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On my 74 there are a "thing" connected to the radio but this thing is hanging underneath the dash. Anyone have any idea what this is or are for?
Amplifier maybe??
Maybe you are right found some drawing on 73spot where it is called heatsink http://www.73spot.com/index_stats_files/radio.htm
I have never got the radio to work and no idea whats wrong with it either............
The 'convector' is the final stage of amplification for the radio. They stayed with the C3 radios thru 1977, I believe. Then, GM tried to catch up with more modern radio "technology".
The 'convector' is the final stage of amplification for the radio. They stayed with the C3 radios thru 1977, I believe. Then, GM tried to catch up with more modern radio "technology".
Charlie, '77 was the year that the Corvette went to the corporate radio. The changed the dash to accept the standard GM radio so that they could offer an 8-track. The corporate radio didn't use a convector however.
I bought a left over '77 after the '78's came out and it had an 8-track in it. The dealer had a rack of other radios in their showroom including one that took cassette's that they could add to a purchase as a dealer installed option. I asked if they could swap out the 8-track in my Corvette for a cassette radio and they said sure, if you pay extra. I tried to point out that the 8-track was a $400 optional radio so why did I have to pay extra? They told me, no one wants an 8-track, if we traded you, we'd never sell that thing!
Your convector is for the optional stereo (the two transistors are for left and right speaker channel separation). You will need the blue/green/yellow wiring bundle which goes with it.
Here are my radio and you can see the cables are attached to the radio going to the amp or convecter, radio is in a bad state. ***** is there
not on radio at the moment.
Here are my radio and you can see the cables are attached to the radio going to the amp or convector, radio is in a bad state. ***** is there not on radio at the moment.
Mikael, thanks for posting the picture. Your radio actually looks pretty normal for one of that era.
I wouldn't be surprised if it works when everything is connected together.
Hmmm soon 43 years old........ I would be surprised if it works but I hope you are right.
I will take down the other part and try with a powersupply.
You will know I promise
This car give me a lot of headache and the seller was good at talking............ and I was stupid to trust him!!!
But I at least got what I been looking for the past year or more.
Hmmm soon 43 years old........ I would be surprised if it works but I hope you are right.
I will take down the other part and try with a powersupply.
You will know I promise
This car give me a lot of headache and the seller was good at talking............ and I was stupid to trust him!!!
But I at least got what I been looking for the past year or more.
The most common problem I have encountered regarding this radio, is if I let the car sit for more than a year or two, I have difficulty getting the radio to function normally. The main culprit seems to be the ON/OFF-Volume Control switch.
Since it is an analog radio, the switch combines an on/off function to provide power to the radio, and a rheostat/potentiometer to control the level of sound volume. Similar in appearance to this switch.
Inside, the potentiometer uses a coil of wire to change the resistance (adjust the power level ultimately applied to the speakers) of the wire by having a contact slide along it. Such as this image shows.
Over time, and particularly so in high humidity environments, corrosion can and will develop on the contacts and coil of wire. This corrosion can cause a dead spot in the volume control as well as result in popping sounds in the radio as it struggles to maintain continuity.
Sometimes the condition can be corrected by simply turning the volume control back and forth multiple times to provide a clean surface on the wire coil and contact to complete the circuit. If this does not work, I have had success by spraying contact cleaner into the switch and then working it back and forth to clean the internal contacts.
Ultimately the best solution is to use the radio frequently (exercise the switch fully) and when not being used, always return the switch to the off position. This will go a long way toward extending the life of these old analog radios. I hope this helps if you find the radio doesn't want to function properly initially.
GUSTO
The most common problem I have encountered regarding this radio, is if I let the car sit for more than a year or two, I have difficulty getting the radio to function normally. The main culprit seems to be the ON/OFF-Volume Control switch.
Since it is an analog radio, the switch combines an on/off function to provide power to the radio, and a rheostat/potentiometer to control the level of sound volume. Similar in appearance to this switch.
Inside, the potentiometer uses a coil of wire to change the resistance (adjust the power level ultimately applied to the speakers) of the wire by having a contact slide along it. Such as this image shows.
Over time, and particularly so in high humidity environments, corrosion can and will develop on the contacts and coil of wire. This corrosion can cause a dead spot in the volume control as well as result in popping sounds in the radio as it struggles to maintain continuity.
Sometimes the condition can be corrected by simply turning the volume control back and forth multiple times to provide a clean surface on the wire coil and contact to complete the circuit. If this does not work, I have had success by spraying contact cleaner into the switch and then working it back and forth to clean the internal contacts.
Ultimately the best solution is to use the radio frequently (exercise the switch fully) and when not being used, always return the switch to the off position. This will go a long way toward extending the life of these old analog radios. I hope this helps if you find the radio doesn't want to function properly initially.
GUSTO
I dont think this kind of radio use a wire potentiometer I think the race is charcoal like in most other items of this kind. The wire pots are very expensive and when turning them you can hear it is a wire, but never the less it will also get corroded by years and will probably needs some kind of electroclean just like old HIFI equipment.
Could be something as simple as bad speakers as well. That's the issue I have had on the past couple corvettes I've repaired. Does the radio click on when you turn the controls on? You should be able to very faintly hear static or a radio signal coming from the radio itself. If you hear that, there's a good chance you just have bad speakers. I buy my replacement 10ohm speakers from turnswitch.com.
01-19-2017, 04:31 AM
Original radio
