I want to retain the stock appearance of my 84 GSL. The stereo cracks when the volume is adjusted and the speakers in the car have been replaced. Can anyone tell me about the feasability of repairing the stock stereo. Will a stereo shop be able to fix/get parts for this thing?

 

No need for a stereo shop.. Go to radio shack and ask them for electronic cleaner. It's a special lubricant you can spray on potentiometers (volume controls etc.) and will get all the dirt and dust that build up and cause the crackling..

Man, I'm showing my age.. LOL

 

Thanks for the info. I was told WD-40, and I tried that and didnt really help. I will get the stuff at Radeo Shack and try that.

 

No, don't use WD-40. partsguy is right, get some pot cleaner. You'll have to take the covers off the stereo to get to the pots. Just find the openings in them, spray some cleaner in, and work the controls back and forth several times. That should take care of it. You can also use it on switches.

 

This is secondhand knowledge, use at your own risk: If the cleaner doesnt work take it apart (CAREFULLY) and hit all of the connections with a soldering iron. Reheat and soften up the solder. Its called a 'cold solder joint' and happens with older electronics. By reheating everything youre essentialy freshening up the connections.

 

pot cleaner, didn't they use that in the 60's,LOL. rx7doctor

 

Wouldnt turning the volume up and down multiple times (with radio off) clean up the connections? I thought that it was a simple dirt buildup in there and when moved around more than normal it would essentially clean itself off.

 

No That last wont work

 

I figured someone would have to make that comment LOL

No, once they get dirty they need to be cleaned with a spray cleaner. It works nearly every time, unless they are so far gone that they can't be cleaned. Sometimes you can improve them just by working them back and forth, but the problem will return if you don't clean them properly.

This is a possiblity, but not likely. The scratchiness he describes is almost always from dirty volume controls (potentiometers (pots)).

 

hmm.. this is good info, I was wondering about that myself. Now if someone could figure out how to get the stereo apart and post some pics we'd be all set.

But as it is, I'm going to archive this anyway.

Jon

 

Thats what I said when I first heard it, but I bounced it off a few friends who are/were electrical engineering majors and a neighbor whos a ham radio operator. They all agreed that it could be a good fix, the scratchiness comes from a bad connection. Usually a moving part like a volume slider, but a cold solder joint is also a bad connection.

 

cold solder joints will cause different syptoms, such as not working properly sometimes(intermitent). it was real common on late 80's gm radios and it tends to happen on bose amps also. that fix would work, but it would be a bitch to find which one is causing it.

 

OK...I'll try this again. A cold solder joint COULD cause intermittent operation. But when "The stereo cracks when the volume is adjusted", it is not likely to be a cold solder joint, but IS likely to be a dirty volume control. Certainly, if cleaning the volume control doesn't fix the problem look around for cold solder joints, loose connections, etc. Also, you should not go around resoldering things unless you have soldered before. It isn't difficult, but if you don't know what you're doing, you can make a real mess.

Just so you know I know a little bit about this, I was an electronics technician for 11 years and used to fix stereos for extra money.

84-7GSL - what part of Wisconsin are you in? If you're in the southwest, it isn't a long drive to Cedar Rapids, so if you want to bring it down we can take a look at it.

Good luck!
Rich

 

64MGB i was agreeing with you, i quess what i was trying to say is that a cold solder joint would cause different symtoms from what he stated, and briefly describing what a cold solder joint would cause

 

HMMM. sounds like me that there is some slang internet lingo going on for the illegal correct way to smoke pot,LOL. Sorry could not help my self. rx7doctor

 

My bad...thanks for clarifying. ;-)

 

Thanks for the offer 64mgb. I'm on the shores of Lake Mich., so not so close to Cedar Rapids.