danno

Years ago I knew I needed to do something with my steering, and went with a power rack and pinion system. Do any of you have anything to compare the tradeoffs of your mod vs a R&P system? If you are spending about $800, the R&P is about $2000 or more.

Your method will work, and you will not need the 6800 ohm resistors. The reason you might have needed them is because sometimes when I do it, it is easier to clip the resistor in the middle, breaking it in two. Then I have 2 places to solder the new wires. Your method of doing it will work perfect, and you will not need the resistors. You still should get the 100 ohm resistors for the MP3 output. So do it by your method and it should work fine.

I am curious if anyone else is considering undertaking this task? 69gmachine, are you going to try? I know it can be done, but every radio is just a bit different.

If you will be making another trip to Rasio shack, it would probably be fine to use 6200 or 7500 ohm resistors in place of the 6800 ohm values. The 5000 ohm might allow distortion at high volumes and the 10000 ohm might not allow the volume to go very high. You can try the 5000 ohm part and see how it works. If it does not distort too bad when you are on an FM station, then you can probably get by using it. But to be safe, see if you can find the 6800 ohm ( or close) resistor. Also pick up the 100 ohm part at the same time.

By the way, those resistors you are looking for are right next to those capacitors. Those potentiometers are the volume and tone controls, and at the very back of it, right next to those capacitors, is the on/off switch for the radio. I am wondering if the resistors you are looking for are under that switch. You could make the connection at those capacitors if it is easier.

Good, it sounds like you are following me on this. Very few people could. I realized one thing after sending the email. The way I have it, if the balance is all the way to one side, it shorts out the MP3 output on that side. Most radios I have done this on have the balance after the volume, so it is not a problem. So for this, I would add 100 ohm resistors on teh MP3 outputs. I added them in the schematic I attached. Let me know of your progress...

Ok, I got a schematic and layout, they are attached. The modification can be done with a few of the components right behind the volume control. The schematic that I attached represents the wires and circuits of the radio. You can see my modifications to the circuits. There are 2 places where the signal goes from the decoder amp to the balance control that need to be cut. This is where you disconnect the signal from the AM/FM radio coming out of the decoder amp and insert your wires from the MP3. The easiest way to do it is cut R313 and R314, they are both right behind the volume control on the circuit card. They should have blue, grey, and red stripes on them. This is where the MP3 signal goes. You will need new resistors for R313 and R314, you will need to get them at a Radio shack store. These are 6800 ohms, you will need 2 of them, the wattage of the resistors does not make any difference, get them as small as possible ( probably 1/4 watt). So clip off the brown portion of R313 and R314 so you have something to solder the wires to. The wires will go to your switch or relay can connect to these leads. Is this making sense so far? Are you totally confused? I have left off some details, we can go into those later.

I am going to pick up a schematic for your radio tonight. It is in SAM's photo-facts AR-188, and it turns out the Minneapolis Library has a copy of it. The library is a free source for these photo-facts, a nice thing to have available here. I will do some photocopies and I will know a lot from this.

I have been logging in every day, but today all the photos are viewable. Yesterday and all last week they were not. I swear I have not changed anything in my computer. Today they are viewable, yesterday they were not. I will look to see if I can get a schematic and layout for the circuit card. Then we can proceed to the next step and you can decide if you want to tear into this when I get the schematic. More later... Danno

Once again I cannot see the photos. I see them in other threads, so I don't think it is me. Are you attaching the photo or just a link to it? Your idea of an seperate amp will certainly work. You can usually go directly from the headphone output of your MP3 to the low level input ( with the RCA plugs) of your amplifier. Volume control is a pain, though, to do it on a mp3. It is usually a 2 hands deal, risky when driving. You are right in that it is not a simple deal to add the mod to these radios. For me, with the radio in front of me, it is simple. If you still want to try it, we can continue with the description... Danno

I can see the photos I included, but not the ones you put in. All I see is a red X. I sent a different message about the red X, and I was told that gets put in place of attachements after some time has passed. You can probably still see them because you put them there. Anyway, repost them and I will save them to my computer next time. Danno

The problem I mentioned in my previous reply might not have been clear. In your previous reply, you put a photo of the radio with the part number and bottom of the circuit card. Apparantly these photos are not maintained on the thread, so you need to post them again. I need to know the part number of your radio.

How do I view photos or attachments in a thread? These are old posts in a thread, the photos were viewable when the post was new, but now that other replies are made, the photos are no longer visible. Yesterday I could see them, today I cannot.

Tim I am using the factory cruise control from the same truck I got the wheel from. The junk yard let me have it all for $30. The cruise took a little work, but it now works great. Dan

The picture no longer is visible. What do I need to do to see it? It worked yesterday, I don't know what happened. What is the part number for your radio again?

Yes, there are 3 potentiometers on the shaft. One for left volume, one for right volume, and one for balance. If you wire your new input to the volume, you will not have balance control. But you possibly can wire it to the balance knob. Put you ohmeter on it to see which one is the balance. The way the circuit works, there is an output from the decoder amplifier, which goes from this to the balance knob. This same connection then goes on to the tone and volume knobs. You would need to cut the connection between the balance knob and the decoder amplifier and connect your MP3 input to this. So you would be close and almost correct in your statement about connecting to the volume control. I hope some of this makes sense. I also need to find a schematic and layout for your radio. I do not have one for your exact model. I have a real good guess of what to modifiy on the one you have and would have no problem figureing it out if I had it with me, but to tell you is difficult. Do you have the schematic and layout? Sam's Technical manuals makes a who set of these, you would need the one for your radio.

Your radio is from a 1975 Ford, with the D5 in the part number. I will need to check my schematics and layout tonight to see if it shows something that will allow me to tell you what to do next. I have an oscilloscope, and with that it would be easy for me to find the place to cut, even without a schematic. Do you have a digital voltmeter that will read AC volts under 1 volt? If you have one, that could also give me a way to find out more.

I thought of passing on what I thought was a good discovery. My 69 vert had a deluxe steering wheel, that large wood grain thing. It was worn in a few places, so instead of spending bug bucks to repair it I decided to see what the salvage yards had that could work. What I found was the wheel from a 1980's vintage Ford Truck, and I am amazed at how perfectly it worked in my 69. It is smaller diameter, which I wanted, and the nice soft leather grip. The diameter of the plastic where it meets with the shaft is also a perfect match. Even the camera case texture of the plastic is the same as in 69. The only problem was the rings for the horn connection. I had to do a mod and use the rings from my old wheel in the new one, but I got it to work. On top of all that, I also got the cruise control working, with the controls on the steering wheel as shown. More on that in a different thread. I can discuss more on how I did it, if anyone is interested. Danno

Jeff, good pictures. The model you have is different from others I have seen, but the change has to be about the same. The change is made in the circuit card that is on the bottom, under the pushbutton station selector mechanism. That is why I said taking it apart is a mess, because you are not there yet. Before you do that, there could be a way to do it from the bottom of the circuit card. I need to review the schematic on it to see if it is possible. In the mean time, take a picture of the bottom, just so I have something to work with. I will find out if it is necessary to take the station selector out. Also, do you have the model number of the radio, from the side? Something like D0ZB-122944-EB. The saga continues, Danno

Jeff, I will keep watching the forum for updates on your porgress. My only other comment is about the USB voltage for your Mp3 player. I understand 8 hours is plenty of time, but it does mean you have to remember to take it out of your car and recharge. I have a cheap MP3 player I leave in the car, plugged in and ready to go all the time. To 69gmachine, the $80 is usually for a working AM/FM from the 1970's or 1980's. I am not familiar with an AM/FM 8 track. I am doing the mod to an 1968 AM/8 track now, and will find out how difficult that is. I know it can be done to yours, but a lot of the work is taking the thing apart and putting it all back together. That 8 track thing could make it a lot more difficult to take it apart. As yours is already apart, it could be difficult to get it back together. Let's wait a bit until I get the one I am now doing first. My initial guess is that I could do it, but it might be a couple bucks more because of your 8 track. Follow this thread and we will keep in touch.

By the way, when you get it apart take a couple photos of the circuit card and attach them to the reply. I want to make sure what you have is what I think you have.

Ok, I appreciate someone willing to take on a challenge like you are about to do. The first thing you need to do is to take off the top and front. The whole assembly with the station control pushbuttons all comes off as one piece. The the potentiometers on the left side for volume, etc, stay soldered to the circuit card. There are small 3/16 inch hex head screws on the bottom side that need to be removed, but the panel on the bottom stays attached. You need to take off the gear drive for the station select knob, there is a small screw on the side near the gear that is the trick to this. There is a circuit card assembly mounted verticle right behind the station select mechanism. This comes out with the mechanism. It attaches to the main circuit card ( the one across the bottom) with little spring clips, so it just pulls away from it. There are a couple wires that need to be cut, remember where they go so you know where to put them back. Some of the wires are attached to the main circuit card with "quick connects" so you can just pull them and they come right off, no need to cut. The front metal panel and the black plastic around the buttons all come off as one piece, you do not need to take that all apart. So start looking it over and let me know when you get the whole station select mechanism removed.

I have done what you are asking about several times. I did it for myself and started doing it for others who wanted the same thing. I am doing it now for someone who wants MP3 stereo for his AM/8 track. That way he can use his MP3 for music or as a FM receiver and keep the car original. When I do this mod, you can switch from the normal AM/FM to a remote audio input. The remote audio input plugs into the headphone jack on any typical MP3, CD player, or even a TV. Then you can use the knobs on your radio to adjust volume and balance. It has a seperate toggle switch to change between normal radio operation and remote input to it. When I do the mod, I also put in a USB port to supply power to your MP3 so the battery is always charged. So in my system, I have my MP3 player in the console glove box. It has 2 wires to it, the audio (in the headphone plug) and the USB connection for voltage to it. I click the switch on the dash to change between normal AM/FM and MP3. So that is how it works. How to do it, though, is not an easy thing to explain. You need to take the whole radio apart, find the right parts to modify, do the mod, and install the relay, install the USB voltage supply, do all the wiring and connections, and put it all back together correctly. That part about putting it all back correctly can be a real challenge the first time. If you have electronics knowledge, know the difference between a resistor and capacitor, know how to solder to a printed circuit board, and know how to read a schematic and layout, then there is a chance you could do it. Some radios are a lot more complicated than others, though. The mod is a lot more difficult on the original 69 AM/FM ( the one without the balance knob below the station select buttons) and some other radios. I would not even try to explain how to do it on those. But the average AM/FM from the 1970's it does work on easier. I typically charge about $80 to do the mod to a working radio, and I am not making much money doing this, believe me. Just enough to pay for materials and beer while doing it. I know others do this also for a business, for me it is just to help others. If you can fill the pants and want a challenge, I will tell you or anyone else how to do it. Like I said, I am not in it for the money so I am happy to tell others how to do it. But I don't want to waste your time and mine if I need to start with a review high school electricity. So in a nutshell, the modification generally amounts to the following. There is an amplifier IC in radio right after the AM/FM selector switch. This IC is under the pushbutton station control mechanism, so that all has to come out. The output of this amp goes to the volume, balance, and tone knob controls, and finally to the output amplifier. The amplifier IC has 2 outputs, one for left and one for right. These outputs go to resistors, usually 6800 ohms. You need to cut the trace between the amplifier and these resistors, and that is where you wire your remote audio input. I can go over it in some more detail, though, if you want. If what I said in the previous paragraph makes sense, along with the "filling the pants" part, then you can do it. Let us all know what your next step is. Danno

You have got something simple that is very wrong. You mentioned you are using aftermarket parking lamps, and that could be the start of the problem. You also have a new harness to the front of the car. Something with that could also be bad. To reduce the number of places the problem could be from, disconnect both front parking/ turn signal lights. Disconnect them where they connect to the main underhood harness, a 3 wire connector behind the lights. Disconnect these, and see if your parking lights now work, and the turn signal lights stay off. If you do this, the turn signals will not flash, they will come on and stay on. Try this first, then we can proceed to the next test...

You can see the spacers in the above photo. They are the dark grey piece on the 2 screws for each gauge. These absolutely MUST be there. Another possibility is that the screws are shorting out. Ford supplied a plastic piece to cover the threads after everything else is done. I think it was to remove a potential problem not a real one. But if those threads for the ampmeter come in contact with something after installation, that will also burn up your wires.