then stop again. Even if I am parked in my driveway, with the truck shut off, turn the key to accessory, turn the radio on listening to it, the sound will stop after a short time (10-15 minutes) or less. I checked the fuses, they are good, although if the fuse was bad the whole radio would be dead. I've got a few ideas of what could be causing it, but wanted to see if anyone one else has had the same problem. Thanks in advance!!!!

 

The stock radios die. Mine would do the same then got worse. Display faded and volume eventually stopped working. I just installed a kenwood and was done with it.

 

I will move this to the 2nd Generation Dakota Sub-Forum.

 

It's either a bad radio or a bad amp. Probably the radio has some defective components in it, usually you don't see too many problems with the Infinity amps. You could find a good local independent car audio shop that repairs factory radios and have them bench test both the radio and amp for you. You can save money too by removing the radio and amp yourself and bring them in for the bench test and repairs. If there are no stereo shops near you, maybe check with a few local car dealers and see if they can refer you to someone, or take a chance on an online search and ship the radio and amp out yourself.

You could also do what Crackshot says and replace the radio. It may cost more to fix your factory radio and/or amp than it would to buy a good high quality aftermarket CD/USB player. You could probably keep the factory amp in the system, use it in conjunction with a good aftermarket deck and get very good sound from the whole system. There are installation kits and matching wire harnesses that make installing an aftermarket deck very easy, it looks good and sounds great too. You can buy from Crutchfield or Sonic Electronix and get free installation kits and harnesses and save money too. I bought this Kenwood from Crutchfield a couple of months ago, it has all the features I wanted and nothing on it that I don't need or use:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113KDCX...4#overview-tab

When I bought that Kenwood it was on sale for $129.95 with free shipping, I found a $20.00 off coupon on www.retailmenot.com and got it for $109.00 shipped, including the dash kit and wire harness. The kit and harness alone cost $35.00 at Best Buy, Walmart, etc.

Your factory radio probably has some internal problems. It does happen, especially as the parts get some age on them. Check around and see if there is a place to get your factory radio fixed, if you like it and want to keep it. If not, there are a lot of good choices out there for aftermarket decks at great prices. You might also check the junk yard or Ebay, see if they have a factory radio like yours for sale for a good price. Just keep in mind, you might have the same problem again in the not too distant future if you go with another used OEM radio.

Jimmy