73 Radio Question
Thread Starter
|
New User
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Bennett, CO
73 Radio Question
Have finally been getting to sorting through electrical problems on my f100 chores truck so I can get some more comfort out of her. The radio is a Kraco am/fm with cassette (fairly certain it's the kid-581h).
Got all the speakers working but long story short is the common black wire got hooked up to 12V power. Now the unit won't power on. Switched the fuse and still no dice. Should I assume it's fried? Is this the sort of thing a DIY'er can fix without in-depth knowledge? Maybe wondering if there's a couple basics I could check on the unit board to determine one way or the other. Any direction would be much appreciated.
Got all the speakers working but long story short is the common black wire got hooked up to 12V power. Now the unit won't power on. Switched the fuse and still no dice. Should I assume it's fried? Is this the sort of thing a DIY'er can fix without in-depth knowledge? Maybe wondering if there's a couple basics I could check on the unit board to determine one way or the other. Any direction would be much appreciated.
Tuned
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 380
Likes: 192
From: Port Charlotte, Florida
Ouch! Sorry to hear of your radio mishap. This is typically not something the DIY'er can fix. Could be something relatively simple, but probably not. Sorry to say, but it's probably time for a new radio, unless this one really means something to you and you just HAVE to keep it. A radio repair shop *might* be willing to look at it, but you need to decide how much it's worth to you. You can find similar direct-fit car radios all over the place for next to nothing. Or you could modify the dash to fit a DIN chassis radio and upgrade to AM/FM/CD for a low price. (I may go that route with my own '73 Explorer)
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,626
Likes: 78
From: NE Texas
Kraco was the kind of aftermarket radio you bought in Kmart in the old days... as far as I know they were never factory original and probably have zero collector's vale. (However, I do have a friend who fully restored and imported a Trabant... it takes all kinds.)
Moderator & parts slinger
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 50,170
Likes: 5,789
From: S/W Missouri, Polk county
The OEM radio was powered by a GREEN 2-terminal pigtail. YELLOW with a BLACK stripe is switched power, BLUE with RED stripe is dash illumination. Do not mistake the BLUE with RED stripe wire for ground. The OEM radio grounded through its mounting chassis. The speakers were connected over a separate pigtail.
Looked behind the glove box and find a connection the goes off the green and yellow. GREEN with YELLOW stripe wiring is hot-at-all-times power for the courtesy lamp circuit. Use that. There is a black 3-connector pigtail behind the glove box (which also goes on to power the cigarette lighter).
It's not the stock radio wire because the stock radio didn't need hot-at-all-times power (EXCEPT the factory digital AM radio for clock memory).
solid black—power
blue with red stripe--dial light
black with gray dashes—ground
orange with green dashes--right speaker
white with green dashes--left speaker
Assuming an AM/FM stereo and stock wiring harness'.
Purple is ground, right speaker is white and left speaker is orange.
Get ahold of Gene he might be able to bring it back to life.
"For OEM radio help, the guy to use is in Scottsbluff Nebraska. His name is Gene Cochran, and he works out of his house. He's a crusty old codger, but does some tremendous work. While he had the radio apart, he updated some of the internals and cleaned the heck out of everything. My total bill was $25! His number is 308 632-2520 (I checked with him at the time I collected my stereo, and he was OK with giving his number out) He also lined me out on the manner in which the old radios were wired (mine at least). The speakers are in series meaning positive from radio to positive on speaker #1, negative from that speaker goes to positive on speaker #2. Negative from Speaker #2 goes to Negative on stereo. Now the stock stereo rocks as loud as the little 5 1/2 speakers can handle!!!
While it's there you might see if he'll wire in an aux input jack. I had it done with mine, and it allows me to run my I-pod through it. Basically, when the I-pod is connected it becomes the antenna source. Cost in parts was under $5. I set mine on a 12" extension so I could just drill a small hole in the dash by the ashtray, which I'm turning into a covert charging / storage station for my phone and I-pod."
I am trying to find an old thread that talks about the common mistake it sounds like you made.
Looked behind the glove box and find a connection the goes off the green and yellow. GREEN with YELLOW stripe wiring is hot-at-all-times power for the courtesy lamp circuit. Use that. There is a black 3-connector pigtail behind the glove box (which also goes on to power the cigarette lighter).
It's not the stock radio wire because the stock radio didn't need hot-at-all-times power (EXCEPT the factory digital AM radio for clock memory).
solid black—power
blue with red stripe--dial light
black with gray dashes—ground
orange with green dashes--right speaker
white with green dashes--left speaker
Assuming an AM/FM stereo and stock wiring harness'.
Purple is ground, right speaker is white and left speaker is orange.
Get ahold of Gene he might be able to bring it back to life.
"For OEM radio help, the guy to use is in Scottsbluff Nebraska. His name is Gene Cochran, and he works out of his house. He's a crusty old codger, but does some tremendous work. While he had the radio apart, he updated some of the internals and cleaned the heck out of everything. My total bill was $25! His number is 308 632-2520 (I checked with him at the time I collected my stereo, and he was OK with giving his number out) He also lined me out on the manner in which the old radios were wired (mine at least). The speakers are in series meaning positive from radio to positive on speaker #1, negative from that speaker goes to positive on speaker #2. Negative from Speaker #2 goes to Negative on stereo. Now the stock stereo rocks as loud as the little 5 1/2 speakers can handle!!!
While it's there you might see if he'll wire in an aux input jack. I had it done with mine, and it allows me to run my I-pod through it. Basically, when the I-pod is connected it becomes the antenna source. Cost in parts was under $5. I set mine on a 12" extension so I could just drill a small hole in the dash by the ashtray, which I'm turning into a covert charging / storage station for my phone and I-pod."
I am trying to find an old thread that talks about the common mistake it sounds like you made.
Thread Starter
|
New User
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Bennett, CO
Thread Starter
|
New User
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
From: Bennett, CO
Thanks all for the replies. I'm assuming it's fried and will start looking for something old that still works. I'll be in western NE in a few weeks so may think about giving Gene a call as well. Thanks again.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
