1993 Olds Cutlass Ciera Delco AM/FM/Cassette

[Farmer Bill]

The cassette deck of my Delco model 16129923 AM/FM/Cassette deck play
way too fast. Interestingly, last fall it played too slow, this yea
it plays too fast. Also, the auto-reverse mechanism was not workin
properly (tape did not change direction when I pushed the button t
change from side A to side B), but that problem seems to have gone awa
now that I just replaced the drive belt. Yes, I obtained and installe
an exact match for the belt. The new one seems just a little tighte
than the old one, so it's not like the old one was completely shot.
had hoped replacing the belt would also solve my tape speed problem
but no such luck, although the tape isn't playing quite as fast a
before.

Someone on another site said the problem might be that the slide plat
that moves the tape head into the cassette might need lubricated.
guess that will be the thing I attempt next, if I can figure out how t
get at the slide plate to lubricate it with a few drops of machine oil.
Or, I was told, the problem might be with the electronic motor spee
control circuit (if this deck even has one of those), in which case
would not be able to do the repair myself.

I'm quite proud of myself for getting the darned thing out of the dash
and then removing the cassette mechanism from the housing. I'm n
electronics expert by any means, just a do-it-yourselfer who doesn'
think I should have to pay $85/hour to repair a 13-year-old cassett
deck!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[JR North]

Just wait another year; should be perfect
Just kidding.
Run a cleaner cassette and see if it makes a difference.
JR

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

The cassette deck of my Delco model 16129923 AM/FM/Cassette deck plays
way too fast. Interestingly, last fall it played too slow, this year
it plays too fast. Also, the auto-reverse mechanism was not working
properly (tape did not change direction when I pushed the button to
change from side A to side B), but that problem seems to have gone away
now that I just replaced the drive belt. Yes, I obtained and installed
an exact match for the belt. The new one seems just a little tighter
than the old one, so it's not like the old one was completely shot. I
had hoped replacing the belt would also solve my tape speed problem,
but no such luck, although the tape isn't playing quite as fast as
before.

Someone on another site said the problem might be that the slide plate
that moves the tape head into the cassette might need lubricated. I
guess that will be the thing I attempt next, if I can figure out how to
get at the slide plate to lubricate it with a few drops of machine oil.
Or, I was told, the problem might be with the electronic motor speed
control circuit (if this deck even has one of those), in which case I
would not be able to do the repair myself.

I'm quite proud of myself for getting the darned thing out of the dash,
and then removing the cassette mechanism from the housing. I'm no
electronics expert by any means, just a do-it-yourselfer who doesn't
think I should have to pay $85/hour to repair a 13-year-old cassette
deck!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Check the capstan for buildup of crud or a piece of broken tape wrapped
around it, and that the pinch roller is engaging the capstan, while
pressing the tape between them.
--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

[Farmer Bill]

Thanks. The cleaner tape was the first thing I tried. It didn't help.
This tape deck has had very little use over the years, which made m
think the problem was an age-related problem like an aged drive belt
rather than an overuse-related problem.

 

[Farmer Bill]

Thanks Mike, I'll give that a try, assuming I can access the pinc
rollers and capstans. Somewhere else I remember reading a comment b
someone who said they had "roughed up" the pinch rollers. Is i
possible the rollers in my deck have hardened with age, and ar
slipping on the capstans? Do the capstans drive the pinch rollers, o
vice versa?!

 

[Homer J Simpson]

Thanks Mike, I'll give that a try, assuming I can access the pinch
rollers and capstans. Somewhere else I remember reading a comment by
someone who said they had "roughed up" the pinch rollers. Is it
possible the rollers in my deck have hardened with age, and are
slipping on the capstans? Do the capstans drive the pinch rollers, or
vice versa?!

The pinch roller pinches the tape against the capstan. If the rubber is
hard, some electronics jobbers have a solution to re-soften them.

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

Thanks Mike, I'll give that a try, assuming I can access the pinch
rollers and capstans. Somewhere else I remember reading a comment by
someone who said they had "roughed up" the pinch rollers. Is it
possible the rollers in my deck have hardened with age, and are
slipping on the capstans? Do the capstans drive the pinch rollers, or
vice versa?!

The capstan is the driven part, an it goes through a hole in the
cassette housing. The pinch roller is spring loaded on a swinging arm.
You want to clean the roller. Some of the older cleaners used "Oil of
Wintergreen" and alcohol. All i can find theses days is "Synthetic Oil
of Wintergreen", and I haven't had a chance to test it to see if it
works like the real thing. There are some rubber drive cleaners still
on the market, but the better ones appear to be long gone. My favorite
was "Friends Vita-Drive", but I ran out 15 years ago, and have not found
any since then. I bought some rubber roller cleaner from a big print
shop, but like the "Synthetic Oil of Wintergreen", I haven't tested it.
I recently picked up a few cassette decks from a thrift store to test it
on, but there is no AC in my shop, so I have to wait for cooler weather.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida