Radio Repairs

Click on a pic to enlarge....

start by removing the two screws hidden just beneath the carpet, there is one on either side. These are the only things holding the radio in! You may want to remove the gear knob too, and tape the shaft with something soft (duster, towel etc) to prevent scratching. you can also select reverse to give more clearence, you'll need it!!

If you can reach around behind the radio, you need to remove the 2 (or 3 if cd is fitted) plugs. see next pic! if you cannot get your hands to them, then slowly draw the unit forwards and angle it to the passenger side, as the aerial lead is quite long on the drivers side.

The three plugs are aerial (long thin one) , Power and speakers (rectangular one) and CD controller (round multpin one). The rectangular one has a clip on the top that must be pressed to remove it, the others just pull out. You may have something connected to the aerial lead, this is probably a frequency expander, so you can listen to radio 1!

Once removed you can see the orientation of the plugs. This is a 120W unit, as you can see the big heatsink on the back. From left to right the connections are....Aerial, power/speakers, CD autochanger

Now you should see the label with the serial number etc on it. There is no need to remove any screws from this side at the moment! so flip it over and you will see.....

This! Not very thrilling is it? There are 4 screws to remove on this side. two near the facia, and then two on the rear panel. one is in the center, and one is at the rear of the sloping bit, above the aerial connector. Now lever the lid off at the points shown by the arrows on the lid

Once removed, you will see this! If you are changing the tape unit, then there are just 4 more screws to go! Undo the four screws at the corners of the tape unit, and then pull up the vertical PCB from its white sockets. its comes out fairly easily. You should now be able to lift out the tape unit, and then see this...

With the tape unit out, you can easily see the sockets the PCB pushes into, and the mounting screw holes. Give this area a blast with some canned air if you have it, to clean the dust and debris out. Then insert the new tape unit (or cleaned old one!) Screw down and push the PCB firmly home. You can get new tape units from Phil Ballinger (click to email him)

When you insert the new unit, make sure the tape door is held open, and the little lever engages into the slot. otherwise your tapes wont come out!

Now the big job! Facia change...There are 2 more screws hidden under some foam rubber, remove these and the only thing holding the facia on are a couple of clips. once these are out, turn the radio over so that the tape player is uppermost.

Using a thin screwdriver, lever off the facia at the top and bottom, but do not attempt to pull the facia away yet, there is a ribbon cable holding it on!

With the facia as shown, use your fingernails to pull the outer casing of the ribbon cable connector forward about 2mm. this releases the ribbon. Next remove the rubber pad (this will become the bane of you life later!) and then the six tiny screws that hold the PCB to the facia. There is one hiding under the ribbon!

With the facia face down,unclip the 3 little plastic clips and lift off the PCB, and place it on something soft where it wont get damaged. look out for little bits of paper stuck to the buttons, try not to remove them!

Now place your new facia next to the old one, and transfer the glass prisms, rubber seals and any buttons not supplied with the new facia.This is best done in three stages, prisms out but placed on table in same positions, then same for seals, then buttons. take your time over this, as a mistake now may not be apparent until much later! In true Haynes manual style, re assemble by reading this backwards!

When you are screwing the PCB back down, do not over tighten the screws, as it may press the buttons down permanently! tighten each screw a little, then check the buttons all still click. This is a real pain to do, but worth it when it comes to using the radio. Next lay the rubber mat back over the PCB and Click the facia back on to the radio. Check all buttons still click!! (I couldnt get mine all to work, so in the end i discarded the rubber mat, and used insulation tape on the radio front!)

Put all the screws back in, but dont be tempted to remove the blue protective tape from the facia just yet! Slide the unit back into the slot, remembering to connect the plugs up first (or after if you can reach!) before screwing it in, check all the functions work, and all the buttons are functioning correctly. If not, take it back out, disasemble and slacken the PCB screws a little......

Finally bolt the radio back in and enjoy the Beat!!!