Bad Radio or bad speaker?

[The Swed]

I turn my radio on all the way and I can hear it just barely. My guess is that the speaker is bad? Does the radio in these truck have issues over time?

Thanks

[michael bustamante]

can you get you hands on a known working speaker? splice that one in and see if you get music. but not for long if its a 4 ohm. itd be better if you can find an 8 ohm. or wire two 4 ohm in series.
meaning positive of one speaker to negative of matching speaker. this will turn two 4 ohm speakers into one 8 ohm speaker. id start there

[The Swed]

Okay, thanks Michael.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by The Swed

I turn my radio on all the way and I can hear it just barely. My guess is that the speaker is bad? Does the radio in these truck have issues over time?

Thanks

They can, the volume control can get dirty or corroded, but I find most issues are with the speaker. Unless you have someone in your area that re-cones speakers you have two options for the stock type stuff.

I bought one from Electro-tech. Sounds a lot better than the original I had in the '70.

http://www.turnswitch.com/speakers.htm

Scroll about half way down the page.

I also had two original speakers re-coned by Jackson Speaker Service in Jackson Michigan. I don't think they have a web site but here is there contact info:

https://plus.google.com/105846875566...ut?gl=us&hl=en

At the time I had mine done they were $50 each.

LockDoc

[The Swed]

Great info! Thanks LockDoc. Is the factory/stock speaker a 4 ohm or an 8 ohm?

[LockDoc]

-
Cancel that last post.... The original is 10 ohm. Sorry. And don't turn the radio on without the speaker connected it can blow out one (or more) of the transistors.

LockDoc

[The Swed]

Okay, thanks again Doc.

Will an 8 ohm still work?

[hamjet]

The one LockDoc mentions is the one I got two years ago, 10 ohm Delco style special rectangle 4 x 10. He's correct , don't turn it on till you're sure if the speaker is bad, it'll burn out the transistor output if left on too long. wasn't too bad changing, pulled out the ash tray removed hardware off the front of the radio, laid on my back to look under dash to remove radio first, then speaker...PS, check the antenna connection first.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by The Swed

Okay, thanks again Doc.

Will an 8 ohm still work?

I don't know, but if you value your radio I wouldn't try it....

LockDoc

[The Swed]

Roger, that...

[cdowns]

I'd first clean and reattach the ground to the radio

[michael bustamante]

i thought the original am radios were 8 ohm.
learn something new everyday. even when i think i know it all!

[hooverfish]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

I bought one from Electro-tech. Sounds a lot better than the original I had in the '70.

http://www.turnswitch.com/speakers.htm

Scroll about half way down the page.

LockDoc

I bought one from Electro-tech also and agree with LockDoc. New is nice in this case. They sell a good product.

[franken]

Stamped in the metal of the radio is "do not operate without an 8-10 Ohm speaker" so I'd guess 8 is ok.

[BLT gmc]

The best thing to do is to check the resistance across the speaker with a multi-meter. If it is not in the 8 to 10 ohms, the Delco will get hot quickly and open either output transformer just as quickly. Bruce

[67chevemall]

Purr of the motor is all you need!

[michael bustamante]

Originally Posted by 67chevemall

Purr of the motor is all you need!

oooooh yeahhhhh. some ramhorns and flowmaster super 40`s rumblin under the truck is music to my ears

ok were off topic now.......................

[The Swed]

My truck came with full length headers, flowmaster and now a big smile on my face going down the road! It's been over thirty years since I've had a V8 and I'm not going another minute without one.

[The Swed]

Update! I replaced my speaker with one from LMC. The old speaker was a 10 ohm and the new one is 7.3 ohms when hooked up in series. It works great. BTW the speaker came with the bracket backwards... Just had to flip it and it was good to go!