91 LSC No sound from radio

[Steve Klinger]

I just purchased a replacement 91 LSC with the stock JBL AM-FM Cassette. All the lights come on, the unit will search and stop at stations and the antenna works, but not a sound out of the speakers. Time for a new radio?? :confused:

[pepsi2185]

No sir, if you are happy with your stock system, the reason your radio makes no noise is because of the amplifier. Either the amp is blown, disconnected or the power fuse to the amp is blown, make sure you check the fuse box under the hood and under the dash. By the way the amp is in the trunk. Keep us posted.

Big Joe

[ekooke]

External amp is one possibility but it could be the radio unit itself. I had an IC burn out in '98 on the radio's PC board, and had the unit replaced with a factory authorized rebuilt on my '90 (still works). The guy at the radio place said it was a common problem on these radios after some years of use.

[pro-five-oh]

Steve, there is a place in Houston that rebuilds radios...email me if you want the phone number. I can't remember the name offhand.

[SQ_LSC]

ekooke, did the hu power any speakers directly, or did all speakers run from the amp? I'd find it odd that there would be large quantities of failures on a unit that doesn't power speakers. Low heat, low load, etc,...

[Hal B]

My 2000 LS radio quit last month with exactly the same symptoms. I checked fuses (under hood and in tire well) and, while both fuses were good, apparently the act of plugging the 20A woofer fuse in and out re-established contact, and the radio came to life again!

[JohnBoy's 91]

my 91 lsc had the same thing happen
I just got a bypass harness to get rid of the amp and install a kick butt JVC cd player and it sounds great

[Kit Sullivan]

The JBL am/fm/cd head unit for my 90 is being reman'd right now.
The tech told me that the capacitors that were used to make these radios and amps originally were lower quality and if they were to heat up comtinuasly higher than about 90 degrees or so, they would leak thieir 'juice' out, oftentimes creating shorts on the circuit boards. Says it is very common on cars from down south.
These guys remove all the capacitors (40 of em,I think), soak the empty circuit board in acid to clean it up, and reinstall all new leak-proof capacitors. All the mechanical functions and the laser lense are also refurb'd. Should give many years of good service after that.
I don't know if the guy was hustling me or not, but he sure sounded like he knew what he was talking about.
For $125 for the head unit, it sounds like a good deal to me.

[Nick]

At the very least, if you're like me, it buys you peace of mind and a warm fuzzy feeling for having gotten something restored to good as new, better than factory specs. :D