Activation code for CD-player

March 8, 2010 12:43 AM

A friend and I are driving halfway through Sweden to pick up an art exhibition. We're in a big rental van, and realised to our horror that the CD-player doesn't work, or might need activation. Help please!

We're in a Renault Master, and the French manual doesn't mention (as far as my non-French can spot) anything about how to activate the CD player, although in the pictures there is a similar model visible, so I'm led to believe that it's an original install and not after-market.

I called the rental place but they have no idea, except that they mentioned that there might be combination that you press to get the bloody thing to start (anti-theft PITA)

We have 20 hours of driving ahead of us, and if we could get this bloody thing to start we might not murder each other.

Two pictures of the bugger on imageshack (along with a dash to the left of it which might be related)

http://img203.imageshack.us/i/20100308001.jpg/
http://img695.imageshack.us/i/20100308002.jpg/

posted by monocultured to Technology (7 answers total)

Best answer: While I can't be sure of the precise model, the radio fitted is certainly OEM. You can visit a Renault dealer and they will be able to provide a code for the radio using the VIN of the vehicle, or alternatively remove the radio from the dash and send the last four characters of the serial number to this company.

If you don't happen to have a radio removal tool (two bent pieces of metal that slot into the four holes around the bezel of the radio), you can improvise with a suitably thin screwdriver - you are simply 'popping' the radio out. Fitting is as simple as sliding the unit back in until you hear a click.

In your pictures, the radio is the unit with the CD slot and buttons, the display is a separate component that happens to show information from the radio as well as other vehicle systems (hence Multi Function Display).

You might also have luck with the codes posted here - if your serial (the last four characters) matches any posted, the corresponding code should work.

Entering a code is usually done using the 6 numeric buttons - i.e. using buttons 1 and 4 (two buttons vertically aligned) to cycle through digits 0-9, buttons 2 and 5 to move back and forth, then button 3 to confirm the code. As I say, I'm not totally sure about which model you have so YMMV on this.

I am not affiliated with MyRadioCodes - simply used them in the past with no trouble. Local car workshops may be able to assist as well. You might find the rental company will reimburse you if you give them a copy of the code for their paperwork.

Good luck!
posted by NordyneDefenceDynamics at 1:32 AM on March 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

You should know, by the way, that this is extremely common; it's happened to me every single time I've rented a van with a CD player before. Why? It's a security feature built into almost every car stereo worth stealing: if the power supply to the CD player is cut (say by someone stealing it) then the player will not work again until it is activated with a code. This is a problem with rental vans because rental vans in particular often get stuck in garages and then aren't used for a while - and so the ingenious souls who work at rental van places almost always get the bright idea to disconnect the battery so that it doesn't drain. The trouble is that if you disconnect the battery, you of course disconnect the power to the CD player - and therefore every single time you disconnect the battery you have to reactivate the CD player with a code.

Sorry, I'm not really offering any help, though I wish I could. I guess this is just to say how it happens, to mention that it's a good idea to always check the CD player before you leave the rental place, and to recommend - don't disconnect the battery after you get it working, or you'll have to deal with this all over again.
posted by koeselitz at 2:33 AM on March 8, 2010

If the information isn't in the glove box (it should be a small slip of paper with a barcode-y sticker) then the rental place should have it - because they will have it in the vehicle documentation when they come to sell it.

The question to ask the rental people is if they have the original documentation for the vehicle, and if not, where it is.

Failing that, a Renault Garage should be able to help. As above, it is an anti-theft feature for when the radio is disconnected from the battery (typically when it is stolen). I lost my code once for a Peugeot, which had a similar system, and a main dealership was able to help me.

This thread might help.
posted by MuffinMan at 3:28 AM on March 8, 2010

Swedish radio is quite good...

Or doesn't the radio receiver work either?
posted by idiomatika at 3:48 AM on March 8, 2010

I don't think anything works if the code isn't activated.
posted by MuffinMan at 4:19 AM on March 8, 2010

Response by poster: Woot! Turns out the front was loose, so poking it in the holes did the trick. After which I had to call the rental place again to ask for a code.

Thanks NordyneDefenceDynamics and others! My faith in the Internets and mobile broadband is strong! Now we're bitching about the speakers, but "yay music!"

We've driven Gothenburg -> Hudiksvall = 800 km
posted by monocultured at 8:48 AM on March 8, 2010

Awesome!
posted by koeselitz at 1:06 PM on March 8, 2010