bad caps in radio

[ynk1121]

The factory radio in my car quit working (1990 Camaro). One of the channels would play for a few seconds then go to static. I bought another identical used radio on ebay and that one plays but has very low volume on one channel. I took apart the first radio and it's obvious some of the capacitors are shot. I have a feeling I'll find the same on the second radio.

My questions: Is it worth trying to fix? Is there a chance it took out one of the amp ICs? How do I go about picking capacitors? I went on mouser.com and I'm a little overwhelmed with all the choices. Should I just replace what is visibly bad, or go all out and replace them all?

 

[Harald Kapp]

Blown electrolytic capacitors are very worth fixing if
1) you can still read the label and find a suitable replacement
2) the electrolytic fluid hasn't damaged other parts.

I'd give it a try. The capacitors shouldn't be too expensive and if an IC has blown, you can still get a new radio.

 

[ynk1121]

Is there anything I need to match besides the capacitance, voltage, and physical size??

 

[davenn]

Is there anything I need to match besides the capacitance, voltage, and physical size??

no thats about it, if the radio in that section gets quite warm... thats possible with the amplifier chips there you could go for 105 degC instead of the usual 85degC temperature rating

note the lead style of the caps in your pic ... some are vertical mount with both leads out one end, others are a lead out each end.
You may find the physical size is a little smaller on newer caps, this is not a problem, cap manufacturing has advanced in the last 20 years


cheers
Dave

 

[ynk1121]

Yes, all of that gets covered under a big heatsink so I'll try to get high temp ones. What surprises me the most is how poorly it was thought out in terms of serviceability. All the boards are soldered together by wires. There are no connectors to disconnect to separate the boards.

Thanks to the both of you. Going to order them and I'll post back how it goes.

 

[Harald Kapp]

Unfortunately today you're not supposed to repair things but to buy a replacement.

 

[KJ6EAD]

All the boards are soldered together by wires. There are no connectors to disconnect to separate the boards.

Soldered connections are more reliable given the vibration and temperature variations in a car.

 

[ynk1121]

Thanks everyone! I was successful!

 

[davenn]

awesome to hear

thanks for reporting back

Dave