tdr1919 said:
Guys,
The radio in my (newly aquired) 86 coupe - the cassette works - the radio when turned on (no cassette in) you can hear power to the speakers, but no static
(like a bad antennae), there is no display, it almost seems like it is in the cassette mode with no cassette, I tried the ff & rew switches but there was no sound of motor movement.
Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks,
Tom
I don't understand your question, you say the cassette works but then you say it doesn't work. The early C4 bose is a problematic system. When it works, it's a nice-sounding stereo, but it's a complicated system dependent on all the separate parts working properly. As you might have read elsewhere, all four speakers are individually amplified, in addition there is a relay between the stereo and the amps. Over time the capacitors on the amps' printed circuit boards fail, leading to no sound or sometimes popping. If none of your speakers works, I high suspect that either all four amps are blown, or your stereo itself is inoperative (given the non-working display and inability to FF), or the relay is blown. Worst case scenario is this: you have to restore all four amps and your stereo, which will cost several hundred dollars. You could get new amps at $200 each, but my experience was that the aftermarket amps sounded horrible, even with the gain adjusted all the way up (there is a tiny gain potentiometer on the aftermarket amps PCB). I believe Bose and Dr. Don's both restore Bose amps, here's Dr. Dons site:
http://www.doctordons.com/
Well, after you spend lots of money on this system, it will work fine, but you'll still have 1986 car stereo technology. Most people in this forum would advise you to dump the Bose system and install an aftermarket one, which will sound infinitely better than the stock one. I used to be a Bose defender because I loved the clean, crisp sound, and the stereo was tailor-made for the Corvette's interior. But once my amps blew, I could never get it to sound the same way again, after repeated attemps to repair it. So I bought an aftermarket system and installed it myself, 6.5" speakers in the doors and 6X9" in the rear, a small multi-channel amp installed in the storage bin, and an audiovox 1.5 din stereo which fits perfectly into the stock stereo space. My new stereo sounds a million times better than the old Bose, and cost less than restoring the stock stereo system.
If you want to keep your car stock, you should definitely restore the Bose system, but if your amps haven't blown by now then they will eventually, it isn't just use which accelerates the failure rate of the amps, the passage of time will take care of those capacitors, even if you don't use the stereo. Personally I think you should remove all the bose stuff, put it in a box, and store it away, then install a new stereo system, but don't cut the original stereo wiring, leave it intact, just run new wire to all four corners. When you sell the car someday, you can give the new owner the old stereo.
