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Thread: factory radio repair possible???

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Santa Barbara, CA
    Posts
    132

    Default factory radio repair possible???

    Any electronic gurus around?

    The factory radio on my 1990 535i has the "crackly, staticy, volume knob problem". I was able to dissabmble all of the internals (which is tricky little jigsaw puzzle) except for the volume pot assembly. This is soldered together with some fine connections which I don't know if I could repair/re-solder even if I found a new pot. I can't see any numbers but the back of the pot says "ALPS" (I think) and "JAPAN"

    The question is - What are the odds of finding the exact replacement for the volume pot on a 15 year old radio? (Would have to be the exact one, with same pins, push feature, etc.)

    If there is no chance of finding the exact replacement component then I will use the radio as is for the rest of it's life, however long that may be. If I can find a new pot, however, I would like to take a shot at replacing it.

    Thanks to all.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Central NJ - USA
    Posts
    1,540

    Default

    yes it is fixable!
    a company in FL did mine for 75 bucks,
    made it 10x louder, fixed lights and new butons
    it is WORTH it

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Calgary AB Canada
    Posts
    589

    Default

    Before you change the pot, try contact cleaner such as Nu-Trol. This is available at electronics hobby stores. Spray a small amount into the pot - there's usually a slit in one side and you can see the pot's wiper as you rotate the shaft. Turn back and forth a few times to work the cleaner in and re-assemble.

    HTH,
    Anthony

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Santa Barbara, CA
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    Default That's what I was hoping to do.

    Thanks for the tip.

    That's what I was hoping to do, but it is so inaccessible I don't know if I can get any in there. Kind of frustrating becuase virtually everything else came apart with screws & tabs, but the pot and the housing around it are soldered in.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Calgary AB Canada
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    589

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by motuman
    Thanks for the tip.

    That's what I was hoping to do, but it is so inaccessible I don't know if I can get any in there. Kind of frustrating becuase virtually everything else came apart with screws & tabs, but the pot and the housing around it are soldered in.
    I guess if you're prepared to take the pot out to install a new part (yes ALPS is the manufacturer) you could try taking it out to apply the cleaner. I'd be surprised if you could find a replacement as the pot is likely a custom design - most OEMs don't use off-the-shelf components in their designs as they are often interested in tweaking, cost reducing or adding special functions to the parts for use in high volumes.

    Cheers,
    Anthony

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Williamsburg, VA
    Posts
    116

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by motuman
    That's what I was hoping to do, but it is so inaccessible
    Maybe you've already tried this, but I simply pulled the volume knob off and shot some contact cleaner down into the radio. It did the trick nicely. I gave up trying to take the radio apart once I found the volume assembly was buried pretty deep.

    Good luck,

    Norman

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Santa Barbara, CA
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    132

    Default Fixed it!

    I was able to get the radio apart enough to get a couple of shots of Nu-Trol contact cleaner into the volume pot. Works fine now!

    I was so inspired, I also pulled the factory radio out of my e28 M5 and gave that a shot of contact cleaner as well. (Different disassemby procedure, same result) Also works fine now! I really didn't thing the M5 radio would come back because that one sounded really shot, but the Nu-Trol did the trick!

    Thanks!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Long Beach, CA
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    2,563

    Default

    Cool, the local electronics store is out till tommorrow. Can't wait to try it out then

  9. #9
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    Mar 2005
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    Long Beach, CA
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    Default

    Thanks for the Nu-Trol tip. Worked like a charm. Only problem was that I had to but the 12oz can. They didn't get the smaller size in, but it was still worth it.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
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    Long Beach, CA
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    Default

    Just a note: The 1st application produced great results (Very little crackling). The followup application removed crackling totally as well as solving the problem of certain speakers going in and out.

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