Well after some fiddling around with it, I actually had the last half of the radio antenna cable replaced at the dealer while it was in, setting back the mast and putting it all together. Now the radio still will not recieve any channels. All is tight and in place, and the radio worked fine prior to the end of the cable corroding away from the base of the antenna. Since all that is fixed now, any other clues on how to T-shoot this radio? I don't want to put much into it, but I wonder if there is a code of something I am not aware of that needs to be activated first?

Otherwise I will talk with a local dismantler in regards to a new/used unit with CD playing capability. I would prefer to stick with an OEM unit, but I don't want to pay for a new one--$$$.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Not sure exactly what you are talking about. Is this a stock radio/CD player or something else like a CB?
What do you mean by "the last half of the radio antenna cable'? Cables to antennas are usually one piece.

If you are talking about just a common AM/FM radio and no reception then there are a few things you can easily check. First, you say that the cable corroded away from the antenna. I would suspect something grounding out at the antenna. Are you sure that the antenna itself is still good? Try removing the cable from the antenna and then using a VOM check that the mast does NOT go to ground. Then check that the mast has continuity to the center connector of the cable.
With the cable disconnected at both ends check if the center conductor is grounded or not. It should be totally open. Check if the shielding is grounded. It should be. Now check for continuity of the center conductor from one end to the other. If all this checks out fine then go to the next steps.
Reconnect the cable to the antenna but keep it disconnected from the radio end. Check for continuity from the mast to the radio end of the center conductor. If there is no continuity or only a partial, then start backtracking until you find the problem in the cable.
There are more things you can check, but this will do for a start. Let us know what you find.

 

Mexstan,

Thanks for your help--I'll start with that for checking this out. Sorry for being unclear; it's a stock AM-FM/Cassette unit. I'll start with the antenna.

 

The most common antenna/cable problems are the center conductor getting shorted to ground. Disconnect the antenna from the radio. Using an ohmmeter, check for a short between the center conductor (the center pin on the antenna connector) and the truck chassis. It should read infinity. Then check the antenna mast to the center conductor. It should be a dead short.

 

The wire in these trucks, from the antenna to the radio, is 3 pieces. The first is at the antenna itself, about 6" long. The second is from there, through the firewall, behind glovebox, to the center plastic molding on the floor in the center. The third is from there to the radio. I mounted an OEM antenna on the drivers side, in the same location as the one on the right, with plans of using the second antenna for my CB radio. I got the antenna and the first 2 sections of wire, from a junkyard (graveyard in this case) for $10.

 

Found the problem!! It turns out the antenna was disconnected from the back of the radio itself. I had forgotten that earlier this summer a friend and I had gone into the dashboard with the intent of pulling out and replacing the antenna cable--only to realize we had the wrong part. We must have unplugged the cable then.

Interesting to note, however that you can isolate the parts of the antenna and cable quite easily; the third connection is directly behind the glovebox in an access hole, you have to pull the cable a bit and the connector will appear. Cool how Dodge thought to make this a three piece unit. I had forgotton how easy it actually is to get to the radio on these trucks. The rest of the dash, however looks like a mess to disassemble. I once owned a Saab 900 (I know, I know...) and there were only 4 screws for the entire dash--it would all lift out upon removal of those screws. Then again with the number of electrical gremlens those cars had, this was a good provision...

Thanks for the help!!

 

Thanks for letting us know that the problem is solved. Glad it was such an easy (and cheap) fix.
Isn't it amazing the problems we sometimes create for ourselves?
Hopefully thru all this you learned something and can troubleshoot and fix the the next problem a little easier. Yes, there WILL be a next problem! Guaranteed.