Welcome to Force Performance and Audio

This is something we see very frequently.  Factory CD players (especially CD changers) have many small motorzied parts, and was most likely built and assembeled as cheaply as possible.  This is great for a vehicle manufacturer’s bottom line, but unfortunately it leads to problems down the road.  We have seen vehicles only a few years old that have major issues with jammed CDs.  Often times people hope that we can “just get the CD out” and then everything will be fine again.  Unfortunately the thing that most people don’t understand is that if it happend once, its probably going to happen again.  Often times the CD mechanism inside the unit has been permanently damaged. 

Typically, the most cost effective solution is to replace the factory radio with an aftermarket unit.  Doing this is probably cheaper than you think, and you will then have a brand new unit with a warranty.  Chances are good that the new aftermarket radio will have more features (aux and USB inputs) and a better amplifier.  If we install a new radio for you, we would be more than happy to get the CD out of your old unit at no extra charge.  Be aware that the radio itself will most likely not be salvagable.

Dimming lights are an indication that the amplifier is not installed correctly, or is not able to draw the power it needs to from the vehicle’s electrical system.  The first thing to do is make sure that your power wire is a large enough gauge.  Your gound wire needs to be AT LEAST as large as your power wire, if not larger.  Also, make sure that the ground wire is firmly connected to the vehicle’s body, and that all paint has been removed in that area.  Other things that may need to be upgraded are the wires that go between the vehicles battery and frame (factory ground) and the wire going from the alternator to the battery.  If all of these are upgraded and your lights are STILL dimming, its probably an indication that your vehicle’s electrical system is not strong enough to support the amplifier, and other changes will need to be made.  These could include (but are not limited to) adding a capacitor, adding a second battery, or upgrading the alternator.

Generally, No.  We do not buy used equipment.  Not being able to offer any sort of warranty to our customer on the resale of such goods, combined with the fact that there are huge amounts of low quality gear floating around forces us to stay away from almost anything used.  There are a few exceptions to this rule though.  One being high quality items originally purchased from Sounds & Motion (be aware though that even in this situation, we will probably not offer you even close to what you were hoping to get for your stuff) or vintage car audio equipment.