I think I have a Philips DC670 radio cassette, it looks like one on following web page:
tinyurl.com/6eb8jw {link to ice.dndservices.co.uk severely shrunken to restore page width}
At night there is no illumination on the radio front & LCD display, so I cannot see band, station selected & pushbuttons
Can the LCD display & pushbuttons be illuminated & how do I get it illuminated ??
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 07/08/2008 at 01:17
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These use about seven 14v low wattage filament lamps, soldered into sub panels. It is not unknown for them all to be blown.
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Any idea how easy it is to get inside radio & repair ??
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This would need considerable de-soldering/soldering skills. The display/ switch panel is soldered into the main panel and has to be de-soldered to access the illumination bulbs, which are likewise soldered in. The display has to be de-mounted. This plugs in to an edge connector. It is highly unlikely, that all the segments of the display remain working after re-fitting. This is an old set and my advice is to live with it. It wouldn?t even be worth looking for a second hand one of these?the chances of getting a fully functioning one are minimal.
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Could it just be that the 12v feed from the iso plug on the back of the stereo either isn't live (for one reason or another) or simply hasn't been connected?
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No, certainly not in relation to the LCD illumination...I'ts the bulbs.
I was making the assumption that the set was otherwise working.
Edited by dereckr on 01/08/2008 at 14:06
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.>> These use about seven 14v low wattage filament lamps soldered into sub panels. It isnot unknown for them all to be blown.
Removed the unit & checked the voltages on the connector plug.
Voltage is ok on the illumination pins, when lights are switched on.
Looks like illumination bulbs in the radio cassette must all be blown
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Thanks for acknowledging that. It?s nice to have an ending to these posts?too many don?t report back what did or didn?t cure the problem or what they found on the way.
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Checked voltages on plug, the illumination feed is there, so I assume all the radio unt illumination lamps are blown.
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Having replaced these bulbs on a number of occasions its a nightmare. Its not just desoldering the bulbs which requires the use of a solder pump, its getting the replacement bulbs in the first place. I used to get them from a Rover dealer as they were the same as fitted into a Rover 800 auto gear illumination panel. You might as well get a replacement from E-bay. My Daughter has an '02 Corsa and it had the original radio cassette. She got a CD player replacement off E-bay for £40. The most likely cause for the bulbs to fail is if the vehicle has been jump started. The sudden overvoltage blows them.
Hope this helps.
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Following websites show the Philips DC670 socket pinouts:
carradio.hit.bg/philips.htm
www.elsegra.com/Car%20pinouts/Car%20Radio%20Pinout...m
Pin 1: GND
Pin 2: A+ or ACC(12V+)
Pin 3: ILL or Lights
Pin 4: Ant+
Pin 5: B+ or Batt+
I think that Pin 2 & Pin 5 are power switched through ignition switch or direct from battery respectively.
Is there a separate supply for the radio illumination coming in on Pin 3, switched through when car lights are switched on ??
Edited by peter973 on 03/08/2008 at 15:23
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Is there a separate supply for the radio illumination coming in on Pin 3, switched through when car lights are switched on ??
Following websites show the Philips DC670 socket pinouts:
www.carradio.hit.bg/philips.htm
www.elsegra.com/Car%20pinouts/Car%20Radio%20Pinout...m
Pin 1: GND
Pin 2: A+ or ACC(12V+)
Pin 3: ILL or Lights
Pin 4: Ant+
Pin 5: B+ or Batt+
I think that Pin 2 & Pin 5 are power switched through ignition switch or direct from battery respectively.
Edited by peter973 on 15/08/2008 at 12:41
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Hi
I had one of these on my '93 Cavalier, I always used to use the tape deck as nothing lit up but then it ate (literally) one of the cassete tapes I had to use a pair of plyers to try and remove the cassette and half of the cassette is still in there - how about considering a replacement (if you use it a lot) second hand ones of ebay will no doubt have the same problem (if not sooner rather than later) and with it being a standard radio fit a relitivly sensible priced radio/casette can be picked up from Argos/Halfords and they are not to difficult to fit
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Hi
i use to repair these models and their ilk in the late eighties/early nineties as a money making sideline. They were a very common line fit for a few manufacturers. Before you do anything check the voltage at pin 3 and earth with the car lights switched on on the connector going into the unit. If it is there then obviously the unit is faulty. There models had more than one illumination bulb so unlikely that all the bulbs blew at once, so unless the display was dim beforehand (indicating one or two bulbs already blown) then the problem more likely a voltage regulator within the unit. Actually these units were fairly easy to take apart, a torx scewdriver required but getting the parts is probably impossible now unless you have another donor unit. If you do have a donor unit an competent technician could fix but cheaper to buy relacement unit unless you want the period radio
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"unless you want the period radio" - if it is a 1995 Cavalier it would have had a Grundig SC303 tape/radio or very occasionally the CD300 RDS CD/Radio factory fitted. This Philips model was only fitted to very early Mk3 Cavaliers - although the Vauxhall dash cage fitting makes them all a straight swap. Quite a few SC303's (with a display not remote display) on Ebay although most will need decoding and by now the tape players are usually faulty.
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Just looking into another problem, some central console pushbutton switch lamps aren't working and there is no illumination on these switches at night when lights switched on.
Looking at my Haynes manual I see there seem to be 2 bulbs in the push button switches (didn't realise this), one for illumination & one for when switch active.
Looking at the illumination feed for these switches, it seems to be same feed for the radio illumination ( F9 10A 516 58K ).
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Just looking into another problem some central console pushbutton switch lamps aren't working and there is no illumination on these switches at night when lights switched on.
Checked voltages on plug, the illumination feed voltage is there, so I assume all the radio unit illumination lamps are blown.
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Another problem with this radio.
Should the radio remember which station preset was being used when you switch off ??
When my engine cuts out, the radio switches off, forgets the radio Station/Band being used & resets to a default setting (MW, preset 1), when I switch back on.
I assume it shouldn't do this, what is the likely fault ??
Edited by peter973 on 04/02/2009 at 23:14
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Should the radio remember which station preset was being used when you switch off ??
Yes.
what is the likely fault ??
Guessing either something like a tired button cell on the PCB somewhere, or a leaky capacitor that's not holding its charge anymore.
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Isn't one of the feeds to the radio permanently live to keep information such as pre-sets and radio code? If on/off switch killed ALL power to the radio surely you'd have to re-code every time?
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Isn't one of the feeds to the radio permanently live to keep information such as pre-sets and radio code? If on/off switch killed ALL power to the radio surely you'd have to re-code every time?
Yes, there is a permanent feed.
You can switch on radio with ignition switched Off.
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This model stores all the station presets, last volume settings, code etc in an eeprom memory device. It doesn?t require the back-up feed to remember this information, (like most far eastern models do). Your problem is down to this device going faulty.
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This model stores all the station presets last volume settings code etc in an eeprom memory device. It doesn?t require the back-up feed to remember this information (like most far eastern models do). Your problem is down to this device going faulty.
I'm not talking about losing station frequency presets, those are not lost.
Let's say I switch on radio, select band FM2 preset 3 to listen to.
If engine cuts out (idling is not 100% when stationary) or I switch off engine, the preset I was using is forgotten.
When I switch on radio it starts at band MW preset 1.
Edited by peter973 on 05/02/2009 at 22:55
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I know exactly to what you?re referring. The memory device stores all the ?last used? setting information as well?It?s forgetting that information and defaulting to a random setting. Sorry I didn?t make that clear. Believe me, it?s the device that?s faulty.
regards,
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Working Grundig SC303 and Blaupunkt CD300's (with display on them - not remote display) are pretty cheap now on ebay and either would have been original equipment on a 95 Cavalier - so both are a straight swop into original dashboard cage. Might be easier than trying to fix your existing unit?
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Another problem with this radio. Should the radio remember which station preset was being used when you switch off ?? When my engine cuts out the radio switches off forgets the radio Station/Band being used & resets to a default setting (MW preset 1) when I switch back on. I assume it shouldn't do this what is the likely fault ??
I now think it forgets Station/Band being used when I switch off ignition with the radio on.
If I switch radio off first, then swich off ignition, I think radio does not lose its settings.
Don't think radio should do this & is faulty, but it's a workaround.
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