BrentS

I just found the old post here: http://forums.aaca.org/f116/88-89-aux-input-replacement-cassette-274159.html Some people say you still need deck plugged in, some people say the deck still needs to turn a cassette (or gutted cassette), and some people say you can completely unplug the deck.....:confused: I guess I just need to investigate for myself....I was hoping to be lazy

Steveskyhawk, How can you "tap into the audio out"? Doesn't the tape player have to be running, in order for the radio to stay in the tape player mode (and accept a signal from the audio out)? I'm still unclear on all this, as I too would be interested in completely abandoning the tape player. Also, Falconman, be warned that it may not just be the rubber belt that needs replacement; I have disassembled a few tape decks, and have found that a white plastic piece commonly breaks where a pin goes through it. It does not look easy to repair. I posted pictures of it in the past.

I don't see how this Piston Cushion would work for the rear brakes. The rear brakes need the stainless steel clips to hold the pads onto the piston, to prevent them from rattling around when your off the brakes. Or, am I missing something here?

I had rear brake rattle, and finally figured out that the dealer only installed the stainless steel pad clip on one of the rear calipers. Pep Boys had a caliper "service kit" or something like that, which included the clips, guide pin bushings, and...I forget what else.

I'm sooo ticked-off, a few years back I replaced both motors because the little plastic pieces broke apart..........and I threw the motors in the trash! Damn!!! That was just before they started to not sell Reatta parts.......I think around 2004, or so.

So, my radio is all fixed now and works PERFECTLY!!! Thanks everyone, for all the information and help. FYI, I threw all my extra capacitors up on ebay, in case anyone needs them. You can get 10 of them for .99 + .44 for a stamp. Enjoy!

I went back to the 195 one, also. I know many problems are caused by excessive heat, but the car was designed for 195, so....... Plus, I don't know how to change the fan setting, and I believe that another detrimental condition other than heat, is also excessive thermal cycling. Using a 180 T-stat seems to have operating temp swings greater than the 195 without the fan setting change, whick I don't like to see (i.e. 175 - 210, depending on vehicle speed). I'll stick with 195 for now.

Well, I finished my shifter light fix, using the Bell LED light strip (24" Long). It came out good. A few tips: 1. I wired them up to the small ashtray bulb (#194) wires. Seems to work well. To remove the center console panel, the ashtray bulb should be popped out of the ashtray base, first. 2. I removed the luminescent thin strip off the thicker part of the strip assembly (off of the composit circuit board), and re-used the circuit board part under the black P-R-N-D strip, and it kinda acts as a light diffuser, because it's white and translucent. 3. Instead of plugging in the plug so the mirror and window lights re-light, I simply made a jumper between the middle two pins (of the 4 pin plug), and tucked the plug down into the console. The luminescent strip simply provided a continuity for these middle two pins. 4. It comes out to be much more blue than any of the interior lights; i would recommend trying to find some green/blue (turquoise?) cellophane, or similar, to change the color. Maybe I will tackle that change in the future, if I find the right color filter/film/cellophane material. Thanks for all help!

Packs of 10 capacitors are on eBay for very cheap (starting bid .99, with .44 shipping).

Oh, that's too bad; I was hoping a fix would not need to utilize the cassette deck anymore. If anyone figures that out, I would sure like to know the details. Thanks for the info Steve.

Well, it's definitely not the prettiest job, but I'm sure it will suffice. The solder wasn't clearing out of the tiny holes in the circuit board (I was using the copper braided solder wicking tape), so, I just soldered the capacitors to the board without making the leads go through the board. I doubt they'll be an issue, as the solder joints are pretty strong, and the capacitors weigh close to nothing. You can see two of the old green original caps, near the new ones that I got. Thanks for everyones' help.

Thanks steve for the reply! I'm still a little confused: Are you essentially intercepting the audio out wires that go from the deck to the radio, and putting in the aux jack output to those? Does the remaining wires still need to be connected to the deck (power, signal from radio or CRT, etc)? Does the deck still need to actually turn a "gutted cassette", while your playing the ipod/iphone? What if the cassette deck doesn't work? Mine has a plastic piece broken, and clicks, and is all screwed up.

Now that I've fixed the radio module (and center console is disassembled), I'm contemplating doing some kind of aux input change to replace the cassette player in my '89, so I can play an ipod or similar. I tried doing some searching, but can't seem to find instructions. Has anyone done this on an 88 or 89, and/or have a link to some detailed instructions? Thanks!

When I called M & R, they said they had none, and would only do repairs on ones returned. Regardless, I finished my capacitor replacement last night, and IT WORKS!!! AWESOME!

That confuses me more :confused: As I mentioned in previous post; 31-8565 from MCM shows a data sheet (pdf file) that has Nichicon brand capacitors (MA series) rated to only 85C. Did MCM provide a "similar" or "alternative" part, or something??? Plus, I just ordered the same Nichicon capacitors from Mouser instead (cheaper), and they say 85C right on the side of them.

Terry, you probably feel more comfortable with 105C rated caps, right?....especially given the location of them (right underneath the hottest part of the unit). I would always recommend posting pics whenever possible, I would like to see your results, as I plan to do mine soon (once my caps come in). Did you get the leads to go through the circuit board, or just solder them to the location where the tiny holes through the board are located? Because, the holes closed-up on my board, and I wasn't planning on trying to drill itsy-bitsy holes......

I know.......exactly...quite annoying. I finally had a co-worker in Materiel locate them; he's getting them shipped in from the UK, or something like that (pays to work in the aerospace industry). I had him order over 100 of them because the shipping was going to be more than the capacitors, so I would prefer to sell-off the extras and maybe re-coup some the shipping charge, and because what else am I going to do with 114 capacitors? I want to make sure they work first. If someone out there wants, I also got in 12 of the 85C MA series capacitors (I ordered before he found the 105C ones).

Where are you getting a 105C rating for those? The data sheet for Nichicon MA series caps show a -40 to 85C temp range. http://www.mcmelectronics.com/content/ProductData/Spec%20Sheets/31-8565.pdf The MV series ("Long Life") would have the 105C rating: http://products.nichicon.co.jp/en/pdf/XJA043/e-mv.pdf The 85C rating may work fine, for at least as long as we will (or plan to) own the car; however, I just don't want to take any chances, as it is a real pain in the butt to do this fix. The electrical engineers that I work with all tell me that temp is one of the main factors for the life of electronics, so... Of course, this is just my opinion and rationale...

With my snap/crackle/pop issue, the volume didn't seem to be affected by the popping NOR did the volume setting affect the popping. The popping seemed to only come from the rear right speaker, and the volume of the popping was unaffected by the volume setting, and even popped on MUTE. One of my capacitors seemed to have some brown staining around the bottom of it, and around the circuit board where it was mounted, so I'm wondering if that was the "bad" one.

Ronnie, I think it's great to keep a website that has repair instructions. That site, and this forum is awesome. And, a really good feature is if you (or someone?) can keep updating the instructions as time goes on. And, it looks like that's been done, in the past, right? Maybe that's what Barney was getting at, when he asked for pics? Could additional (or better pics) go into those instructions, if someone provides them?

Well, I started into my capacitor replacement last night; it's not easy, but so far it's doable. I needed to un-bolt the seat to get to the lower wires. It's taking me much more time than the instructions suggest. The instructions on reattaowner.com are good, however the 6 green capacitors in my radio had a diameter of only 4mm (not 5 mm as stated in those instructions). Plus, my capacitors were rated to 105 degrees C; which was stated right on the side of them. And the ones that the instructions called-out for replacements are only rated to 85C. So, after much searching, I believe I found replacements that have the small size (4mm dia x 5mm long) AND are rated to the full 105 C. I'm not an electrical engineer, but I didn't want to use capacitors that had a lower temp rating, especially given the location right under the heat sink/cooling fins. 85 C capacitors seem more common, so I'm assuming the 105 C were used for a reason. I ordered a whole bunch, so I'm thinking of maybe just throwing the extras on eBay, in case anybody else wants to use these. First, I need to see if this fix is successful......

Yes, I've seen those posts. But my gasket didn't look like the 12337901. It looked like the below (only black). It went up into the neck/elbow to some degree.

If possible, if you find a replacement/aftermarket gasket that fits into the elbow/neck, I would love to see some pictures of it. Because, other posts mentioned aftermarket gaskets that were the style that fit onto the T-stat's flange, which did not seem to fit correctly in my '89. I have yet to see a picture of an aftermarket elbow/neck gasket picture.

Do you get loud crackling/popping noise coming from the rear speaker(s)? Because, they may not be blown, but rather the capacitors in the radio are crapping-out. There's lots of information about people replacing these capacitors. I need to attempt that repair myself. FYI, the crackling/popping noise happens regardless of the volume setting or even if muted.

Oh, really? I thought the shifter lights were more green-ish than blue, but I can't quite remember. They've been out for a year, now.