GSL-SE Clarion Stereo Tape Deck Wiring, Not The Normal Questions!
 

Hi everyone!

I'm one of those people whose ambitions are usually set higher than my abilities.

I LOVE the classic Japanese tape deck/equalizer that came in my 85' GSL-SE. I'm working on modifying the tape deck portion to have a time period accurate display where the tape deck is. I hope to use arduino and an LCD display to provide bluetooth connectivity, and have the display be able to show what songs are playing and control the music app on my phone etc...

Anyway, I'm struggling to figure out the wiring from the equalizer to the tape deck. I've got the Left and Right channels figured out, (blue and green) but there are 4 more wires that I'm not sure what they do. Also there is some kind of signal from the tape deck that triggers the rest of the radio to switch from tuner to tape deck. I assume that one of these 6 wires is responsible for that.

Does anyone have a wire diagram for the plug that goes from the tape deck to the equalizer? Can anyone advise me on what the other 4 wires are in that connection besides L and R channel? 2 of the wires appear to have about 8 volts going through them, however the tape deck itself has a separate plug with vehicle power coming in. The colors of the wire are: Blue and Red (L and R signal), Red and Black (8 volts), and white and yellow.

Thanks in advance!

I am relatively electrically inept, and I can see from these diagrams that they do not address the specific question you ask. However, if you don’t have this already it might be helpful for your project in general. There appears to be no description of the connection from the main head to the equalizer.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...19b3db9ee6.png
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...a676808ef4.png

Really, the ONLY thing I need to figure out is how to trigger the radio to switch to the tape deck.

I did this on my SA and it cuts out the stereo when I use the aux cable with my ipod.Its simple and can probably be applied to what you want to do.

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-arch...ghlight=stereo

Since you seem to be pretty skilled in electronics... I've been trying to get the OEM radio "resurrected" in my 85 GS. As a result I've ended up buying 3 units that don't work. They light up... but that's it... oh, I might get some clicking under the driver-side dash.
It seems most everyone has given up on these old Clarion radios... When I got the car in Feb from the original owner (garage kept and only 36K miles on it) the radio would make the antenna go up... but now I've got nothing. Any suggestions on how to get the old radio working... I have the receiver, tape and eq. One discover I made is that the 12V constant tab on the back of the radio is often missing... as is the case with 3 of the 4 radios I currently have in my possession.
Any help you can provide is much appreciated.
Nate

Hey Nate!

The first thing I would try is hooking the stereo up to a 12v source without using the car wiring, to see if things power up normally. That way you could eliminate the possibility that you've got some wiring issues on the car side.

Another way to do this would be to get a multimeter and test the wiring coming into the unit.

I'd be happy to walk you through it. I am NOT great at electronics, but I can show you what I know. Send me a PM, and I'll send you my phone number.

Just messaged you with contact info.
Thanks!
Nate

Some resources for other people's benefit (and mine!)
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...2e6bb7984f.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...d8a0f4298a.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...c532b513d5.jpg

Great post about adding bluetooth and auxiliary input to the radio. This guy has some great resources.
https://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...rx7-build.html

That guy is me. To answer your question, the radio does not trigger the tape deck, the tape deck cuts power to the radio turning it off so it can run the audio signal through it. Inserting a cassette is basically like flipping a relay.

Dude, your seven is sweet!

So I have a couple of questions:
1.The way you set up your relays is all external. It seems like the tape deck cuts power to the radio through some internal mechanism. Is that accurate? There is a "Tuner Battery" lead on the tape deck. Does that power the radio? Does it turn off when the tape deck is activated? (I've got my whole radio all torn apart, so I can't test). But that system doesn't make sense, because the radio plays fine without the tape deck being present.
2. There are some buttons that I believe are still active on the tuner even while the tape deck is being used, like Loud, and the base/treble and fade/balance. I assume with your setup with the external relays these buttons continue to work?

Thanks for your input, and great write ups you've done. Super helpful.

I haven't seen what the harness looks like in a non-tape-deck car but I imagine it has a jumper on the 6 pin harness for the tape deck that connects pins B and C. When it's in the car, the radio isn't going to work if the tape deck harness is disconnected. All of the functions you talk about work whether the radio has power or not. They are solid state filters on the audio signal that passes through via the DIN connectors. Fader works fine, bass, treble, loudness, etc.

One thing to consider is that my diagram in that link above is missing a connection between the relay and pin 3 of the equalizer patch cable. Pin 3 is "battery +" and if you don't have an amp that will automatically turn on, you need to send power to that wire for it to get to your amps. Of course you can just send a wire straight off the relay to the amps as well.

Lots of ways to skin a cat, but the secret is you cut power to the radio so it doesn't play over your other device.

Resurrected Clarion OEM Stereo.
 

Btw, in case anyone cares, I got my OEM stereo working. Problem was the fuse in the cassette player. Thanks to billyjones454 for helping me troubleshoot it. If you’ve got power coming to the tape player but not out of it to the radio, the thing won’t work. I’m so happy just to have tunes in the car. Got the center console filled with tapes from the 80s! It’s the little things some times. Now, to fine-tune my 9 band equalizer for just the right sound, haha! Oh, and figure out why the antenna won’t go up...probly dead motor.

Here's my tip for the EQ. Obviously things will be different for different speakers, but there is a cabin resonance at 125Hz and 250Hz so you will likely need to cut those down a bit to get smooth bass. When listening to cassettes I boost the highs a bit too, but I drop it down when I'm using Bluetooth.

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