Radio says calibrate, no sound at all

[HurstGN]

I had my car in the shop for some very minor bodywork (idiot backed into me after a concert). When I took the car in, there were no issues at all.

When I pick up the car, here's what I observe --- Car starts up just fine, radio appears to be on, but no sound from any speaker. I try turning up the volume, and it has no effect. I do notice the clock is off, so I reset the clock by turning the radio power off, leave the engine running and press the HR and MN buttons at the same time. The radio catches a local station RDS signal and properly sets the clock. I try the volume again, nothing. I try CD, changer, Tape, nothing. All radio functions appear to be working, except no volume. When I turn it on I get the word calibrate for a few seconds then just normal operation except volume.

A quick bit of research indicates the radio needs programmed by the dealer with a tech 2 scanner. So I go to the dealer and they try the programming sequence and they tell me it had no affect. (It didn't, upon turn on, calibrate still shows) The said it may be the BCM (Body Control Module) and the battery was a bit weak. I've heard of weak batteries causing issues, so I replace the battery, no effect. Looking up the BCM, I find this is really 3 different modules. I've looked at all functionality I can and everything works fine on the car, which leads me to believe the modules are working fine. The only thing not working is the volume of the radio is gone. Since the chime system is tied into the radio, the chimes don't work either. But things like the delayed door locking works, just no chime. Remote unlock/lock trunk release works. Car runs and drives fine.

Can anybody shed any light on what can be checked and tested to locate the problem? Everything I see in the diagnostic charts wants me to have a tech 2 and I just don't have access to one.

[HurstGN]

OK, found a post stating:

Start by disconnecting the battery, (both terminals).
Unhook the connectors going to the remote starter module.
Touch the positive and negative battery cables together for 10 seconds to power down all modules in the car.
Verify the battery has at least 12 volts.
Reconnect the battery starting with the positive, and then negative.

Since I have no remote start, I skipped that step, but did the rest, no good. Thought this might reset a module acting up. Nope.
Also removed radio for 30 seconds to see if that would have any effect, plus to reseat the radio connections, no difference.

[HurstGN]

New information:
I went to another dealer and the tech spent some time looking everything over. He couldn't find anything so he got GM corporate on the phone to help troubleshoot the problem. After over an hour, the GM phone support person said the problem as in the tape deck and I needed a new radio. I got a replacement from Haro (many thanks Haro), and went back to program the VIN. The radio started by saying "LOCKED" as expected. We programmed the VIN in under 2 minutes, now the replacement radio says "CALIBRATE". We went into all the radio menus we could find in the Tech 2 scanner and couldn't get any sound. All radio controls work fine from the faceplate, and from the steering wheel. The radio has a good antenna signal because I can see the RDS system data on stations that broadcast it. It can also set the clock by pressing the hr and mn buttons simultaneously. The CD plays (indicated track and time as it should) just no sound. Same for the trunk mounted changer, indicates disc, track, time, just no sound. We found what appears to be an amp on the back of the seat on the drivers side, but don't see anything wrong there. We pulled the plugs and reseated them to see if it was an intermittent connection, no luck.

I'm beginning to think I have a ground issue somewhere, but where to look? Does ANYONE have any ideas here? I'm at a major loss in figuring this one out. The technician joked that my "trade-in light" was flashing on the dash. I think he may be right.

[SSEiBonne02]

is the amp getting power?

[Brandon Abell]

Apologies for reviving an old thread, but was a specific cause/resolution ever discovered for this? I'm having the same problem after having the car battery's terminals get corroded getting jumpstarted. . .

Thank you.

edit: Also, if it does require the services of somebody with a Tech 2 scanner as my googlings indicate, is there anything I can do or lookup to make it easier for them and cheaper for me? Basically, I'm borrowing my brother-in-law's car and I want to return it how it was given to me. . . Can I get a list of all the exact option packages a car has using the VIN on some website?

[kadowson]

Same problem here... radio turns on but no sound, no chimes. Apparently the answer is not out there and this is unfixable. The only answer I've found came from the folks on the Impala forum where they traced wires down to a damp spot under the carpet behind the drivers seat. The wires became corroded and it was an easy fix but no such luck for the Bonny. I've spent entire days trying to null this out through searches and step by steps but no luck.

[MKMike]

I see you've solved the problem....

I had the same problem with the HU working (lighting up, stations and time showing) but no sound. I pulled my driver door panel and found that the speaker wire was shorting. Once I fixed the short, the chimes/radio started working again. Hope this helps someone as I was pulling my hair out trying to figure this one out.