OEM stereo

[nigel]

I have an OEM what I think is an Accord stereo installed in my '91 Prelude 4WS and the amp is going bad and i'd like to replace it with another one.
It I think it might be from a '94 Accord and it's the one with the little bar to raise and lower the volume on the l/s and one like it on the r/s for manual tuning.
I'm guessing there has to many out there and i'd like to find one.
Please let me know if you can help.

I'm also looking for a single c/d player like the one I have mounted that the player motor has gone bad.
It takes the c/d in but the player drive motor seems to be inop and after eight or so seconds it sends the disc back out.
The Prelude wasn't offered with a c/d player and it took a while to mod the centre console to make it look OEM and i'd like to find one that will plug directly into the OEM stereo.
They both have the big white rectangle reciever for the harness plug.

Cheers
nigel

[Dr_Snooz]

As a rule, where stereos are concerned, the aftermarket is going to give you much better results than sticking with OE. I'm all for factory restorations, but even I have had to capitulate in the fight to keep the OE stereos working. Unless you are ready to spend high dollars to send the deck out somewhere to have it completely refurbished, you'll have to figure out how to make an aftermarket unit work.

BTW, I want your car.

[nigel]

Thanks for the quick reply.
I know it's retarded and aftermarket has a better selection and relialability but there should be an OEM radio in good shape out there somewhere. I can get a new one for $388. OUCH. I don't have that kind of money.
I did find the radio i'm looking for is from a '91 Accord and the one I was fooling with today is messed up also.
Mine, the amp is going and this one has the typical speaker cutouts unless you fiddle with the tone and balance/fade knobs.
I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed.

It took me three years to find my 4WS with no rust and I had to settle for Red instead of White.
It really is a good car. Someone installed a B20A engine and once I got all their cobbling sorted I really like it. It's my daily driver and my NSX is for special occasions. I also have a '87 White Prelude for an airport spare car.

Cheers
nigel

[Vanilla Sky]

What is it doing that makes you think the amplifier circuitry is going out? I'd get some Deox-it Gold on the pots and give it a try. I've fixed many stereos and amps this way.

[nigel]

Vanilla Sky,
For the last week or so when I first get in the car and turn the stereo on the sound is barely audiable which it never did before. After ten or so minutes the sound slowly starts to come up. At first it is very staticy and after ten or so more minutes the sound returns to normal and the static is gone, back to clear and no problem.
It seems to be a warming up problem or ????
I found this stereo is from a '91 Accord.

I've never heard of "Deox-It Gold" and what are "pots"? The connectors?

Cheers
nigel

[Vanilla Sky]

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2104746

It's spendy, but that is just about the only thing that I've used that seems to work every time. Clean it with one, lube it with the other. I went through a couple of kits of it back in my teens when I was getting into home audio but couldn't afford equipment that didn't have issues.

Pots is short for potentiometers. Think variable resistor and you've got it. They rely on physical contact of two conductors to function. Over time and with wear, the pots get gunked up with worn off material, dried up lubricant, and dirt from years of use.

It wouldn't be the worst idea in the world to clean the connectors at the rear of the deck as well.

[nigel]

Vanila Sky,
Thanks for the help so far.
I'm thinking exactly what you said. In past experience when the individual speakers get scratchy with OEM stereos and I clean the balance and tone mechanisims with electric contact cleaner, it seems to work.
I'm just thinking amp because of the what i'm thinking after the "warm up time" all seems well and the amp might be getting weak, old or ?

Cheers
nigel

[Vanilla Sky]

The same can happen if the pots are dirty. Are you familiar with board repair if needed? Those amps usually aren't very expensive if you're positive that they are the issue. If you can do the work, they usually aren't terribly hard to repair, either.

[nigel]

VanillaSky,
I'll get some Deox and give it a go with just a cleaning. It won't hurt in the big picture.
I'm not familliar with the board repair.
I know the amp boards in all the Bose speaker amps in the NSX have bad capicators and have to be replaced and we all send them to BrianK from NSXPrime for the repair.
The climate control unit in the NSX has bad capicators as well and also have to be replaced.
He does these for a fraction of the cost of replacemnt.

Cheers
nigel

[Vanilla Sky]

Well, caps don't cost much, and they're typically pretty easy to replace. I am constantly doing recaps and such at work. With a soldering iron and a desoldering pump, you can replace just about anything on a circuit board. It won't get you into small SMDs, but you'll have no problem with the components inside a head unit.

[Civic Accord Honda]

the best option for a stock upgrade is the 97 prelude cd player. or integra (and it came in another honda not sure which though) look em up on ebay. they look factory. have a stronger amp then the older tape decks and play cds great ^_^

[nigel]

I'll start looking for a '97 player straight away.

Cheers
nigel

[Dr_Snooz]

Can't speak for the newer stereos, but the volume pot on my '89 deck was all sealed up real nice like. It was like they knew that I would be opening it up to clean the contacts and designed it just to defy me. I did my best, spraying from the outside, but it only took the problem from a damned nuisance to an absolutely intolerable menace. The stereo was completely unusable afterward. I tried it a few more times, but eventually replaced the deck with an aftermarket unit.

If it's my vintage vacuum tube stereo, I will repair it. If it's a cheap transistor deck for the car, I throw it out now. You can buy a new Alpine deck for less than $150 and it comes with amp outs, USB, MP3 and iPhone support. I understand if you want to try and save it, but my experience was that I wasted a lot of time and still threw it out.

[charliekuney]

As a rule, where stereos are concerned, the aftermarket is going to give you much better results than sticking with OE. I'm all for factory restorations, but even I have had to capitulate in the fight to keep the OE stereos working. Unless you are ready to spend high dollars to send the deck out somewhere to have it completely refurbished, you'll have to figure out how to make an aftermarket unit work.

BTW, I want your car.

He said the same to me. I didn't believe him. Then I spent some time with a factory receiver I got from a member. It's in great condition, but the cassette deck does not function (therefore no MP3 players) and the right speakers are much louder than the left and the left hiss and crunch whenever I change the volume.

If I ever wanted to make a show car 3G, I'd spend the time for a low-hourage factory deck. Since my car is nowhere near show quality I'll spend that time looking for a really nice single-din receiver that hopefully matches the color of my gauges. :)

[nigel]

I found an OEM stereo / single c/d player on e-bay for $75 from a '97 Prelude and i'm waiting for a reply from the sellers.
I get lots of parts from these people and they've never done me wriong. Free shipping.
They always have tons of Honda parts. It's a scrap yard and I think all they do is Jap parts.
On advice here for $75 I figure I can't go wrong for an OEM stereo.

Cheers
nigel

[Vanilla Sky]

I've never paid more than $50 for even a brand new aftermarket deck. As a matter of fact, the Kenwood in my 3gee was $50 lightly used, and the brand new Panasonic that I had in my Nissan was $50. I don't think there is anything that can convince me to spend 50% more than that on a used OEM deck that does nothing special.

[nigel]

They won't come down in price so i'm gonna just go for it and see what happens.
I did customize my console as the '91 Prelude never offered anything other than a radio/cassette player and I made the coin tray/cubby hole into what looks a factory opening for my inop c/d player. Thank god I got another trim piece from the scrap yard I can install as the '97 stereo has the radio and c/d player in one package.
My worry was that I wouldn't be able to find another OEM c/d player to replace mine and fill that hole.

Cheers
nigel

[Dr_Snooz]

We need to see pics of these cars that you are so particular about. We need car porn, so post it up. :)

[Civic Accord Honda]

yeah thats about the going rate for those decks. i think i paid 80 for mine i dont remember lol....i got another in the garage im hanging on to ...deck in the civic was $179 and aftermarket but its fancy with bluetooth and everything...but stands out so much compared to the rest of the dash lol

[Vanilla Sky]

Yeah, I can't stand the flashy looks of most new decks. Eventually, I'll have an OEM deck in the car again.

[MessyHonda]

Yeah, I can't stand the flashy looks of most new decks. Eventually, I'll have an OEM deck in the car again.

yeah next time I buy a new deck I will opt for one that you can dim the backlight. On my new pioneer deh-p8300ub the backlight is too bright.

[Vanilla Sky]

Meh, I'm going to cheat a little and build an android tablet into the dash. I want something to use as an audio player and GPS. A cheap android tablet will do exactly what I need.

[Civic Accord Honda]

Meh, I'm going to cheat a little and build an android tablet into the dash. I want something to use as an audio player and GPS. A cheap android tablet will do exactly what I need.

stealing my plans? lol

[Vanilla Sky]

My original plan was to build a full car PC. Now, an Android tablet does more than I need.

[2drSE-i]

My original plan was to build a full car PC. Now, an Android tablet does more than I need.

You know, the Galaxy Note 2 is almost the perfect size for our dash. Doesn't fit the "Cheap" bill lol.

[Civic Accord Honda]

i was playing around holding my 7" tablet up to my dash a couple weeks ago...would look sickkk