Radio volume control flakey; display brightness too low

[sleepy hollow]

2007 Ram 1500 Laramie. Great sound system IMHO. However two issues after 155K miles and 17 years:

(1) volume knob is flakey and increases the volume when turned counterclockwise at "normal" speed. If I go really slow it will ajust the volume properly, usually. Of course the steering wheel controls work fine so it really is not a practical issue, but I wondered if anyone has run into this and fixed it or knows how to? I assume it is a transistor thing meaning one of the IC components that reacts to the movement of the knob has decided to misbehave and there is no way to fix unless I want to open it up and go to town finding the bad component. Might require IC soldering and other potential nighmares. If so not worth risking an otherwise perfectly good unit. Easy to live with.

(2) The other problem is something I really would like to fix - the radio display is nearly unreadable in daylight even when turned all the way up to max brightness with the knob on left of steering wheel near headlight switch. I do not have navigation so this is simply the small LCD radio panel that shows the time, station and other info as requested. I am thinking it is the backlight for the LCD panel that has dimmed over time. But I have not opened her up to find out. it would be helpful not to be a trailblazer if someone else has had the same issue and perhaps addressed it?

Any ideas?

Thx

 

[Atcer2018]

Not familiar with the audio systems on a 2007 but if the volume control is an actual knob that rotates left and right it’s most likely a simple potentiometer. An electromechanical switch sort of device. They wear out over long periods of use or become dirty inside where the mechanical contacts meet. You could try disassembling the radio and cleaning the volume knob with electrical contact cleaner. As for your issue with the dimming display I agree that it’s probably dimming as it gets older. If the glass or plastic that covers the display is shiny you could try a matte screen protector to cut down on daytime glare. Hopefully someone has a real display fix that they will share.

 

[sleepy hollow]

Thanks for your most helpful suggestions. The knob turns so easily I discounted that it is an old-style potentiometer and assumed it was something more of a "simulated" pot using ICs, but certainly worth a look.