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    #61
    As a continued follow up to this project, I've been watching 80's aftermarket head units on ebay since I got fed up with making the cassette deck work in the stocker. Currently waiting on a wiring diagram for a refurbed Kenwood KRC 434 to see if I can make it work with the commonly available adapter plug so nothing has to get cut apart after all of that work to get the vehicle wiring back to stock.

    There are adapters to make the common ground stuff work, so that's not too bad. If it doesn't have a 12V trigger for antenna/amp I will probably just take a keyed power trigger off of the adapter harness. Worst case I'll get a little ground loop hiss out of the front speakers when the head unit is off and the amp is still on.

    Then I can finally break into the stack of hair metal cassettes that have been sitting in the garage since I got the wagon last year!
    1986 Country Squire
    1969 Mercury Cougar
    1960 Land Rover Series II 88"

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      #62
      Dont want to find a stock type one that has been refurbished or at least proved working? Whatever path you choose I hope it works out for you. It is fun popping a cassette in.
      ~David~

      My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
      My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

      Originally posted by ootdega
      My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

      Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
      But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

      Originally posted by gadget73
      my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




      Comment


        #63
        Tapes... "Tsssssssssssssssss"
        1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
        1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

        Comment


          #64
          I stuck one in my JBL the other day, no hiss, but it had no highs. All gurgly mumbles. It was everything I remember hating about tapes. I know they aren't all that terrible, but not sure if its a head alignment issue, a worn out tape, or some issue in the tape head amp. Not sure I care enough to diagnose it.
          86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
          5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

          91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

          1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

          Originally posted by phayzer5
          I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

          Comment


            #65
            The only stock ones I've seen for sale refurbed cost about the same or not much less than a decent period aftermarket deck.
            My luck with "proven working" stock decks has been sub optimal. And a Kenwood from the 80's looks rad as hell without looking out of place
            1986 Country Squire
            1969 Mercury Cougar
            1960 Land Rover Series II 88"

            Comment


              #66
              Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
              I stuck one in my JBL the other day, no hiss, but it had no highs. All gurgly mumbles. It was everything I remember hating about tapes. I know they aren't all that terrible, but not sure if its a head alignment issue, a worn out tape, or some issue in the tape head amp. Not sure I care enough to diagnose it.
              Back in the day I used to make really good sounding cassette tapes from CDs. Maxell metal tapes, Dolby C and a recording level just shy of distortion. Recorded on a TOTL JVC deck. They sounded almost as good as a CD.

              Of course once they sat in a100 degree car interior for awhile they started to degrade.
              2020 Volvo XC90 T6 Momentum (Ice White / Blonde)
              2022 Ram 1500 4x4 5.7 Etorque, Built to Serve Edition, (Granite Crystal / Black)
              Past Panthers
              1989 Grand Marquis LS (Cabernet/Grey), 1989 Lincoln Town Car SS (White/Blue), 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis Ultimate (White/Black)

              Originally posted by Lincolnmania
              if its got tits or tires it's bound to give you trouble

              Comment


                #67
                This was a factory made tape, but not on metal and very possibly beat. The foam behind the head was good, but it sounds like one with a dead foam block. I picked it up randomly at the flea market from a guy I was buying record from and he threw it in. Bought it purely to see if the tape deck would run.
                86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                Originally posted by phayzer5
                I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                Comment


                  #68
                  Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                  I stuck one in my JBL the other day, no hiss, but it had no highs. All gurgly mumbles. It was everything I remember hating about tapes. I know they aren't all that terrible, but not sure if its a head alignment issue, a worn out tape, or some issue in the tape head amp. Not sure I care enough to diagnose it.
                  It's typically what happens when you run a metal tape in a deck which doesn't support them. I'm used to the hiss or mumbles which you speak. They're just bad and not worth the effort. I'd rather tinker with a turntable and records if I'm going to go backwards. I get it though, you plop one tape in and it sounds good. Then you're like "Wow! This is cool, let me put this tape deck in this car, buy a tape deck for the house.." ect ect ect. Two weeks or whatever in, it's been nothing but the land of diminishing return and you're wondering why the hell you bothered in the first place. Always getting sucked in...

                  Originally posted by tjc78 View Post
                  Back in the day I used to make really good sounding cassette tapes from CDs.. ..Of course once they sat in a100 degree car interior for awhile they started to degrade.
                  Yup. CD's are terrible for that too. I never expected most cars from '73 and up to be popular again let alone tapes. The world never ceases to baffle.
                  1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                  1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                  Comment


                    #69
                    wasnt a metal tape, and this one does support them. Without a known good tape though there are too many variables to figure out what might be wrong. And I'm not interested enough to put any real effort into it.
                    86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                    5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                    91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                    1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                    Originally posted by phayzer5
                    I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                    Comment


                      #70
                      I wasn't saying it was, just what'll make noise. "Known good tape." I'm familiar with that and yup, one of the reasons it just isn't worth it. As it happens, "Known good tape" reminds me of a story.. I wanted to install the factory tape deck with equalizer in my truck along with the auxiliary input mod. I couldn't have cared less about the tape deck, that's just the only way the equalizer came. And of course, if I'm going to go through the trouble of installing the damn thing, it's going to work. A friend gave me a briefcase and a box full of tapes. Those came to mind when it came time to start Frankensteining a deck together. I pulled a tape from the briefcase I thought neither one of us would ever care for, Gary Morris, "Hits." I remember I had the whole thing hooked up to a power supply and one of the original 6x9's from my Town Car. We plopped in the tape and waited for the first track to begin playing, "That's the way it is." We expected it to suck and well, it didn't. We alternated the speaker to each of the four speaker leads to test each channel. And then Ash held the wires to the speaker so we could finish out the tune. We listened to several others that way. Much to our surprise we were now suddenly curious about Gary Morris and later ordered that compilation album on CD from somewhere. Also found the record too, for two bucks if I remember right, score.
                      1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                      1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                      Comment


                        #71
                        Bump. Good thread so continuing in it.

                        I have another radio where everything BUT the display works.

                        Any ideas what to look for, common failure point to check, known thing to replace to make it work, way to test what is causing display not to function?

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                        I pulled it out of an 87 cougar, and it has 87 Thunderbird written on top of it like it was replaced one time already in the cougar.

                        It is a nice unit. All work seemingly perfectly...fade, left, right, treble, bass volume , 4 memory, scan etc... aside from the display.

                        I cleaned and lubed up all of the pots as well as replaced the cassette belts...now only if I could see!

                        Last edited by 87gtVIC; 02-05-2023, 12:42 PM.
                        ~David~

                        My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
                        My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

                        Originally posted by ootdega
                        My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

                        Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
                        But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

                        Originally posted by gadget73
                        my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




                        Comment


                          #72
                          Display burnt out or not getting power?
                          What I Own: 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis GS
                          What I Help Maintain: 1996 CV / 1988 CV / 1988 Tempo

                          Comment


                            #73
                            Very common problem with those radios and ones with the similar display. The bulb burns out or goes very dim. I have had a couple burn out and it was a gamble with the replacement junkyard units.

                            Comment


                              #74
                              Is there a bulb that illuminates the display or is it direct to display power?
                              What I Own: 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis GS
                              What I Help Maintain: 1996 CV / 1988 CV / 1988 Tempo

                              Comment


                                #75
                                Interesting. Only bulb that at least looks like a bulb works correctly for the illumination ....activated with parking/headlights...and the AMS indicator associated with the cassette tapes...but that one is more like an LED if anything.

                                I was under the impression that the display portion was a vacuum florescent display. I have no idea though maybe the whole display is a bulb? Grasping at straws here.
                                Last edited by 87gtVIC; 02-05-2023, 06:15 PM.
                                ~David~

                                My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
                                My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

                                Originally posted by ootdega
                                My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

                                Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
                                But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

                                Originally posted by gadget73
                                my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




                                Comment

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