heygibb

Nothing on this project. I guess I was ambiguous how I ended the comment I left. By next fix, I was thinking of the list of little things I want to fix...horn button off, chime squirrely, trunk lock missing a cover plate, door locks responding to electric switches in slow motion... Thanks for wondering what I meant. I should have been more specific. Tim

Thanks to both of you. I hope I never need it! Tim

While working on my sound system, I saw this connector laying near the brake box in the trunk. Can anyone ID it? Thanks Reatta :: loose connector in trunk picture by heygibb - Photobucket

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Thanks. I'm good w/ a '90 then. Appreciate all the feedback. I have finally had the time to install my new speakers. I bought the Infinity Kappas, as suggested. I put the 52.9i 's in front and 692.9i's in the rear. Since the OEM speakers had a customized connectors, I clipped the wires and crimped on a male connector that fit into the Infinity wiring device perfectly. I used the radio pinout info from reattaowner.com to determine the + and _ polarity of the wires. The rear wiring coincided w/ documentation available. The L rear had brown as + and yellow as -. The R rear had dark blue as + and light blue as -. The front wire colors were different. Each door had black and red wires, which fed the 5 1/4" speaker and continued on to the small tweeter above via a crossover. I left that intact. I wired the speakers w/ red as + and black as -. The speakers sound fine so I guess they are in phase. During installation, I found I had to leave one of the mounting screws off of the rear 6x9s, due to access issues. I snugged the other three up pretty good and hope it holds it tight for the foreseeable future. For the door speakers, I was able to remove and replace them by only prying away the lower portion of the door covering. As suggested by someone else, I used a small piece of 2x4 to keep it open as I worked on the speaker. The kappa barely fit into the opening, but it did. By that, I mean the rear of the speaker actually bottoms out against a vinyl "cage" at the bottom of the mounting housing. I was able to adhere the speaker cover in place prior to re-attaching the door panel, as advised previously. Initially, I thought my OEM head unit failed when I got no sound from my OEM speakers all of a sudden. When I decided to purchase a replacement unit, I got one off eBay from a fellow who refurbished this unit from an '87 Monte Carlo. It has an equalizer and CD player integrated into the unit. (Mine had the cassette player.) He, also, added an aux input for using an mp3 player. While steep in $, the 6 month warranty convinced me to buy the unit. I knew it would look original and that mattered to me. All the components work as advertised. On a side note, I have a feeling it was my speakers crapping out all at the same time and not my head unit that had failed on my OEM unit. I was ready for a CD player so it's irrelevant to me at this point, but when I hooked the replacement unit up to my original speaker system, I had no sound in three speakers and minimal sound in one. It was only after I replaced the speakers that I knew I had a functioning system again. Thanks for all the input I received on this project. I am fortunate my OEM system lasted for 20 years but it needed upgrading. The replacement unit seems a little more robust to me than the original, though that may be in my imagination. Now, on to the next fix...

Are the 6x9s a direct fit in the rear?

Thanks for the pic and info, especially the bit about cone interference when installed w/out the covers. I need to go shopping! Been reading reviews of the Kappas...all pretty good. If I go 2 ohm in the door, then the rears should match, right? It's been awhile since I knew anything about matching speakers to amps. Since I'm using the Delco head unit, I want to make sure it can push the speakers I buy. And, do you have any thoughts on the rears re 2 way vs. 3 way?

What will I have to buy exactly?...4 or 8 ohm? When you say you left the door tweeters operational, what do you mean by that? ...you left them alone, got new ones, or just what exactly? Did you change out the crossover? I've been corresponding w/ the techie that sold me the head unit. He said the OEM speakers failing would cause the head unit to overheat and fail, also. That would explain why both failed simultaneously. Thanks for your recommendation. I wanted someone's personal experience to go by.

I successfully wired my new radio to my Sierra speaker system and it feeds all front and rear channels. I then hooked up my old Sierra radio to the Reatta speaker wiring and found the left front and both rear channels dead. So my speaker system needs a going over to fix my problem. Time to put in new speakers while I'm at it. Did I read somewhere on here about a crossover needed in the door between the woofer and tweeter? Any decent speaker recommendations? Thanks

Thanks for your reply. Except for that one pin missing on one connector, the connections appear to be the same configuration. The connectors all line up as they should. But on the surface, it does appear the issue is on my end, not the radio. I'm going to remove my radio from my 89 Sierra and see if it has the same harness connectors. If it does, I'll plug the new radio into it to see how it works. At the same time, I'll plug the OEM radio I took from the Sierra a while back into the Reatta's harness. I have to go pick it up first though. I'm hoping someone has made the switch to this radio model on their own Reatta. Did they have issues or not, is what I want to find out.

I have another wiring issue I need some feedback on. On my 90, I had the radio/cassette combo originally (model # 16085374). The head unit crapped out...no sound at all to any speakers. Instead of replacing the capacitors, as suggested here, I decided to purchase a Delco unit that was the same size (1 1/2 DIN), but had a CD player instead (model # 16085434). The fellow selling it added an AUX input for mp3 play, so that is what I bought. The CD unit seems to have the same connectors as my OEM, so I plugged it right up w/ no harness adapter needed. Unfortunately, I have no rear channels w/ this unit and have a tinny sounding front left channel. I returned the unit and was sent another that has the same symptoms. I'm thinking maybe the problem is on my end now, since he said he would bench test the replacement before he sent it my way. Before returning this unit, I wanted to see if these symptoms are recognizable by anyone else doing what I am doing here. My rear channels worked before my OEM head unit took a nose dive. I have never noticed my front left speaker sounding weak in comparison to the front right speaker. So, where should I start looking at troubleshooting this? The wires on the connectors don't look loose. I did notice the vertical female receptacle on the radio (the one off to itself, below the others) has a pin missing, whereas the OEM (cassette version) has all the pins in place. Is that a possible source of my problem? If my OEM radio still worked, I'd plug it back in to check the channels and sound, but no dice. I do have a radio that came out of an 85 S10 that I might could use to troubleshoot the channels, but I can't get to it until tomorrow. I'm not even sure it has the same connections but it's worth a try. As I have requested of Richard D, if anyone who has done this trade out could check their front left speaker for how it's output compares to the front right, I would appreciate it. I really don't want to send this second unit back if I can get it to play as it should. Thanks everyone. Tim

Thanks for the informed reply and so quickly. I've done a little soldering in my day, so I may attempt what you are suggesting. Do you have a picture of the offending caps so I can ID them? What should they read on the meter? Are they available from the 'shack'? By chance, is there a thread that has suggestions for aftermarket replacement head units? I know there is no exact fit but maybe someone has adapted a unit or two to the opening. I can look up the OEM repair company I ran across it while looking for answers. "M&R" something or other, I believe, if I choose to go that route. Thanks again Tim

Like most of you, my radio has had the crackling problem w/the speakers on and off for years. I've read about the crossover replacement for the front units to deal w/ that. That is not my current problem w/ the sound system. What I am experiencing now is random functioning of the radio. At times, the radio plays normally. Other times, it takes several minutes for it to play. After a period of time, the sound is gone again. I have the radio only version, no CD, and have noticed even when there is no sound, the stations indicate they are tuned in on the readout. The radio stays lit up, whether making sound or not. When there is no sound, I can bump the volume control up to max and can barely hear the sound of the station it's tuned to. I first thought it was a problem w/ the wiring to the speakers, but now I know that's not the issue. All the speakers either work or don't work. There is no issue w/ individual speakers. I've thought of replacing the unit w/ a newer one in the past, but not having a standard head unit size in these cars has kept me from doing so. I was wondering if these symptoms are something anyone else has experienced. Thanks for any input on where i should go from here. I read many threads about the Reatta sound system and did not come across this particular situation. Tim

I'll do it. Good idea. for the time being, I have a 1990 Red Reatta Coupe Tan Interior No sunroof or 16 way seats But still going strong at 111k miles. Other than small stuff breaking or wearing out, I don't have much to complain about. Thanks Tim

You aren't butting in. I welcome input from anyone who knows more than I do. It's possible that I misunderstood what Chris told me. All I know is we evacuated the system and then he either charged or was in the process of charging it when he started to deal w/ the compressor not kicking in. Before I left, I thought he said he was releasing some pressure from it to protect the seals. Like anyone who works on Reattas, which in his case is rarely, if ever, maybe he is learning what's up as I am. At this point, I was wondering if I disconnected the battery myself, w/out my system being hooked up to his charging machine, would the codes reset and my AC start working. I am going back to see him tomorrow, but if clearing the codes is something I can do, I wanted to go ahead and do it. Procedure, I guess, is what I want to get right. Thanks Tim

Thank all for your quick feedback. This is why this site is so tight. Just so I am on the same page with your suggestion above. when you say "have a freon charge hooked up", do you mean actively charging the system again before turning on the AC? As I understand it, the system was charged, then stopped when the compressor would not start. Chris, my mechanic, troubleshot the electrical source as described above. When he could not get the results he wanted, he released some freon to prevent high pressure from blowing seals. Driving around last night, I turned on the AC just to see if magically things were working. It was cooler air than normal but it wasn't working. Getting back to the point you make. Can I just unhook the battery now myself, then re-connect, and it will work properly? Or do I need to hook back up to the charging system Chris has, then disconnect the battery? I just want to get this right. Thanks again very much. Tim

Hello everyone. This place looks a lot different from the last time I was perusing all the great info available here. It's a nice look but I notice all my old links don't work to great tips I had collected over the years. Anyway, I made the leap to 134A freon today but had a little problem. The compressor would not kick in as it should have. My mechanic tried straight wiring the low pressure switch, but that didn't help. He checked the compressor itself and it was fine if powered directly. He checked fuses and relays, both inside the car and under the hood and found nothing blown. His only suggestion, at this point, is to replace the climate control in the dash. I told him I'd come here to find the probable cause of our problem. I've spent a little while reading other posts re AC problems. One recommendation was to unhook the battery temporarily. Another suggestion was to remove the climate control circuit board and clean it w/ contact cleaner. I will try and do both tomorrow. Since I haven't had the AC working in the past 1 1/2 years, I'm open to the contacts needing cleaning. So, gentlemen, am I on the right track? Thanks for your input. I'd really like to get some cool air blowing through those vents again. Tim

I'd be surprised if it hadn't been posted but I searched MW, Motor Week and you tube and didn't get a hit. My apologies... Tim

I don't post a lot but a friend sent this to me and thought there may be some interest here for this vid on you tube. It's the Motor Week test drive of the '90 Reatta ragtop. Enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSCwtPkWSPo Tim

Thanks for all the input. After taking a better look at things, I noticed the fluid had leaked above the line connections. The reservoir itself had become "unseated". There is a rubber seal that makes the transition from the bottom of the reservoir to the top of the master cylinder that had jimmied loose somehow. It was half on there and thus, the leak. I pushed firmly down on the res. and it seated. re the flare wrench...I found one at AutoZone for around $13. My car is a Reatta, and I thought all my hardware was metric, so I got the dual purpose flare in 10 and 12mm that hinges on each end. Come to find out, my nut is a 11mm, I believe. Didn't need it after all, but thought I'd post the info. joe, I tried a crow's foot but the limited access made that impossible. If I had needed to actually use the flare wrench, I am not sure I could have even made that work. I'm glad I didn't need it! Thanks again for all the help. At first, I couldn't find my post to respond. I thought I had posted in the Reatta forum. So thanks for the help. Hope my feedback helps someone w/ a similar leak. Tim

to tighten the flare nuts holding the brake lines in place under the fluid reservoir (proportioning valve?) I have discovered a leak at one of those nuts and need to snug it up. The space is very limited for a wrench, and probably needs to be offset. Is there a particular wrench I need for that job? Size? Thanks Tim

I am just getting around to installing my replacement driver side vent window myself and having trouble engaging the "T" on the window track into the vent guide frame. With the little tab in the front of the vent window that slides inside the door housing, I have to insert that first w/ the guide frame cocked a bit. I then try to snap the "T" part into the track, with no luck. I have tried w/ the window up and window down and can't get it yet. I'm taking a break and thought I'd look for tips here or in the manual, but have found none. I took out my broken vent window frame w/ the window down. I wasn't aware of the "T" guide so I just wiggled the frame until it was loose and I twisted it out. If anyone online can give me any guidance on this, I would be one happy camper. I need this ride to take the girlfriend to a Journey concert tomorrow in style. She's counting on me! THanks for any advice. P.S. Done deal...I faithfully hung in there and the lights came on. I never stopped believing I could do it. Great forum. Thanks Jim Finn. Tim

I hate to join the conversation under these circumstances, but I have the credentials. I just destroyed my driver side mirror housing and broke the adjoining vent window myself backing out of my driveway. billsconvt, did you do the installation yourself on the vent window? Just wondering if I could tackle it myself. Thanks Tim

That's cool. I'll look into that option here. That's pretty reasonable. Tim

That is the thread where I saw the link to the cat. juddev, since you have done this procedure, maybe you can give me a few pointers. Did you disconnect at the manifold from below or from the engine compartment? Is finding the proper gasket at the manifold difficult, since the cat doesn't come w/ one? Did you need a guillotine clamp at the outflow to the tailpipe or just jamb it in there? When you replaced yours, did you replace the complete exhaust system (tailpipe sections and muffler)too? Thanks for any tips you can provide. Tim