Haunted Radio?
 

The Radio on my 300TD has a mind of its own. Sometimes when you turn on the car the radio has power and works fine.....Other times it seems to have no power to it and is completely dead. I assume there is a short somewhere but I wondered if anyone else has had the same problem and could give me an idea where to start looking.
Thanks,
James

Check the fuse. Could have some slight corrosion or be broken. Clean the ends and/or replace. The open type fuses are notorious for these symptoms you describe.

Oh, there's nothing wrong with your radio. You got the rare "Crap-filtering"(look closely, the face plate of the radio should have "Deletinzecrappen" printed on it, right under the Becker logo) option on your car. When there's nothing good coming over the airwaves, the radio stays in the off mode to conserve power. You may notice the radio stays off for short periods of time, or sometimes days and even months. This is definitely something to list when you're selling the car as it can add thousands to the asking price. Remember Debbie Boone's "You Light Up My Life"? If you'd had that option in your car when that song was a hit, your radio would have stayed off all summer long allowing you to truly enjoy the melodic sounds of the Diesel engine. Last summer's media blitz of the Chandra Levy disappearance? Bet ya didn't have to listen to that on the ole radio! You've got a real gem there James, please don't take it for granted.