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Upgrading my Delco AM/FM radio for my 77 Toronado to include bluetooth is beyond the budget this year due to other repair priorities. So am now thinking of trying one of those bluetooth FM transmitters as an interim measure as they are not all that expensive. But I am not sure if they will work on a 70's era car. All the videos and references go back to early 2000. Has anyone tried one of these units on a 40 or 50 year old car and do they work as advertised kinda?
Byron, the age of the car should have nothing to do with it. All you need is a radio that receives FM signals, which your original Delco does. You just tune that radio to whatever frequency your Bluetooth transmitter broadcasts on. I have the same situation with my satellite radio. If I want to use it in my Toro with its original AM/FM radio, I choose the FM frequency the satellite receiver transmits on and tune the car's radio to that frequency. These transmitters allow you to change the transmission frequency in case the default one happens to have a local station on it in your area.
Here's one for $17 on Amazon. It shows the frequency to tune your radio to right on the front. This one plugs into the cigarette lighter as most of them do.
Last edited by jaunty75; June 6th, 2020 at 08:10 AM.
I purchased one of these (Monster brand) at Wal-Mart for $13 a few months ago. Been using it primarily in my winter beater, but I'm sure it'll work in any car w/ an FM stereo. Its a great little device and as far as I'm concerned, relieves the need to upgrade the stereo.
I'm glad it's worked well for you. Frankly, I've never had what I would consider to be a truly satisfactory experience with these FM-transmitter devices. Yes, they give you the option of changing the frequency at which the device broadcasts, but even if I pick a frequency that's not used in my local area, and I try to pick one that's as far from local stations as possible, I still get interference from stations in nearby cities. If you live in a large city or spend time driving in a large city with many FM stations, it can be difficult to find a suitable frequency. Then there's traveling. You're continually having to change the frequency as you sail down the interstate. So they work OK, but a hard-wired line-in connection is so much better it isn't funny. Unfortunately, vintage radios don't have any line-in jacks on them.
Here's what I actually did for the audio in my '78 Toro. The original AM/FM/8-track had problems. It would turn on and work generally OK, but occasionally the left-front speaker would drop to very low volume. Then it would suddenly pop back to full volume without warning.
What I did was get lucky. I found on ebay a New-In-Box, never opened aftermarket shaft-style radio made in 2000. So it was late enough that it had some modern features, like a digital display, seek/scan, and, most importantly, in input jack on the front panel. The manual that came with it assumed you'd plug in a portable CD player, and the display changes to say "CD" whenever anything is plugged into the front jack. But you can plug any audio source in there, including your cell phone, satellite radio, CD player, or whatever. I use it with my satellite radio, and the sound is excellent. It also has the wiring to control the power antenna. so the antenna goes up and down when the radio is turned on and off as it should. Because the box had never been opened, everything was there. All the wiring, mounting brackets, manual, etc. was never touched, so it was easy to install. You find lots of vintage car audio on ebay, but it's almost all used, and you're at the mercy of the person selling to have all the little parts that go with it.
The only issue I had was related to the odd shape of the dash. As I'm sure Byron knows, the dash where the radio is mounted actually slants outward from bottom to top. So there is a rectangular chrome piece that fits around the radio to fill that gap, and the radio ***** are elongated so they can reach back behind the dash and connect properly to the shafts while still sticking far enough out that you can use them. The ***** that came with thenew radio did not work, but the ***** on the original radio could be pulled off and placed on this radio, which is actually a positive thing because it keeps more of the original look. But I was not able to put the faceplate on, so I have to just remember which **** has to be turned which way to control the fader, balance, and tone controls. But I keep the manual in the glove box, and the only thing I ever really adjust is the volume, and that's easy.
Here's what it looks like installed.
Here's the entry for the radio in the 2000 Radio Shack catalog. Every Radio Shack catalog ever printed is available online. I used to look through them religiously when I was in high school, dreaming of all the stereo equipment I would one day own. Looking at them now is a real trip down memory lane. When I was trying to find this radio in the catalogs, I had to start by guessing about what year something like this would have been made. I started looking in the early '90s catalogs, and I was surprised to discover this in the 2000 catalog. I wouldn't have thought that Radio Shack was still selling shaft-style radios that late. I would have thought that they would have been long gone from the catalog by that year. But I was wrong.
Last edited by jaunty75; June 6th, 2020 at 02:19 PM.
Here is a photo of the AM/FM Cassette player that is installed in my car currently. It is a Clarion 8703RT but it is obviously from before 2000 as there is no AUX jack. So that option does not exist for me.
Just wish I could find the manual for it. Google can't seem to locate it!
Interestingly enough mine fits ok although a touch small for the opening but it does allow me to install the speaker and bass/treble controls on the shafts. The way it is currently wired it also operates the antenna sometimes. The motor whirs away and occasionally it moves a wee bit but not much. My guess is the internal cable is broken.
Another interesting difference between your 78 and my 77 is on mine I have toggle for the antenna right beside the rear defog toggle. Do you not have an antenna toggle for LCL/DST?
As indicated earlier rebuilding the Delco AM/FM I got from John to include bluetooth and repairing or replacing the power antenna are not gonna make this years repair list for budget reasons - I don't think unless I catch a big break on the problem/cost of repairing the power locks and all my interior courtesy lights. But that is another matter.
I am intrigued by the potential for one of these bluetooth FM transmitters. I am mainly interested in the hands free calling capability and then the ability to charge my iPhone and lastly the ability to play the tunes on my phone or off a memory stick. They are not that expensive so its worth a try.
I have read mixed reviews of the sound quality on these little transmitters (although nothing related to 40-50 year old vehicles) and am hopeful that because I live in a small town/rural area I won't run into the same interference issues. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Byron, no, my car does not have a distant/local antenna switch.
I didn't know you have an aftermarket cassette player. Does the cassette player part work? If it does, you might be able to skip the whole FM transmitter thing by getting one of these. $10 at Amazon. You slide the cassette-looking part into the cassette player, and you plug the jack on the end of the cable, which sticks out of the cassette opening, into your audio source. So your line-in is through the cassette player.
Darn you are an encyclopedia of infotainment information! I honestly don't know if the cassette works. I don't have any to test with. Will have to track one down and see. I have long since transferred all my music to my iPhone and iPod.
The cassette to aux adapter while interesting does not appear to offer me what I am primarily looking for which is hands free calling capability or phone charging. Or am I missing something?
No, it doesn't offer hands-free calling or anything like that. It's just a way to get a line-in to a radio that doesn't have it but does have a cassette player. This kind of adapter has been available for many years. I remember having one back in the '90s so I could connect my portable CD player to the car's audio system. There was no line-in jack, but it did have a cassette player, so an adapter like this would work.
But have no fear. There is an adapter for everything. Get one of these. It's a Bluetooth adapter. Note along the top there is an AUX-in jack. You would plug in the cable from the cassette adapter into this port. Then you pair your phone to the device.
I know you're starting to get a lot of devices here. I think the main advantage of the cassette adapter is that you do not have to fiddle with FM stations and dealing with interference from adjacent stations. I think there's something to be said for trying to avoid this.
The Bluetooth adapter we talked about earlier that plugs into the cigarette lighter is a simpler setup. No wires. It pairs by Bluetooth to your phone, and it connects to your radio via FM signals. There's something to be said for this, too.
There are multiple ways to achieve your goal. Up to you which one to go with.
Byron, the age of the car should have nothing to do with it. All you need is a radio that receives FM signals, which your original Delco does. You just tune that radio to whatever frequency your Bluetooth transmitter broadcasts on. I have the same situation with my satellite radio. If I want to use it in my Toro with its original AM/FM radio, I choose the FM frequency the satellite receiver transmits on and tune the car's radio to that frequency. These transmitters allow you to change the transmission frequency in case the default one happens to have a local station on it in your area.
Here's one for $17 on Amazon. It shows the frequency to tune your radio to right on the front. This one plugs into the cigarette lighter as most of them do.
I have that exact Bluetooth receiver in my truck. I ha e had it for a year or so, it works great.
Byron, before you buy anything, check this out. Maybe you saw this in your internet searching. The entire May 1990 issue of Audio magazine is available online. Towards the end of it, they have a large list of audio components and specifications, including car audio. It's like their annual buyer's guide or something.
Here's the magazine cover.
Now what you really need to see is this. Here's the section for Clarion car audio, and your model, 8703RT, is listed (and originally listed for $250).. I've circled its line in red. Look what is says in the far right column under "RCA in/out jacks?" It says YES.
Have you ever looked behind your radio? These radios sometimes had RCA jacks, often at the end of a short cord, that extended from behind the radio. If they weren't used, they were often taped to the back of the radio to keep them out of the way. You might crawl under your dash and see if you can see behind the radio. You might very well have RCA connectors at the end of short cables.
The cables will often look like this. They'll be reversed (female) so you can plug in standard male RCA plugs. They'll be at the end of short (6-inch?) cables.
If your radio does have these, all you need is a cable like this to plug into it, and you can run a cable from your phone or any other device right to your radio. You don't need Bluetooth.
Having said all of the above, I do have a question. In looking at your radio, I don't see a button or anything to select the RCA jacks as the audio source. But I don't know what all the buttons mean. (What's "AS/PS" or "R/T?" I'm guessing they're not for selecting the input, but I thought I'd ask.)
But I should also say that the radio in my car does not have a button to select the AUX input as the audio source. Rather, the radio automatically senses when something is plugged into that jack and automatically switches to it. If I want to listen to the regular AM or FM radio, I have to pull the cable out of the jack. Maybe yours works the same way.
Or maybe your radio doesn't have these jacks at all and that magazine article is mistaken.
Just thought I'd throw this into the mix.
Last edited by jaunty75; June 6th, 2020 at 09:00 PM.
Jaunty, I crawled under the dash today to look for the RCA cables or jacks. After a fair bit of contortion I spotted what appeared to be a white and red RCA jacks on the back of the radio. So your research on the unit is quite correct. Although how I would ever get up in there to plug them in without dropping the lower dash is beyond me at the moment. If there was an easy way to just drop the entire ash tray assembly it would make it possible and easier to do. Gotta check the manual to see if just the ashtray assembly can be dropped.
I assume that this radio would be like yours and automatically switches to the AUX channel if something is plugged in.
Went to a couple of garage sales today to see if I could find some cheap cassettes to test the unit with but nobody had any. Lots of CD's but no cassettes. My neighbor has some that he offered but his are all collectors items and there is no way I would want to play with those just in case it ate the tape.
So I did order a bluetooth FM transmitter. Was a good deal at $34 Cdn which equals about $25 US and it was free delivery. Seems to offer everything I am looking for. Will handle bluetooth, USB, micro SD card and has an AUX port. It gives me hands free calling and charging and has the added feature of being adjustable to change viewing angle with a decent size screen. Heck it apparently even shows car battery voltage which is kind of neat. Here is what I ordered a VicTsing T11.
I even tested the cigarette lighter socket today using an old GPS unit and thankfully it worked. So at least I have power for the unit.
I also played with the radio today and figured out a few of the controls. The BND (band) button changes from AM to FM1 and FM2. The R/T button seems to only relate to TAPE but without one can't test to see what it does. The AS/PS seems to just cycle thru the 6 presets on each band. The CLK calls up the clock but no amount of pressing, holding alone or in combination with other buttons seems to allow me to change the time. Have to find a manual online and see how to do it.
While playing with the radio today I noticed my right front speaker is bit a scratchy/crackly. So need to find a replacement which you have shown on another thread and then figure out how to get in there to replace it. I know this sounds strange but the truth of the matter is playing tunes while driving is not really all that important to me. I would rather listen to the sounds of the vehicle. What is important to me is being able to make and receive hands free calls and to keep my phone charged. My wife on the other hand wants to listen to tunes, so if having tunes available makes it more appealing to her to cruise with me then that is great.
Her other big requirement is A/C but that is a whole other matter. Me, I can live without it for a while longer
Thank you Jaunty and everyone for all your advice, it is greatly appreciated. When I get my Bluetooth FM transmitter in a week or two and test it out I will post and let you know my impressions of it.
Getting at the radio through the ashtray will likely not work. The ashtray comes out easily. Open it up like you normally would and then look closely at the upper left and right sides. You'll see little metal tabs that you lift to disengage, and then you can open the ash tray even further and eventually pull it right out. Before you do this, open the ash tray and remove the actual ash tray itself by just pulling it toward you . This is easy to do because this was designed to be removed in order to empty it of ashes if you were ever actually using it as an ashtray. By removing this inner ashtray, you can get at the wiring for the lighter, which is on the left side. Just pull the connectors off. If you don't do this, the ashtray will just hang by this wiring when you remove it. If you want to take it completely off, you need to disconnect the wiring.
But as soon as you remove the inner ashtray, you'll see why getting at the radio this way won't work. Look inside after the inner tray is removed and look upward. There is a metal support plate that completely blocks access to anything, and it can't be removed by removing any screws that are accessible. The only way to get at the radio is to drop the lower dash, which is a pain because of al the screws that have to be removed. Whoever finally decided some years later to make the radio accessible from the front rather than from under the dash should have won a Nobel prize. I hope he did.
As far as changing the clock setting, you're right that it's a combination of buttons, but it might be this PLUS turning the tuning ****. So you hold down two buttons while turning the **** one way to change the minutes and the other way to change the hours.
As far as the front speakers, I replaced both of mine with these from Amazon. Very inexpensive and work great. If you're going to replace one, you might want to just replace both. Your originals are equally old, and it's good to have a matched set.
Getting at the speakers is easy because you do it from the top of the dash. It's a little tight to get in there sometimes because of the slope of the windshield, but just get a 1-inch wide putty knife or something like that and go around the speaker grille cover and pry it up. It will come off with the speaker attached. You can pull of the connectors and remove the speaker and grille completely from the car. Then unscrew the screws that hold the speaker to the grille. Then, as the manuals always say, installation is the reverse of the removal process.
One thing to note is that the connection points on these new speakers are smaller than the connection points on the original speakers, so the spade-lug connectors on the wires you pull off likely won't secure nicely to the new speakers. What I did was to solder a short length of wire to the connectors on the new speakers and crimp onto the other end of each wire a male spade lug of the same width as the lugs on the original speakers and connect those lugs to the radio wiring you pulled off earlier.
One other thing to note about speaker removal is that the right side speaker is also the location of the temperature "sensor" for the Tempmatic and Comfortron air conditioner. This is easiest to see if you look straight down at the speaker from outside the car. See the photo below. The yellow arrow shows the location of this sensor. It's not really a "sensor" in the sense of being anything electronic (this is the late 1970s, remember, not the 2020s). It's just an opening where a tube attaches underneath that leads down under the dash to the A/C system. Air coming through this tube is how the system knows what the cabin temperature is. When you remove this grille, that tube will be connected to it as well. Just pull it off. It's just a press-fit rubber tube. Remember to hook it back up again when you reinstall the grille.
If your car has the standard Four Season A/C system, it might not have this sensor, so the tube might not be present. I don't know for sure. My car has the Tempmatic, and this tube is there. Whether or not your car has the sensor or not, the the little opening in the grille shown in the photo might still be there because they probably saved money and made only one grille in these cars, with the opening for the sensor, and just left the sensor unconnected on cars that didn't have Tempmatic or Comfortron. Remember that the same upper dash was used on all full-size Oldsmobiles from 1971 through 1976 and all Toronados from 1971 through 1978, so that's a lot of cars that might or might not have needed this tube.
Interesting that your A/C doesn't work. Neither does mine, and I've spent a lot of time and money trying to get it to work. Someday I'll write a book. For now, these days I go for a spin (I call it a "Torospin," and that's what I tell my wife---"dear, I'm going for a Torospin," and she knows exactly what I mean and how long I'll be gone) early in the morning before the temperature gets into the '90s around here, and I put the windows down.
Last edited by jaunty75; June 7th, 2020 at 03:03 PM.
Jaunty, my friend thank you again for all your wonderful advice.
I did find some information on the Clarion support page which covered 5 methods of changing the clock time on their units. Unfortunately all these instructions refer to buttons that are not on my unit, so it would appear that my unit is too old for them to cover. May just give them a call and see if they have an old manual they can scan and email me. Never hurts to ask, all they can do is laugh and say not possible. In the meantime I will just keep pushing buttons and twisting dials to see what happens. The minute I can get the time flashing, I will know I am almost there. Sure would be nice to have at least one clock in the car actually working and reporting the right time.
Speaking of which does your dash clock work? Mine wakes up every once in a while and slowly moves for a few minutes and then falls back asleep for a few weeks. Another item to add to the "someday to do list".
Really sorry to hear about your A/C not working. I do recall that you spent a pile of money getting it done the right way. What happened? I could write a book too, but maybe not as heartbreaking as yours.
Would you consider re-opening your old thread in the Toronado section and providing an update on what is happening with your A/C. I can even post about my trials and tribulations. as the saying goes "misery loves company".
My car's original clock worked sporadically as well. But I got lucky and found a correct, NOS Toronado clock on ebay for a very reasonable price (about $50 I think, which I thought was reasonable). I put that in, and it looks and works great.
Here's a picture of it I took before installing it in the car.
To make a long story short on the A/C system, the car has ingested, digested, and spit out four compressors. I had the original compressor rebuilt by Vintage Air and installed by a local shop. They put in a new evaporator and other components that were not original factory-matched components because the car was converted to R134a. But it was a good, complete system. The system worked ok for a few months, but then one day the compressor made a horrible squealing noise. I took it back to the shop, and they said that the rebuilt compressor had disintegrated internally and that metal particles had gotten into the system. I had them clean out the system and put in a new compressor, not rebuilt, and shortly after it was installed, the same thing happened. LOUD squealing from the compressor. They thought it might have been a defective compressor, so they put in another new one. Same problem shortly after installation. They hadn't charged me for the replacement compressor, but they told me they couldn't keep throwing compressors in there and having them burn up.
So I took the car home and decided to educate myself on A/C systems. I replace everything again. New compressor, new evaporator, new accumulator or whatever the hell you call it. Blew A/C system cleaner through everything (never saw any particles). Replaced all O-rings. Put in the amount of oil as specified in the service manual. Got a manifold gauge kit and a vacuum pump. Got the system to where it would hold 30 mm Hg of vacuum overnight and then started putting in new refrigerant. It took refrigerant more slowly than I thought it would, but it did take it, and wouldn't you know it but the system began to blow cold air. Hallelujah I thought. But no. After only about 15 minutes of blowing cold air, this new brand compressor started squealing like a stuck pig. I couldn't believe it. The car is cursed. I shut down everything and gave up. I just don't know what to do next. One rebuilt and three brand-new compressors have died premature deaths at the hands of this vehicle. I just don't want to pour more money into it right now. Just to be safe, I don't carry black cats in the car, either.
Last edited by jaunty75; June 7th, 2020 at 04:02 PM.
Nice CLOCK you have there - lol! Actually great that you were able to find an original. Was wondering if these can be taken apart, cleaned and put back together and have them working again.
I went out and checked and I have that little circle in the speaker grill you pointed out. Once I get it out I will know if there is a tube attached. Thanks for the advice on how to pop out the speakers and the lead on what to replace them with.
Boy that is quite an adventure you have had with compressors. I certainly defer to your expertise on A/C systems but something is obviously attacking your compressors. My local mechanic has been tutoring me on A/C for my car and quite honestly it makes me cross eyed. He obviously encourages me to stay with 12A and not do the 134 conversion due to a variety of complications, although you do not appear to have that option. The only point I think I recall from his tutorials on 12 to 134 conversions is that the fill level is critical and different. If I understand him correctly the original theory was that you filled 134 to about 80% of the 12 volume but his experience was that this was too high and led to failures. He felt the level based on trial and failure was closer to 65-70%. Assuming there were no other underlying problems with the system, like did you get all of the old mineral oil out or is there still some dried up clumps in the system that is causing a blockage. Like I said I am no expert and can only regurgitate what I have been told. Sure hope you are able to get the problem sorted out, especially after all the money you have spent and the hot climate you live in. If you wanted to try 12A, it is available here. Food for thought.
My problem with A/C is nowhere near as costly as yours at this point, I hope. My issue is finding someone who can crimp the hi and low pressure lines and work around the bends coming out of the muffler. I can find the right hose and the ferrules but no one can crimp with the bends in the lines from the muffler. So now I am looking to cut the metal tubes just before the bend, have new hoses crimped on which they should now be able to do because it will fit into their crimping heads and then get the aluminum tubes welded back together, without the heat destroying the new hoses. I have a friend who is pretty good at welding aluminum and thinks he can do it. In fact he would prefer that I try and track down a length of the aluminum tube, have it crimped and then he will bend the tube and weld to the back of the muffler and thereby stay well enough away not to have heat bother the new hose. Then the trial and tribulations of purging and refilling the system and hoping it all holds together. But that comes after wipers, power locks, mufflers and now new speakers.
Keep us posted on how you make out with your A/C and what you determine the cause of the problem turns out to be.
Last edited by ByronF; June 7th, 2020 at 06:44 PM.
My A/C system was converted to 134a, and there's no going back. My mechanic told me that, by law, if he works on an R-12 system, he must convert it to 134a, or he cannot work on the car. Of course he could do things under the table, but this mechanic didn't want to do that, and who can blame him.
As far as clearing the system of old oil, I don't know where it would be. Like I said, when I did it myself, I replaced everything I could replace and flushed with A/C cleaner anything that couldn't be replaced. I reused the lines, which were nearly brand new because they were purchased new from Vintage Air when I had the original compressor rebuilt, but I flushed them with cleaner, and cleaner flowed through them smoothly and cleanly. There is simply no place for old oil still to be.
As far as refrigerant amount, I had read something similar to what your mechanic said, but the number was a little different. I read that the amount of 134a you need about is about 90% of what the listed R12 capacity is. But I was not able to get anywhere near that much into the system before the compressor started squealing.
There is really no keeping you up to date because I am not working on the system now. I simply don't know what else to do. I'm no expert on A/C systems. I did the things that I think a typical shade tree mechanic should be able to do, but it didn't pan out. I'm not going to go buy a fifth compressor.
Some days you're the windshield, and some days you're the bug. As far as the A/C system goes, I am definitely the bug!
Don't blame you for packing it in on the A/C for the time being. I probably would have been done after the second compressor. Life as a bug sure sucks! I expect one day you will have a eureka moment and the solution will come to you. Wish I could be of more help but alas A/C issues make me cross eyed.
My A/C system was converted to 134a, and there's no going back. My mechanic told me that, by law, if he works on an R-12 system, he must convert it to 134a, or he cannot work on the car. Of course he could do things under the table, but this mechanic didn't want to do that, and who can blame him.
As far as clearing the system of old oil, I don't know where it would be. Like I said, when I did it myself, I replaced everything I could replace and flushed with A/C cleaner anything that couldn't be replaced. I reused the lines, which were nearly brand new because they were purchased new from Vintage Air when I had the original compressor rebuilt, but I flushed them with cleaner, and cleaner flowed through them smoothly and cleanly. There is simply no place for old oil still to be.
As far as refrigerant amount, I had read something similar to what your mechanic said, but the number was a little different. I read that the amount of 134a you need about is about 90% of what the listed R12 capacity is. But I was not able to get anywhere near that much into the system before the compressor started squealing.
There is really no keeping you up to date because I am not working on the system now. I simply don't know what else to do. I'm no expert on A/C systems. I did the things that I think a typical shade tree mechanic should be able to do, but it didn't pan out. I'm not going to go buy a fifth compressor.
Some days you're the windshield, and some days you're the bug. As far as the A/C system goes, I am definitely the bug!
The refrigerant amounts are not comparable between R-12 and R-134a. You should be able to search the internet for a starting point. You will need a set of R-134 gauges to get it right though. Charts are available for the pressure vs. outside temp so you can get the refrigerant right. R-12 is very frogiving and easy to work with compared to the 134 stuff. If you don't have good air flow through the condenser, the head pressures can spike dramatically. You need to have gauges on the high and low side to know exactly what is happening. R-12 systems can be over-filled without much concern but the R-134 systems need to be charged almost exactly right or you can damage parts. Most of the oil will reside in the compressor so to remove it, the compressor needs to be removed and drained as completely as possible then the new PAG oil can be added, reseal the system, vacuum the system to evaporate moisture, then charge with R-134a refrigerant. There are a few other important items to consider but that covers the major events of a conversion.
Something like this might be a better option for FM input of auxiliary signals. It plugs into the antenna port of the radio and injects the signal directly into the radio. No chance for interference. Looks like it accepts just about any type of input you could wish for. https://www.ebay.com/itm/iSimple-Uni...8712710cd95b0b
The refrigerant amounts are not comparable between R-12 and R-134a. You should be able to search the internet for a starting point.
Like I said above, I did this.
Originally Posted by cjsdad
You will need a set of R-134 gauges to get it right though.
I have a set of gauges, which I also stated above. I bought them new in January. They were connected to the system the entire time I was servicing it as I needed them to tell me that the system would hold vacuum. When I was adding refrigerant, I added it through the low-pressure line.
Originally Posted by cjsdad
Charts are available for the pressure vs. outside temp so you can get the refrigerant right.
I know. I have one. Here it is.
Originally Posted by cjsdad
You need to have gauges on the high and low side to know exactly what is happening.
I did. See my posts above.
I do appreciate your advice, but I'm not looking for advice. I only talked about the saga of my A/C system because Byron asked. I'm not interested in trying to resurrect the system now because I would likely need another new compressor, and I don't want to buy one now, especially since I don't know what I would do differently, and I don't want to send another one to the graveyard. With the one I put in the car most recently, I did everything the manufacturer said to do about the type of oil to put in and how much.
Last edited by jaunty75; June 7th, 2020 at 09:32 PM.
The pressures on that chart seem extremely high! When I worked in an A/C shop in Phoenix I dont remember ever charging a system up to that high pressure. There are a bunch of different charts available, I just looked, and there seems to be two different scales for R134. If you ever get back to it, find one of the charts with the lower pressure scale. Even in Phx, we only saw pressures 10 or 20% above R12 when working right. 🍺
I have a set of gauges, which I also stated above. I bought them new in January. They were connected to the system the entire time I was servicing it as I needed them to tell me that the system would hold vacuum. When I was adding refrigerant, I added it through the low-pressure line.
I know. I have one. Here it is.
I did. See my posts above.
I do appreciate your advice, but I'm not looking for advice. I only talked about the saga of my A/C system because Byron asked. I'm not interested in trying to resurrect the system now because I would likely need another new compressor, and I don't want to buy one now, especially since I don't know what I would do differently, and I don't want to send another one to the graveyard. With the one I put in the car most recently, I did everything the manufacturer said to do about the type of oil to put in and how much.
You gave it the good old "college" try but diagnosing an A/C issue is best left to an expert. When I had to perform a timing belt/water pump replacement on an interference engine I swallowed my pride and ego, ponied up the Benjamin's, and paid a qualified and trusted mechanic to do the job right!
Of course there is still the "2-60" A/C system that never fails.
Well my VicTsing T11 Bluetooth FM Transmitter (as shown in an earlier post) arrived today. Ran out and plugged in to the car and set about setting it up. Was a piece of cake to pair it with my iPhone 8 and to select an unused FM frequency. Tested out tunes and hand free calling and both worked great. I did not drive far so can't really comment on FM frequency issues at this point but that is something I can live with. Just having hands free calling in this old car is a real treat. Based on my short test I would say this is a great little unit and would recommend it.
The one thing I did notice is that my front speakers are really sad, the right one especially has a lot of crackling. The backs don't sound too bad with no apparent crackling. I tried to order the CES 3.5 inch front speakers Jaunty found on Amazon but they won't ship to Canada. Found another pair of Clarion 3.5 inch speakers that will ship. Kind of like the idea that these front speakers will be the same brand as the radio.
Would also like to do the rears but finding something affordable that ships to Canada seems to be a challenge. There are a bunch of used ones on eBay but i would rather have new. So will start with fronts and see what may come along for the rears.
As far as rear speakers, I replaced mine as well with these. I don't know if they'll ship to Canada. They work great and were a drop-in replacement. The only issue is getting at them. Remove the spare tire and lie on your back in trunk. Lots of fun!
So after waiting almost 6 weeks all my new speakers arrived. I could not get the CES 3.5" front speakers that Jaunty recommended because the seller would not ship to Canada. But I did find a set of Clarion 3.5" 10W @ 8ohm front speakers that appear to be a perfect match for the aftermarket Clarion radio (Model 8703RT) that is currently in the car. This is what I got.
Installation was per earlier advice pretty straight forward at least on the driver side. That crazy tube on the passenger side is giving me grief. It has to separate. Just have to keep after it. If anyone has any tips or tricks would love to hear them. The one mod that I did have to make to these speakers was to bend the tabs down 90 degrees in order to get the speaker to drop in the hole. The tabs on the speakers were a nice fit for the existing wire ends so no extensions were necessary. Here is a picture of the crazy tube that is driving me nuts. It is on the left side in the photo.
Those speakers look fine! To get that tube off, can't you just stick a wide, flat-blade screwdriver into the gap at the top of it and twist the screwdriver to force the tube to slide downward?
I don't know how well that would work as there appears to be clips on the posts that it mounts to. If I force them off by prying then I will probably lose/break the clips or mounting posts. I am wondering if I grip the lower portion of the tube with vise grips and then try twisting the whole grille and speaker assembly off. It seems like that hose assembly should come apart at that point.
Also had a go at replacing the rear speakers. I ordered the GM #25993220 speakers from Amazon that was referred to earlier. But while they mount ok the speaker wire connector does not match the connector that is currently on the car.
This is what the new speaker connector looks like
But the existing speaker wire connector looks like this
I have looked all over the internet to no avail. So my question is has anyone done this conversion and where did you get the new connectors and is there a manufacturer and part number that you can share.
So my question is has anyone done this conversion and where did you get the new connectors and is there a manufacturer and part number that you can share.
Byron, we got ya covered! I installed these same speakers in my car, and they had the same female connector plug on them. You need this item. One end plugs right in to the speaker. The other end terminates in bare wire, and you can cut the connectors off the end of the wiring in the car and splice this connector to it. Then just plug this into the speaker.
It's called a high-mount stoplight socket by this vendor, but if you just search under the part number shown (ACDelco PT2699), you'll probably find other vendors.
I'm trying to remember how I found this. I think I started by looking for speaker connectors for 1978 GM and then started moving up a year at a time (1979, 1980, etc.) until I found one that fit. As I recall, it was something for a mid-'80s car.
Amazon calls it a "multipurpose pigtail," but they don't seem to carry it any more. They show one external vendor who wants $126. I don't know what that's all about as it is certainly available cheaper.
Yes, I saw the high Amazon price, even on the American side. I bought mine back in February of last year, and I paid something like the Autozone price, about $20 apiece for two of them.
Here's one on ebay right now. Seller says he will ship to Canada. He's got only one, though, but it would get you half way there.
I saw that on eBay as well but really want 2. Getting halfway there really doesn't help much. I called Autozone but they won't ship to Canada and they have no stock in their warehouse in TN. They suggested I get a US zip code and then check store by store. Why on earth I would do that if they won't ship outside the US is beyond me. Summit Racing list the part for like $15 each plus shipping and will ship to Canada but they are not shipping domestically or for export until Aug 24th, so I am guessing they are waiting for stock. Maybe I should go to few wrecking yards and see if I can find some older GM vehicles that I can cut the parts out off. The listing for these rear speakers refers to 2005-2010 Chevy Cobalt. Maybe I can find one.
June 5th, 2020, 09:04 PM
