Delco AM/FM/Cassette, 1983 Buick (tape problems)

[Lenny]

I have an old Delco radio which I salvaged from my 83 buick before it
went to its final reward. The radio has been in and outlived 3 of my
work vans but now it needs work on the cassette section. It started
dragging very badly and tapes sounded awful. I replaced or resurfaced
rubber parts as needed and it seemed to improve but not for long. I
finally pulled the motor and although it seemed to run ok with no load
as soon as I put a slight drag on it it stumbled and stalled a few
times. I opened it up resurfaced the commutator and brushes,
lubricated it and tried it out. It seemed much better under load and I
reinstalled it into the transport only to have the same speed problems
start up once again. I pulled the motor and it is once again stumbling
under load so I don't want to mess with it any more. I subbed a motor
from an unknown source to try the unit out. I had to power it from my
bench supply and adjust the voltage down to 5.0 volts for proper
speed. It seems to run decently this way but not knowing the motor's
voltage rating I may not be driving it properly to achieve maximum
torque and so I would not want to leave things this way. I would also
have to build a little LM317 circuit to power the thing and I really
don't want to do that if I don't have to either.
Does anyone have any of these old Delco radios possibly kicking around
and if so I was wondering if you might have a good motor or even a
complete transport you would be willing to sell me.

The radio information follows:
Radio appears to be a Delco.
Service Ref. # 30BCC31
Part # 16008160
Return # 996742

The motor information follows:
Motor is a Matsushita.
Model # MMT-3RF2H
Date: 05Nov82AA-1
I don't know the RPM's of this thing but it is marked and runs on
13.2VDC
If you need any further information please let me know. Thanks for any
help you may be able to offer. Lenny Stein, Barlen Electronics

 

[Mark D. Zacharias]

Sound like the replacement motor you put in their is running backwards.
That's why the speed won't regulate. In other words, if it's a
clockwise-rotation motor you need, your unknown sub is a counterclockwise
model. You'll need to try a motor of the correct rotation direction. All DC
permanent magnet motors can be changed if you can change the orientation of
the bottom cap assembly 108 degrees. Many later ones are "keyed" to prevent
this.

Mark Z.

Mark Z.

 

[Mark D. Zacharias]

Damn OE spell check. Should be "there" not "their".

Obviously should read "180 degrees".

Sheesh.

mz

 

[Lenny]

Its definitly polarized correctly as the case is marked + and -. It
may be a 12.0V motor though running on 6.0V. This would affect its
torque and speed regulation characteristics I would suspect.
Does anyone know how to email [email protected]? My email was returned
as not recognized by user. He once mentioned to me that he had a lot
of these old Delco units kicking around and I would really like to
talk to him about this. Thanks, Lenny Stein, Barlen Electronics.

 

[JURB6006]

I have a few of these radios in the basement. The problem is you need to
determine which type of mech it is, a,b,c or d.

The A type isn't autoreverse.

The D type has music search andthe FF and REW buttons are both on the one side
instead of being on either side of the eject button.

If you have a D type, it's made by Blaupunkt and there are no parts under $20,
even the little reflective thingy for the stop/reverse sensor.

I can probably send you an entire working B or C drive, I seem to have the most
of them. I only have a few of the D drives, and maybe one of the A drives.

If I get time I can scan a B and a C drve so you can tell the difference. The B
was a bit more reliable IIRC and is totally interchangeable with the C drive.

The A and D drives are electrically compatible I think, but the cutouts on the
front panel are different. While at least the C and D drives disengeage the
pinch roller when you shut the key off, the D drive actually elects the tape.

One way tell a D drive is that if the main belt breaks it won't eject. I've
replaced alot of the tape basket parts for those less patient customers.

I'll cut you a real good deal on one, if interested I'll open my email up to
you, unless I already have. Also, these motors are not that high of a failure
rate (at least back when I was fixing them) so a parts deck might just fix you
right up.

Also, if you like these radios and service them I could sell you my entire
boneyard, the next thing that plays in my car will be a CD that I burned. The
only thing I need a radio for is traffic alerts.

Actualy a slow running cassette might be fine for me, I can stick one of those
"adapter cassettes" in it and be just fine.

Just let me know if you're interested.

JURB

 

[Lenny]

Hi jurb
From what you're telling me this sounds like a plain vanilla A type
but i'm not sure without seeing yours. This one does not auto reverse
and I don't see how the pinch roller could disengage from the capstan
when power is removed on this model. The transport chassis is held in
by four screws and comes out from the top of the unit. There is a six
conductor plug which connects it to the radio section. Power to the
motor does stop however if tape movement stops. Eject is on the right
you push it in, and FF and Rev. operate vertically from a lever which
tilts up or down on the left. All mechanically operated. I am
intersted in pursuing this further. If you'd like to send me your
email address please email me at [email protected]
Thanks, Lenny.

 

[JURB6006]

Eject is on the right

you push it in, and FF and Rev. operate vertically from a lever which
tilts up or down on the left.

Bad news, it sounds like the ones I have won't work. These all have the buttons
underneath the tape door. Apparently they're all post 1983. That doesn't mean
the motor won't work. I'll have a look at one and see what kind of numbers are
on it.

Most of these radios need those hard to get output ICs, in fact I worked on
alot of these at one shop where the previous audio guy had a setup with a
common negative for the speakers. Blew out every single Delco he worked on. I
made a bunch of money fixing them, but the company lost. The chips might have
OC and short protection, but not amp to amp, and there's a left with two BTL
channels and a right, so each radio needed both.

JURB

 

[Lenny]

You can see an example of my model on Ebay. Remember, I just need to
either repair or replace the tape section. Please check out these two
item #'s. Thanks, Lenny.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=6714096673&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5725261287&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

 

[JURB6006]

You probably should buy the one on eBay, $10.50 right now. Those are a little
bit hard to find.

Even harder to find are the digital 2700 series radios, but if you had one of
those my parts would work in most of them.

Yours is a different animal.

We seem to agree on cars, I have an 87 LeSabre I wouldn't trade for a new
Caddilac. Just wish I could find the fuse for the rear defogger.

JURB

 

[Lenny]

Well thanks for looking anyway. Lenny.