new radio/cd 1991 Eldo

[skyman]

My radio cassette that came with the car is toast. I looked in Best Buy but all they had where skinny after market units that would need filler strips. Does any one know of a source that might have older OEM units? I know that Caddy did put out a radio/with the cd in 91. If I knew if a newer year would fit my car, I could try that. I spoke with the local dealer and the person I talked to said they had no way of cross referencing the years.

[Cadillac Jim]

Please tell us more about the problem; "radio cassette... is toast" leaves open several possibilities. For example, if the volume for the cassette player has dropped to zero, you might just need to degauss and clean the cassette player, something you can do yourself with a special cassette from Radio Shack. If the whole radio simply quit playing and is dead, perhaps a fuse, relay, or circuit breaker is in play, or somebody opened the glove compartment and pushed the "Valet" button, or you have a car phone that is off the hook.

The first line of defense is to fix it. Please run the OBD codes and post them when you tell us more about what is wrong with the radio. Follow the link in my signature block for instructions.

[skyman]

Please tell us more about the problem; "radio cassette... is toast" leaves open several possibilities. For example, if the volume for the cassette player has dropped to zero, you might just need to degauss and clean the cassette player, something you can do yourself with a special cassette from Radio Shack. If the whole radio simply quit playing and is dead, perhaps a fuse, relay, or circuit breaker is in play, or somebody opened the glove compartment and pushed the "Valet" button, or you have a car phone that is off the hook.

The first line of defense is to fix it. Please run the OBD codes and post them when you tell us more about what is wrong with the radio. Follow the link in my signature block for instructions.

It works intermittantly. It started out with a poping sound in the left front speaker which would go away and everything would be fine. This happened almost every time I turned it on. The popping sounds got faster and closer together untill it was more like a buzzing which would then disappear and the radio would play. Then this sped to the right front. Eventually there wasnt much sound coming from the front speakers and I relied mainly on the sound from the rear speakers. Now, I get a weak garbled radio occassionally from the right rear speaker.

In any event, I want to get rid of the radio/cassett combo and get one with a cd player because everything is on CDs these days.

I talked to Garys U Pull It in Binghamton NY and they said that the 91 Eldo would accept a unit from 89 to 91. I have my doubts weather the CD option was available before 91.

[Ed Hall]

I installed a AC Delco Radio/CD unit from a year 2000 and newer Chevy truck or Suburban and it fit perfectly in the hole. Even the wiring connectors were the same as on my Eldorado. It was completely plug and play. Mine looks just like this but I picked it up at a garage sale for $5 several years ago.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Gm-Chevy-Cd...#ht_3312wt_1165

[adallak]

Please tell us more about the problem; "radio cassette... is toast" leaves open several possibilities. For example, if the volume for the cassette player has dropped to zero, you might just need to degauss and clean the cassette player, something you can do yourself with a special cassette from Radio Shack. If the whole radio simply quit playing and is dead, perhaps a fuse, relay, or circuit breaker is in play, or somebody opened the glove compartment and pushed the "Valet" button, or you have a car phone that is off the hook.

The first line of defense is to fix it. Please run the OBD codes and post them when you tell us more about what is wrong with the radio. Follow the link in my signature block for instructions.

It works intermittantly. It started out with a poping sound in the left front speaker which would go away and everything would be fine. This happened almost every time I turned it on. The popping sounds got faster and closer together untill it was more like a buzzing which would then disappear and the radio would play. Then this sped to the right front. Eventually there wasnt much sound coming from the front speakers and I relied mainly on the sound from the rear speakers. Now, I get a weak garbled radio occassionally from the right rear speaker.

In any event, I want to get rid of the radio/cassett combo and get one with a cd player because everything is on CDs these days.

I talked to Garys U Pull It in Binghamton NY and they said that the 91 Eldo would accept a unit from 89 to 91. I have my doubts weather the CD option was available before 91.

The radio in my 1991 Seville went out gradually - one speaker after another. The head unit was probably okay. The speakers had amplifiers (as far as I remember) and that's what went south. Make sure you do not have the same problem.

[Cadillac Jim]

It sounds like the electrolytic capacitors dried out. This can be repaired by replacing all the electrolytic capacitors in the speakers and the radio, but it does sound like you want to replace it with a radio that has a CD player. From Ed Hall's post, you might try the radio from a later model from eBay or another used later-model GM radio that isn't integrated into the OBD system (i.e. no IRC module with it's burned-in VN number). Otherwise, an aftermarket equipment supplier that guarantees compatibility with your make and model and includes instructions and wiring diagrams is a good alternative.

[skyman]

I installed a AC Delco Radio/CD unit from a year 2000 and newer Chevy truck or Suburban and it fit perfectly in the hole. Even the wiring connectors were the same as on my Eldorado. It was completely plug and play. Mine looks just like this but I picked it up at a garage sale for $5 several years ago.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Gm-Chevy-Cd...#ht_3312wt_1165

That's definatley something to look into.

I would think that a radio from a newer Caddy would fit as long as it fits the hole in the dash?

[skyman]

It sounds like the electrolytic capacitors dried out. This can be repaired by replacing all the electrolytic capacitors in the speakers and the radio, but it does sound like you want to replace it with a radio that has a CD player. From Ed Hall's post, you might try the radio from a later model from eBay or another used later-model GM radio that isn't integrated into the OBD system (i.e. no IRC module with it's burned-in VN number). Otherwise, an aftermarket equipment supplier that guarantees compatibility with your make and model and includes instructions and wiring diagrams is a good alternative.

As far as onboard diagnostics....I've never had a code thrown related to the radio.

[skyman]

Please tell us more about the problem; "radio cassette... is toast" leaves open several possibilities. For example, if the volume for the cassette player has dropped to zero, you might just need to degauss and clean the cassette player, something you can do yourself with a special cassette from Radio Shack. If the whole radio simply quit playing and is dead, perhaps a fuse, relay, or circuit breaker is in play, or somebody opened the glove compartment and pushed the "Valet" button, or you have a car phone that is off the hook.

The first line of defense is to fix it. Please run the OBD codes and post them when you tell us more about what is wrong with the radio. Follow the link in my signature block for instructions.

It works intermittantly. It started out with a poping sound in the left front speaker which would go away and everything would be fine. This happened almost every time I turned it on. The popping sounds got faster and closer together untill it was more like a buzzing which would then disappear and the radio would play. Then this sped to the right front. Eventually there wasnt much sound coming from the front speakers and I relied mainly on the sound from the rear speakers. Now, I get a weak garbled radio occassionally from the right rear speaker.

In any event, I want to get rid of the radio/cassett combo and get one with a cd player because everything is on CDs these days.

I talked to Garys U Pull It in Binghamton NY and they said that the 91 Eldo would accept a unit from 89 to 91. I have my doubts weather the CD option was available before 91.

The radio in my 1991 Seville went out gradually - one speaker after another. The head unit was probably okay. The speakers had amplifiers (as far as I remember) and that's what went south. Make sure you do not have the same problem.

Yep that's exactly what happened to me

[skyman]

Please tell us more about the problem; "radio cassette... is toast" leaves open several possibilities. For example, if the volume for the cassette player has dropped to zero, you might just need to degauss and clean the cassette player, something you can do yourself with a special cassette from Radio Shack. If the whole radio simply quit playing and is dead, perhaps a fuse, relay, or circuit breaker is in play, or somebody opened the glove compartment and pushed the "Valet" button, or you have a car phone that is off the hook.

The first line of defense is to fix it. Please run the OBD codes and post them when you tell us more about what is wrong with the radio. Follow the link in my signature block for instructions.

It works intermittantly. It started out with a poping sound in the left front speaker which would go away and everything would be fine. This happened almost every time I turned it on. The popping sounds got faster and closer together untill it was more like a buzzing which would then disappear and the radio would play. Then this sped to the right front. Eventually there wasnt much sound coming from the front speakers and I relied mainly on the sound from the rear speakers. Now, I get a weak garbled radio occassionally from the right rear speaker.

In any event, I want to get rid of the radio/cassett combo and get one with a cd player because everything is on CDs these days.

I talked to Garys U Pull It in Binghamton NY and they said that the 91 Eldo would accept a unit from 89 to 91. I have my doubts weather the CD option was available before 91.

The radio in my 1991 Seville went out gradually - one speaker after another. The head unit was probably okay. The speakers had amplifiers (as far as I remember) and that's what went south. Make sure you do not have the same problem.

Yep that's exactly what happened to me

[Cadillac Jim]

This sounds like a classic case of the electrolytic capacitors drying up. Have you parked your car outside in the sun while at work all these years?

[Cadillac Jim]

This sounds like a classic case of the electrolytic capacitors drying up. Have you parked your car outside in the sun while at work all these years?

[Cadillac Jim]

This sounds like a classic case of the electrolytic capacitors drying up. Have you parked your car outside in the sun while at work all these years?

[adallak]

This sounds like a classic case of the electrolytic capacitors drying up. Have you parked your car outside in the sun while at work all these years?

That's what I have been thinking too. Unfortunately, you most likely cannot fix it by just replacing the failed capacitors because the damage has been done to other components as well. One of my rear amplifiers was literally smoking when it went south.

[Cadillac Jim]

If something was smoking then the problem was worse than dried-up capacitors.

[skyman]

This sounds like a classic case of the electrolytic capacitors drying up. Have you parked your car outside in the sun while at work all these years?

Yes, it has been sitting outside for a while. I retired and moved to the country. I just now got a carport but I have used an outdoor car cover for bad weather. But, yes it has spent time in the sun.

[skyman]

This sounds like a classic case of the electrolytic capacitors drying up. Have you parked your car outside in the sun while at work all these years?

Yes, it has been sitting outside for a while. I retired and moved to the country. I just now got a carport but I have used an outdoor car cover for bad weather. But, yes it has spent time in the sun.

[Cadillac Jim]

Until about the mid-1990's you could count on drying out the electrolytic capacitors in consumer electronics if they saw enough heat. The underhood stuff is built to "commercial" standards or even automotive standards, which allow for temperature extremes for long periods. There was a time when auto radios were built to automotive standards too but I have seen a lot of them that clearly are just commercial gear. If the radio tunes off the station when you park in the sun to shop and come back and the interior is baking, then the radio isn't built to automotive standards.

As far as speakers running hot, I can only conjecture. Analog audio equipment before the mid 1980's used feedback for low distortion that sometimes had electrolytic capacitors in the feedback circuitry, and drying up of the capacitors there and in the power supply could cause motorboating or oscillation (squealing) and other noises such as hum (from plug-in equipment), alternator noise, etc. But most modern audio equipment including active speakers uses "class D" or switching amplifiers with MOSFET output transistors that have DC feedback, and these don't go bad with time. This has become so common that several companies make chips that provide the whole class D solution, from tuner output to MOSFET terminals; some even accept digital audio input.

A common thing that I have seen more than once is drying out of electrolytic capacitors in coupling between the amplifier and the speakers or the radio, either of which would cause a very slow loss of volume until the radio actually goes silent. I've repaired that in my own equipment of various kinds over the years by replacing every electrolytic capacitor in a piece of gear, once it irritated me to the point of taking it apart. This is what I was thinking might be the problem with these radios.

[adallak]

Until about the mid-1990's you could count on drying out the electrolytic capacitors in consumer electronics if they saw enough heat. The underhood stuff is built to "commercial" standards or even automotive standards, which allow for temperature extremes for long periods. There was a time when auto radios were built to automotive standards too but I have seen a lot of them that clearly are just commercial gear. If the radio tunes off the station when you park in the sun to shop and come back and the interior is baking, then the radio isn't built to automotive standards.

As far as speakers running hot, I can only conjecture. Analog audio equipment before the mid 1980's used feedback for low distortion that sometimes had electrolytic capacitors in the feedback circuitry, and drying up of the capacitors there and in the power supply could cause motorboating or oscillation (squealing) and other noises such as hum (from plug-in equipment), alternator noise, etc. But most modern audio equipment including active speakers uses "class D" or switching amplifiers with MOSFET output transistors that have DC feedback, and these don't go bad with time. This has become so common that several companies make chips that provide the whole class D solution, from tuner output to MOSFET terminals; some even accept digital audio input.

A common thing that I have seen more than once is drying out of electrolytic capacitors in coupling between the amplifier and the speakers or the radio, either of which would cause a very slow loss of volume until the radio actually goes silent. I've repaired that in my own equipment of various kinds over the years by replacing every electrolytic capacitor in a piece of gear, once it irritated me to the point of taking it apart. This is what I was thinking might be the problem with these radios.

Probably replacing those capacitors is a good preventive measure.