anyone know anything about fixing old (80's) car radios?

[kevin the bass man]

Frono, if you feel this belongs in the tech shop, feel free to move it.
the other week I picked up an old pioneer 2 shaft radio in the junkyard for $10. I need a 2 shaft radio for my caddy (dont want to hack the dash and the factory radios toast) and this one was nicer then the clarion I had lying around (which had no knobs or trim plate). its a 2 channel pioneer ke-2222, (I do have a 2 to 4 channel eq/ booster I'll be using though, so it doesnt matter that its only 2 channels)

I bench tested it and it sounded good enough (considering its from the 80s). now heres the bad part- the LEDs that backlight the display dont work. 2 were out when I got it, and the third went out when the radio hit the ground (tripped over the power adapter cord when testing it, and it hit the ground)
good news is that the tape mechanism wasnt in it- bad news is I need at least 1 led working so I can see the display (LCD) if you click the picture and look on the front of the radio, you can see the 3 LEDs (yellowish orange dots on front of radio).

so my question is can I replace them? and if I can, where would I get new ones and how would I go about installing them?

I also have another problem with it- the tape belt has disintegrated and will not come off of the 2 grey pulleys. I was told to use alcohol on them, but IIRC alcohol damages some types of plastic. does anyone have any ideas on how to get the belts off the pulleys?

 

[dapmdave]

Re: anyone know anything about old car radios?

Cool... but I thought you meant OLD car radios.

(And sorry, this wasn't helpful, was it?)

Dave

 

[kevin the bass man]

Re: anyone know anything about old car radios?

Cool... but I thought you meant OLD car radios.

(And sorry, this wasn't helpful, was it?)

Dave

no it wasnt, but its better then some of the responses I've gotten other palces. lol
I do like the knobs on that radio though.
(I also edited the thread title to be more specific)

 

[adorshki]

so my question is can I replace them? and if I can, where would I get new ones and how would I go about installing them?

I have a mighty fear that from that era, you may be SOL. BUT can you pull one or see any kind of mfr's part number on it? Then google that, and/or "pioneer radio parts". When we tried to help a guy looking for a relay for an old amp a few months back, I did find some parts wholesalers and cross-refs, so info is out there, but the secondary hurdle may be that the old-fashioned "hobby restoration" type of supplier doesn't seem to exist anymore.

I also have another problem with it- the tape belt has disintegrated and will not come off of the 2 grey pulleys. I was told to use alcohol on them, but IIRC alcohol damages some types of plastic. does anyone have any ideas on how to get the belts off the pulleys?

I don't recall alcohol attacking any plastics, but it DOES attack rubber. Caution would be that if you tried to use it to dissolve the belts you'll probably get a sticky mess to clean off of the pulleys..
Don't you just love it when I pile on the discouragement?

 

[kevin the bass man]

so my question is can I replace them? and if I can, where would I get new ones and how would I go about installing them?

I have a mighty fear that from that era, you may be SOL. BUT can you pull one or see any kind of mfr's part number on it? Then google that, and/or "pioneer radio parts". When we tried to help a guy looking for a relay for an old amp a few months back, I did find some parts wholesalers and cross-refs, so info is out there, but the secondary hurdle may be that the old-fashioned "hobby restoration" type of supplier doesn't seem to exist anymore.

[quote="kevin the bass man":xxndsiw5]I also have another problem with it- the tape belt has disintegrated and will not come off of the 2 grey pulleys. I was told to use alcohol on them, but IIRC alcohol damages some types of plastic. does anyone have any ideas on how to get the belts off the pulleys?

I don't recall alcohol attacking any plastics, but it DOES attack rubber. Caution would be that if you tried to use it to dissolve the belts you'll probably get a sticky mess to clean off of the pulleys..
Don't you just love it when I pile on the discouragement? [/quote:xxndsiw5]
yeah, considering you're one of the guys I know of on the forum that knows his stuff.
as for alcohol dissolving rubber- maybe thats why the same guy said I'd need fantastick cleaner?
theres no part number that I can see on them.
I've found various basic orange LED's online, but I'm not sure if they'll work (I dont want something so bright it'll be distracting since this will be in my car). I've thought about wiring the LED's up separate of the radio- maybe run them off the dash lights (instead of soldering them to the board) if that would be easier.

not to add yet another question to the list, but how hard is it to refoam a set of 6x9's? found a set of nice looking blaupunkts from mid 80s to early 90s in the junkyard (in 93 conversion van, but probably several years older) that had paper surrounds that were 1/3 gone (didnt get them because dont want to waste $10 for the set if they cant really be fixed)

 

[Triangle Going Sick]

Iso alcohol will damage some plastics. Either you get the milky appearance or straight out cracking. If you can get the part out and put it in the freezer so the rubber can go hard, you can then slowly break it off. Not too sure what chemicals you could use on it as anything to break down the gluey rubber might corrode the plastic.

Do the LED's have any identifying info on them/numbers etc?

You should be able to retro fit an orange LED from electronics supplier. (not High intensity) You can either get plastic LED holders that will clip onto the cct board as I'm not sure from the pix if that yellow housing is integral??? and the LED will locate snuggly in that. Barring that option you can simply silicon the LEDs in place which is what I do on a lot of cct board connections to stop them from coming loose under vibration.

 

[adorshki]

theres no part number that I can see on them.
I've found various basic orange LED's online, but I'm not sure if they'll work (I dont want something so bright it'll be distracting since this will be in my car). I've thought about wiring the LED's up separate of the radio- maybe run them off the dash lights (instead of soldering them to the board) if that would be easier.

My bad, I was thinking of those numeric segmented LED displays. The regular little "lightbulbs" are fairly generic. When I sold 'em, the "housings" were built to common industry standard specs for a few different basic shapes, and there weren't a whole lot of mA choices, and 5vdc was the standard...computer "logic voltage".

not to add yet another question to the list, but how hard is it to refoam a set of 6x9's? found a set of nice looking blaupunkts from mid 80s to early 90s in the junkyard (in 93 conversion van, but probably several years older) that had paper surrounds that were 1/3 gone (didnt get them because dont want to waste $10 for the set if they cant really be fixed)

Here's a start:
http://www.speakerworks.com/speaker_rep ... s_s/65.htm
I did my own AR woofers a few years back, the only trick I'd suggest is that although the instructions tell you to glue the surround to the housing first, I glued it to the speaker first, to be sure that I wouldn't be binding the voice coil if the surround was slightly off center when gluing the speaker edges to it. If it's glued to the speaker first, you can let it center wherever it needs to on the housing and the coil won't be bound up. It's a pretty easy job, but the glue's stronger than that stuff we used to get in the '60's. :lol:

 

[zulu]

Unless you need the cassette player, I would go with one of these for @ $25:

http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PLR14MPF-Das ... B004HJ3FH0

 

[kevin the bass man]

@ Al.
thanks for the help
you wouldnt happen to know what all I would need to replace those LED lights? I have a weller solder gun, but what all else would I need?
thanks for the link on the speaker refoaming kits. if the blaupunkts are still there (gotta worry more about some moron stabbing them with a screwdriver or stealing the tweeters off them then someone actually buying them) I'll grab them, and refoam them when I get my next paycheck.

@zulu
theres a reason they call them pyle. :lol: pyle o' crap. (check the customer ratings)
and I do like having cassette. my last 5 vehicles have had cassette players in them (and several of them I installed). unfortunately, the dash in my cadillac is made for a 2 shaft radio, so I'm kinda stuck with that (I refuse to hack up dashes to make radios fit)

 

[adorshki]

@ Al.
thanks for the help
you wouldnt happen to know what all I would need to replace those LED lights? I have a weller solder gun, but what all else would I need?
thanks for the link on the speaker refoaming kits. if the blaupunkts are still there (gotta worry more about some moron stabbing them with a screwdriver or stealing the tweeters off them then someone actually buying them) I'll grab them, and refoam them when I get my next paycheck.

If I recall, the "can sizes" were called out as "t-somethings", you should be able to cross ref with dimensions so you can make sure your'e getting the right can (bulb) size, if fitting tolerance is an issue.
Wiki notes that 80% of world production is the "5mm" type:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-emitting_diode
I think you're gonna be able to find those in a Radio Shack type place, or whoever's offering parts to hobbyists in your neck of the woods. You might be able to buy as few as 10 or 20 at a pop. You know what I'm sayin'. Also, they're frequently mounted in collars, the little black plastic ring that helps 'em stay mounted in a panel. Chances are you can just re-use the ones that are probably there already.
Otherwise, you got a way to get the old ones out? A bit of solder wick (the woven stuff that looks like the pickups on old slotcars) and/or a "solder sucker". I assume your Weller is appropriate for PC board work, ie, 25-35watts and ideally has a thermostat? I'm assuming they're soldered right to a board, and they come with pretty decent-length leads.
Sometimes the leads would be insulated in shrinktubing if they were standing off of the board more than 1/4". After all that, i' starting to wonder if the problem is actually with the leds, since, as semiconductor devices, they're almost indestructible, except for the plastic "bulb")package.
On the refoam kits, I know there's other sources out there too, the place that had what I needed way back when was actually in Florida, the one I linked just happened to be the first one that came up on Google yesterday.
In any case, have fun buddy, I get why you're trying to do what you do. :wink:

 

[kevin the bass man]

thanks Al
went to the junkyard to pick up some parts. I picked up the blaupunkts- the magnets on them are massive (over 2x larger than the magnets on any other 6x9 I've owned), and the paper cone is super thick, so they should be pretty good speakers once fixed. they're from 1994 and chinese, but they seem very well built (aside from the paper surrounds that crumbled.)
I also picked up a pioneer keh-9191 HU from 1986. it was top of the line with 25 watts x 2 high power (also can be used as normal 4 channel radio), sep. bass and treble controls, line out, seek/scan, and dolby B and C. approx cost back then was $400 (which seems insane for a radio) it needs a wiring harness, trim plate, knobs, belts, and a really good cleaning, but its a very solidly built (and heavy) radio (plus it was free and you can't beat that).
I also picked up some other speakers when I was at the junkyard- need to replace the vans speakers- I turned the bass up too loud and blew out the rear speakers (then again I am the bass man.)

 

[fronobulax]

went to the junkyard to pick up some parts.

Wow. Most of the junkyards in this part of the world have been closed for environmental reasons or because the land was extremely valuable to developers. The ones that remain have morphed into used parts stores. You walk in, browse a few shelves and if you don't find it, a yard employee will go off looking "out back". The days of finding and uninstalling the part you needed are long gone.