Electrical: audio, a/c flaky :(

[ampfp]

Ok wierd problem - sometimes the audio system refuses to come on! It makes a grinding noise in the tape player and then radio shuts off too. I can just turn the key off and on and it starts up! :(

And the A/C doesn't work if the fan is set to setting 2 or 3. It only works on 1 or 4 (i.e. weak or noisy :()

[Bret2002]

yeah the a/c is common. it is due to weak connections on the back of the switch. there is a solution in the how-to's

[pasadena_commut]

Ok wierd problem - sometimes the audio system refuses to come on! It makes a grinding noise in the tape player and then radio shuts off too. I can just turn the key off and on and it starts up! :(


The A/C problem is extremely common and is not related to the radio.

What you are describing for the radio sounds like a mechanical failure somewhere in the tape mechanism that is triggering the shutdown. It could do that either because the radio is designed to detect this type of mechanical issue, or because it is drawing a lot of current, and that is the actual trigger for the shutdown. My guess would be that the latter one is more likely the case.

You might be able to figure out what's wrong by taking the unit out, disassembling it, and poking around. However, having tried to repair cassette drives before I can tell you that what is broken may not be anything easy to fix. And since you have to pull the unit out anyway, which is half the work, the easiest path by far would be to put in an aftermarket unit. If you want to maintain the look of the dash, in exchange for the loss of some function, you could probably find the wires supplying power to the tape drive and detach them. Odds are high that if the tape drive is out of the picture at least the radio will work reliably.

[widgit117]

I wouldn't even try to fix it. Aftermarket radio and call it a day. I suggest Pioneer.

[ampfp]

awesome... thanks guys! Aftermarket radio and the pliers fix for the a/c it will be!