CD player faint

[91HunterRR]

To make a long, complicated story much shorter… my heater core blew last year and douched the original Pioneer radio/tape player in my 91 RR Hunter. Thankfully, the 6-disc Pioneer CD player wasn’t affected. After the radio dried out and I replaced the heater core, the radio and CD functions worked fine, but the tape player was screwed up. It kept fast forwarding and wouldn’t play at all, but I can live without tapes.

Suddenly, I can’t hear the CD player now. It still works (it is getting power and is recognized through the radio controls), but the CD music is extremely faint. I really have to crank up the volume and can only hear the faint music when the engine is off and ignition is engaged. Radio signal and volume are normal.

Anybody have an idea what might be going on? Could it be something with the amplifiers? Or is it more likely the radio unit finally has some internal issues from the coolant soaking? There's no corrosion on the connection from the CD player to the radio.

I’m encouraged that I can still hear the music, but I just can’t diagnose the problem. I’d like to avoid replacing the unit if possible. Any suggestions?