Purchased this radio about 3 years ago as NOS and w/o wasting much time I figured I'd ask if anyone has seen these symptoms. It pisses me off that it doesn't work ..but what am I gonna do.. :af: Another board member and friend (Carl) sent me a real nice replacement radio and I received it yesterday. When I plugged the replacement in the car, it started to smoke 30 seconds later. Back to the NOS radio.. Here's a quick snap shot of whats going on; 71 Gran Sport; 1) The car has 1 front and 1 optional rear speaker 2) The speakers are re-coned/rebuild as original 3) The right inner knob has a 3 prong attenuation configuration that adjusts the fader from front to back. The 3 prongs insert into the 3 tiny holes in the radio chassis 4) Aside from the power plug: power/ground/front speaker located on the left rear of the chassis, there is the rear speaker wire that plugs independently on the right side of the rear of the chassis via a 'tail wire'. Lastly, the antenna plus into the side of the chassis on the right side. 5) The antenna is built into the center of the windshield which is brand new 6) The entire set-tp is factory fresh with new wiring harness and plugs, nothing butchered SYMPTOMS; 1) I noticed the antenna coax plug came apart when unplugged from the chassis and I had to pull the 'pin' out of the chassis with a pair of needle nose pliers. I made sure the ground and the pin didn't touch when plugged it back in 2) When the radio is plugged in and mounted, all lights come on as normal 3) The only thing heard is the white noise out of the rear speaker. When the right fader is turned clockwise the rear speaker gets louder. 4) There is no audio from the front speaker at all 5) when I tap the right knob stem, a loud static is heard, like a loose connection in the radio (??) This should be relatively simple to fix.. I guess my next question would be is there anyone on this board that rebuilds radios? I live in Jersey so it would be a plus if I could find someone local. I appreciate your help. Mike
Here's a couple of things to try. First, replace the antenna to radio connector. They're called Motorola connectors, you can get them at Radio Shack and probably Walmart in the TV/Audio/computer stuff section. I think that's where I got one a few months ago. Second, get some radio/electronic contact cleaner aerosol spray and hit the on/off/volumn switch and the fader. It's easier and more effective if you remove the radio and take off the top cover so you can get to the rotary switch area, rather than trying to get the cleaner in through the shaft opening. Spray 'em down and rotate the knobs throughout their travel. But no noise thru the front speaker is a bad sign. I've found that NOS speakers are only about 50% good because the little hair-thin wire that connects to the coil gets broken when the gob of glue that holds it at the cone gets broken when the glue dries out and shrinks over the years. But your reconed speakers might be less affected, so I'd check the wire connector and the contacts on the radio. And after all that, send the radio out for restoration probably!
Have a nice AM radio out of a '70 Lark with under 50 thou. miles. Can send send sans knobs.....if you care to try. Figure out something later, cause it should work.
I would make sure your restored front speaker is good. I know its rebuilt, but just make sure you can hear music through it. We need to know if its capable of working. Is it still 8 ohm? You can only use 8-10 ohm speakers. Most replacement speakers are 4 ohm and will damage a factory radio if used. This is really important. Its a possibility that the fader is NG, you can try using a jumper. Buick installed a jumper when only one speaker was ordered. The jumper goes in in place of the fader. You need to jump the bottom two holes. See if that make the radio work
BTW, it doesnt pay to fix an AM radio. Nice ones are readily avaliable for around $65. If need be, I have a very nice, working/ tested AM radio that plays perfectly. The chrome and lens have been polished and the tuner cleaned. Let me know
Thanks for the feedback.. I sent both speakers to Dave Kliener of GS Enterprises and had them re-coned so I would imagine they are the correct 8 ohm speakers, his stuff is real nice. In the past I've checked to see if a speaker works with a 9 volt battery, is this case when checking an 8 ohm speaker? I don't want to damage it. Already installed the jumper from Carls radio in the NOS radio inserting in the two bottom holes and still nothing. The speaker could be bad but I won't rule it out until I get a working radio. Going to bench test the radio with another antenna and speaker. I might be looking for another radio. More to follow. Mike
Thats a good idea. I have a cheapo universal car antenna I picked up from the auto parts store for 7.99 that I use to bench test radios with. I also have a pair of old home stereo speakers that just so happen to be 8 ohm that I use. Im interested to hear your findings If you can get ahold of a 12v power suppy you can bench test them right on your workbench. I have an old Samlex PSA-305 that I use
the original speakers are 10 ohm but 8 ohm works fine. i purchased a cheapo regular antenna when i was testing my radio prior to installation.
UPDATE; After further review it appears the NOS AM radio does work. Bench tested a total of 3 radios to compare audio quality and 2 of them went up in smoke within a minute. I pulled off the right speaker fader control knob and installed the tiny 'U clip" on both the front and rear speaker and it seems to be fine. The problem is the fader control knob with the three prongs that plug into the three hoes in the radio chassis. Well.. this one allows the speakers to work with a whole lot of static and very little audio when turning. What kind of cleaner can I use to clean the contacts without screwing up the chrome plastic? Is there a powder or dry contact cleaner thats used? The button itself is in fine shape and the tiny contacts don't appear to be broken and the plastic chrome is mint. It comes as a whole unit and cannot be taken apart. Has anyone seen one of these go bad? Looking to find out how to fix this thing or does anyone have another NOS 3 prong fader control knob for sale? If not, does anyone have the Delco fader control knob part number? I could install the "U clip" and say the heck with the rear speaker, but I don't want to do that. The car came factory with one front and one rear speaker, I'd like to make them both work again. Suggestions? Interesting note: Back in the mid 80's my friend and I ripped the original AM radio out of this very same car and installed a cheep Craco cassette deck. It lasted up through 2000 when I removed it for the frame off restoration that took 10 years to do ...and still worked. Installing the original radio is more of a pain in the ass than installing that aftermarket crappy radio! Mike
Mike, I just tried to call and your mail box is full. One thing to note is that you have to make sure that the prongs for the fader control are longer enough so that it makes the proper contact inside. I don't remember how long it is suppose to be though. They are not all the same length!
Hey Carl.. Hope your Thanksgiving went well yesterday.. The three prongs that insert into the radio chassis are long enough and make contact. I'll post a picture of what I'm talking about later this morning. I'll call you once I get up and around. Mike
Mike, The delco part number for the fader is 7302624 except wagon which is 7931554.Check the front speaker bracket to be sure it is mounted to the speaker properly and not shorting on the contacts of the speaker. Mike
Your radios probably all can be repaired. Just messing with the external wiring probably won't fix a 4 decade old radio. Any equipment I get this old, starts out with almost all the capacitors being replaced. They are cheap and definitely limited life, esp any polarized caps. Send it to a competent shop, and get it right. Bruce Roe
Will do Mike - I didn't know the front speaker could short out like that. I'll double check later today, pull the speaker and bench test it. As I said in an earlier post, the speakers were re-coned as original and (look) good. I'll be on the hunt for another NOS fader switch. Thanks for the feedback. Mike
I hear you Bruce.. The good thing is the radio is NOS and looks new all around, but doesn't appear to perform as it should. My next door neighbor who has experience in restoring late model Corvettes said the AM frequency in our area is weak because of our geographic location which makes sense considering where I live. I may send the radio out for a tune up but weighing my options before I pull the trigger. I was also thinking of an FM conversion and looked in the latest issue of Hemmings under the vendor section and the costs were in the area of $500 plus upgraded speakers... +++ $$$ ..not going there. I'd like to make this radio work as it was from the factory using period correct technology. but... this all depends on how frustrating it becomes. I could do a period correct AM/FM radio as we'll but not sure either.. Does anyone have a 71 NOS radio for sale or something mint? I may consider this option if the price is right and forget the AM problems. More to follow. Thanks for the feedback. Mike
I put an AM/FM in my 70 and it was the best thing I ever did. I got tired of hearing atatic and only one station really came in clear. I have the original AM radio that came out safely tucked away now. Would you even lose any points for that at a show?? If so, have Mike Trom add it in to your window sticker! Then it will be original equipment!p There really isnt a need to spend hundreds on an NOS radio even if one can be found. The chrome housings and lenses are easily found in mint shape and are identical between AM and AM/FM. I have repro band indictators available for the AM/FMs in ccase you find one that could use replacement Bear in mind that most radio stations in 71 were AM. There were very few stations broadcasting on FM back then. Thats why most cars had AM.
Hey Jason, I guess I'll do the same and tuck the AM radio away and install the AM/FM unit. I'll look around for a good radio and see what comes up. Realistically, I have all winter to find one which could be sent out for reverb. I found one on eBay but the ad says it's for a 1970 Riv. Have any idea if this would be period correct for a 71 GS? It looks like my AM radio only with a black AM/FM selector above the indicator. To your point about the window sticker; I'm not sure if the car will be entered into another concourse event, so it really doesn't matter, as long as it's period correct...and mint. Copy/pasted the eBay link below. http://www.ebay.com/itm/70-Buick-Wi...ries&vxp=mtr&hash=item2c60ee8777#ht_500wt_966 Thanks, Mike
