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Hi,

I own a '04 S4 with a bose premiumm sound system. In cold weather (below 25 degrees) my radio/stero does not seem to work. It turns on but for first 10-15 minutes of my drive, you don't hear anything from the speakers. Then all of a sudden the sound comes on. It almost as if once the car warms up the stero begins working. Its like the connection to the speakers doesn't transmit the sound when its cold. Any suggestions of what I should look at first?

Thanks.

 

Yeah, my car does odd things when its cold (my radio will shift the words one character to the right and doesnt display the first letter, and my odomter doesnt show the last number when its cold). Anyway, my guess is its the deck (thing with buttons) itself, I would say its the speakers or wiring to the speakers if only one or two werent working, and id say an amp if it was only the rear speakers, but since its all of them id go with the deck.

 

Ok... Thanks. I have a friend that said it might be the battery because some "high end" cars have some sort or regulation to not send power to certain electrial items when the battery is not charged up all the way. I have since had the battery checked and it is fine. I'm trying to figure out what components of the stereo system would be effected by temperature but I'm not sure what components are in the system besides the large obvious ones. Any more help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I wouldn't worry about it so much, You will drive yourself crazy. In the cold 15 and below I have went out in the morning to find all the windows down and the doors locked. Yesterday I was out to take my X to the doctors and I started the car to let it warm up while I brushed the snow off. Damn car locked the doors on me and I had to call a lock smith to get it open. It sat there idling for 45 minutes while we waited for the guy to get there. He did have it open though in about 5 minutes. So I think its normal for this extreme cold to affect the advanced electronics on these cars.

Good Luck...

 

Seriously... the other thing I noticed recently when I look out the window of my house in the morning I see that my brake lights are on while the car is sitting there. And I know they were not on when I left it the night before. All I have to do is step on the break pedal once and it's gone. Dumbfounded by that one too.

The only thing about the stero, is its a pain when you want to listen to the radio on the way to work.

 

If you got to have the music right away there is a solution... Start your car 15 minutes early and let it warm up inside before you drive it. I guess that will take care of your music problem anyway. Cause I think there is no other solution. LOL!

Good Luck...

 

Yeah I think its hard on speakers to play them, especially loud when they are cold. As far as it being normal that theres electrical gremlins i dont really think so. Audis and VWs are just known for electrical problems, theres plenty of cars that work just fine no matter what the temp.