I only get sound from the right (passenger side) speakers. The left speakers produce a faint "pop" when the radio is turned on, but that's it. There's continuity through the speaker terminals. Very low voltage signal through the wires (about .04 volts with radio on). I've removed the tuning/volume knobs, the nuts behind the knobs, and the faceplate. According to my workshop manual, I should remove the air vents above the radio. Unhelpfully, it gives no hints on how to do this. It's not obvious to me how the vents should be pushed/pulled/squeezed to release, so explanation appreciated.
Also, any ideas what the issue could be? Unless the problem just reveals itself to me, I'm not really sure what my plan is once I get the radio out.
Sounds like you'll be doing surgery on your radio for rewetting circuit board connections. I had a similar issue old Pioneer car stereo in one of my Civics, and doing surgery on it to rewet soldered joints cured the issue. That, and a ribbon cable which had been suffering years of vibration causing the insulation to be rubbed away in one area, and causing a short circuit against something else on the board. A bit of gaffer tape fixed that for another 25+ years.
To remove the vents and general stereo surround requires you to be removing your centre console (arm rest assembly etc) to then be able to access fixings to remove the stereo/AC panel surround, or in your case, simply pull the stereo out of its hole.
Really? Seems a faff just to get the radio out. I feel some procrastination coming on...
It is im afraid. I've had exactly this although it's relatively straightforward once you're in. The amp is quite identifiable as it has cooling fins on the outside of the case. It gets hot in use so the solder joints can suffer thermal fatigue, hence they fail. It's just about the last stop before the leads exit to the speakers so it's quite findable IIRC. Quick hot with thr soldering uron and you'll be back in business.
This was the last job I did with my late FIL before he passed away, great electronics man.