Radio module capacitor surprise

[sarookha]

Radio was crackly, even after replacing the speakers, so it was time to do the radio capacitor replacement, per the How-to-Guides.

 

A few pointers...

1) the company that made the capacitors referenced in the How-to-Guide no longer exists, so don't bother searching for it.

2) the capacitors on the circuit board are bi-polar, so you'll have to replace them with the less-common bi-polar capacitors.  Most capacitors have a + and a - side, and only function properly when they are in the right orientation.  But since the originals are bi-polar, there is no way to tell what the correct orientation would be.

 

1uF 50V bi-polar capacitors on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075K6SZPJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

3) Of my three '1990 coupes, only one has a radio module whose circuit board looks like the one in the how-to-guide.  Apparently my other two are later replacements (one has a date sticker inside for 1993).  They look identical on the outside, but the cooling fins are only on the outside, there are none inside, and the circuit layout is completely different.  The Guide gives you a model number to check for before you start to disassemble yours, remember to check it!

 

Happy soldering 🙂

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by sarookha

[Tallicat]

Or just buy a refurbished radio module from Marck Barker. I just replaced mine last weekend in 30 minutes.

[Gregoryb]

Do you by chance know if the 1988 crt radios use the same capacitors?

I got one the snap and pop

[sarookha]

I don't know if the '88 has the same module or not, but they aren't to hard to remove.  I think yours is in the driver's side of the center console?  I know the radio controls are up on the dash, but the radio module with the capacitors in it is in the console.  Once you've got it out, look through the top vents to see if the large heat sink that protrudes from the end of the case continues inside the case for another inch and a half or so.  If not, then it's not the module described in the How-To guide.  If you see fins inside the case, you're in luck.

 

I must say that while my capacitor fix helped a lot, it did not entirely clean up the sound.  It's still a little crackly, but much more tolerable.  Might be my lack of soldering skills?

Edited July 12, 2023 by sarookha