Where to Go for Radio Repair?

[01Y87]

Does anyone know who repairs these Delco head units? I'm talking about something that should be simple - replacement of the led's that light the panel when the lights are on.

I asked a dealer here, and they said they send them out but to a place that only does dealer work. He sent me to a couple local stereo shops but they too send the units out, and one guy told me that its like $250 and you basically get a new replacement unit. Seems kind of silly to replace the whole thing when the tuner and CD are fine.

On a positive note, I did replace my door speakers all by myself, labor charge = $0.00. R & R the door panels and all the switches and stuff, and everything works as it did before. The only exception being the pass. door switch bezel is supposed to snap back in but it doesn't. I replaced the speakers with brand new Delco stock, the pair was $80. Its not going to win any audio competitions but it sounds great, just like a new Monsoon.

I'm not experienced with soldering and pc boards at all. I just dont know what to do about the head unit's lighting. Does Delco Electronics have some kind of service center for their units?

Bruce

[Joe K. 99 Zeee!!]

There were replacement bulbs for sale on e-bay for $20 or at vetteradio.com for $22. Maybe you could take the faceplate off to reveal the bulbs and take it to an electronic repair shop to have them soldered on. corvetteradios.com says they'll replace bulbs for $75 + $12 shipping.

I replaced a few last weekend in about an hour and a half going slow. I'm not that experienced with soldering. I just read a couple how-to's online first. You can get a low watt iron and solder at radio shack for about $10.

[01Y87]

Well, I took the unit into a local electric repair shop. They replaced all 9 bulbs (including the ones not burned out) and the total charge was about $190. it looks and the system sounds just like new, at least right now. I'm not confident at Soldering. I did think the price was a bit high though.

[Christopherrr]

the total charge was about $190.

I guess when you're anal, you'll pay for it...I know I do sometimes.

[Joe K. 99 Zeee!!]

I'm not confident at Soldering. I did think the price was a bit high though.

When you have some free time go out to Radio Shack and pick up a cheap soldering iron and some solder and practice to get the feel for it ($10-$15). I'm not the greatest, but good enough I suppose. It'll be nice to know and you'll most likely use it in the future.

I used mine to wire some new non-OEM front speakers to the stock harness adapter last year. They were cheaper than OEM speakers and won't blow out as easily.

[toddwirges]

Used head units typically go for about $75 or so. Granted, you have some risk that there might be bulbs blown, but it'd give you flexibility to try the bulb replacement yourself.

Makes particular sense if you are going with leds...

~$200 is enough for a tasteful aftermarket head unit and door speakers. The stuff is pretty much plug and play on monsoon systems... drop in head unit install and bi-wire door speakers...