Head Unit Muted as if Phone is Playing Audio

I have a 2011 Taco with the stock A518A8 head unit. The previous owner of the vehicle had installed a plug and play Rostra Con-Verse Bluetooth unit.

A few days ago, the head unit started displaying the message "Tel-Mute" constantly. This message is normal when a phone is connected (and playing audio) via Bluetooth. If I connect my phone via Bluetooth, any audio I play from it, plays just fine. However, now the Tel-Mute message displays 100% of the time even though no phone is connected, and I cannot get the head unit to play anything from the AM/FM/CD/Aux/etc. input.

Things I've tried:
Disconnecting the battery/radio fuses for 10-15 minutes
Resetting the Bluetooth module back to factory
Pulling the head unit out, disconnecting it completely for 20-30 mins
Disconnecting the Bluetooth module completely, and reinstalling the head unit (back to stock)

None of these things have made any difference. Still get the Tel-Mute messaged all the time and no sound from any inputs.

I assumed the issue was the Bluetooth module inserting some kind of funky input to the head unit to keep it muted, but since I've removed it completely, I wouldn't think that was the case. Unless the head unit now needs some kind of hard reset on it? Or maybe the head unit is just going out?

I know the basics of using a multimeter, but I'm not well versed in audio things so hoping someone can point me in the right direction as to what to check or things to try. Thanks!

 

Most taco headunits that I’ve heard fail, fail after about 8-9 years. I’m guessing the solder connections on the U/X chip, or the amp chip are failing. No amount of hard resets will fix it. Take it out back and shoot it. To “fix” it would require a complete tear down of the headunit, for the mother/daughter boards, and desolder/resolder each pin.

A new unit will depend on your needs. www.crutchfield.com has many choices. Select the options you need/want, and let their search engine guide you.

 

Gotcha, that makes sense. I'll check out crutchfield for a new unit. Thank you!