Radio acting up

Brassmonkey

Brassmonkey

Cruzin' Mel Man
Recently my original Sy radio, AC/Delco cassette radio, has been losing sound out of some of the speakers. If I have the balance and fader button in the center position, I can only hear two speakers. If I move the control button 3/4 to one side I can hear all the speakers. Am I losing the audio channels in the radio or are my speakers going up? Is there a way to test the radio or speakers? There is a lot of static when I first turn on the radio, but it clears up in a few minutes, if that makes a difference.
 
turbodig

turbodig

Active member
Re: Radio acting up

Brassmonkey said:
Recently my original Sy radio, AC/Delco cassette radio, has been losing sound out of some of the speakers. If I have the balance and fader button in the center position, I can only hear two speakers. If I move the control button 3/4 to one side I can hear all the speakers. Am I losing the audio channels in the radio or are my speakers going up? Is there a way to test the radio or speakers? There is a lot of static when I first turn on the radio, but it clears up in a few minutes, if that makes a difference.
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Dirt, bad connections.

I'd spray some contact cleaner into the rear radio connection and remove/insert a bunch of times.

Might actually be the controls themselves, which would involve a bit of disassembly to get some tuner spray in there.
 
Brassmonkey

Brassmonkey

Cruzin' Mel Man
Re: Radio acting up

turbodig said:
Dirt, bad connections.

I'd spray some contact cleaner into the rear radio connection and remove/insert a bunch of times.

Might actually be the controls themselves, which would involve a bit of disassembly to get some tuner spray in there.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions, I will give it a try and see what happens. I would really like to keep the stock radio.
 
Brassmonkey

Brassmonkey

Cruzin' Mel Man
Re: Radio acting up

Well, I pulled the radio (what a pita, one more inch of wire would have helped tremendously) and speakers today and checked the terminals. All looked as good as new, but I still cleaned them till they were bright and shiny. I still get very low sound out of the same speakers. I can turn the fader/balance knob until I hear the low speakers equally to the good speakers, then turn up the volume and all is well. Should I just live with it or does anyone else have any suggestions?
 
E

EXAF1E

New member
Re: Radio acting up

I have the same problems with the radio in my Syclone. Anyone here have a working stock radio for sale or swap?
 
Last edited:
GAShan

GAShan

Donating Member
Re: Radio acting up

With ignition off move balance and fader controls back and forth about a 100 times. The rheostat has little finger that sit on the shaft to conduct the sound, these will tarnish with time. The movement will clean the contact spots and restore the sound. If the cold solder joints have seperated you are out of luck and the radio will need to be repaired or replaced. Usually the wiggling trick works.
 
I

i8av8

Donating Member
Re: Radio acting up

GAShan said:
With ignition off move balance and fader controls back and forth about a 100 times. The rheostat has little finger that sit on the shaft to conduct the sound, these will tarnish with time. The movement will clean the contact spots and restore the sound. If the cold solder joints have seperated you are out of luck and the radio will need to be repaired or replaced. Usually the wiggling trick works.
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i agree with GAShan. my alpine was doin' the same thing just from sittin' on my shelf for a few months. tried to use it and a bunch of static and bad sound.
 
D

davkat

HHR Turbo
Re: Radio acting up

I have the Delco AM/FM Cassette w/equalizer and the AM Stereo button. It has loss of volume level in the right front speaker but nowhere else. I have cleaned the controls and checked the speakers and connections and all is okay. In my case the radio has an internal problem with the audio output section of the unit. The problem is the same no matter if it's set to AM, FM or the Cassette; the right front volume level is much lower than the others. Bottom line is to replace the radio or send it out to be repaired; I believe there are at least a couple of places listed online who do car radio repair.
 
AutoVation

AutoVation

Member
Re: Radio acting up

davkat said:
I have the Delco AM/FM Cassette w/equalizer and the AM Stereo button. It has loss of volume level in the right front speaker but nowhere else. I have cleaned the controls and checked the speakers and connections and all is okay. In my case the radio has an internal problem with the audio output section of the unit. The problem is the same no matter if it's set to AM, FM or the Cassette; the right front volume level is much lower than the others. Bottom line is to replace the radio or send it out to be repaired; I believe there are at least a couple of places listed online who do car radio repair.
Click to expand...

I will have another stock radio for sale in a couple weeks when I install my aftermarket system. It should be ready to ship on July 5th.
 
E

EXAF1E

New member
Re: Radio acting up

Tony,
Got the radio yesterday. As described (perfect condition). Thanks! Installed it and 20 min. it did the same thing as my original. The question I now have is there an external amp hidden in the dash? The radio has heat sinks like it has an enternal amp. I would have paid $100 extra if GM had not been so cheap to give me at least one more inch of the wiring harness! My forearms are all cut up.
 
D

davkat

HHR Turbo
Re: Radio acting up

EXAF1E said:
Tony,
Got the radio yesterday. As described (perfect condition). Thanks! Installed it and 20 min. it did the same thing as my original. The question I now have is there an external amp hidden in the dash? The radio has heat sinks like it has an enternal amp. I would have paid $100 extra if GM had not been so cheap to give me at least one more inch of the wiring harness! My forearms are all cut up.
Click to expand...

These trucks did not come with a factory installed external amp. The amp is built in to the radio. I did try an aftermarket Eclipse stereo and the problem went away so it wasn't bad speakers.
 
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