New 850 Owner with a few tech. questions.

BGPKR · Post by **BGPKR** » 17 Apr 2008, 12:18

Hello,
I've recently acquired a 1993 850 GLT. It has 162k when the odometer stopped working and I was told the mileage was closer to 170k. Anyway, I've already addressed the odometer with the purchase of a new gear and will be following the DIY on this site. My main concerns are the auto climate controls don't work. I was told by the previous owner that the blower fan would stay on full blast with the contol lever doing nothing to control the fan speed. Also the other controls would not work. Is this normal for the auto climate control to stop working? Right now the fuses are pulled. Also the rear stereo speakers don't work and lately, at times, none of the speakers work. I've pulled the radior and looked for loose connections and found none. Is there a know issue with the facory stereo? I've searched but didn't find anything that answered any of my questions. I got this car for a very good price. The car is excellent condition inside and out. I would like to fix these issues in order to keep the car.
Thanks

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 17 Apr 2008, 14:05

My main concerns are the auto climate controls don't work. I was told by the previous owner that the blower fan would stay on full blast with the contol lever doing nothing to control the fan speed.

Chances are it is a bad power stage. You need to put the fuse back in and then pull the codes from socket B-1. The climate control unit tends to store a bunch of codes that may or may not actually be a problem now. Pull all of the codes and then clear them. Any current problem will then be displayed when you read them again. The factory manual that is pinned at the top of the page has a very good section on the climate control.

The only real consistent problem with the radio itself, other than the light bulbs burning out, is the controls tend to get dirty and they crackle when their settings are changed. Chances are that the magnets have fallen off of the tweeters in the rear speakers. Here is a picture of what happens:

...Lee

timmyc · Post by **timmyc** » 17 Apr 2008, 21:15

[quote="BGPKR"]Hello,
I've recently acquired a 1993 850 GLT. It has 162k when the odometer stopped working and I was told the mileage was closer to 170k. Anyway, I've already addressed the odometer with the purchase of a new gear and will be following the DIY on this site.

The tutorial on the gear replacement is great! But be aware that your dash is likely to crack/break. I too have the same car and when I did this repair I cracked the dash. Although not visible, when I put it back together I noticed it didn't go back as well. What really fell apart was the black plastic strip in the very front(with the alarm light in it)that holds the dash down in front. When removing, pull the dash towards you and not straight up or you will be trying to glue it back together like me! Good luck. I would check the plug wires on the back of your stereo. I don't have sound from any of the speakers on the right in my car, but if I wiggle the wires, they all come on!

BGPKR · Post by **BGPKR** » 18 Apr 2008, 06:00

Ozark Lee wrote:Chances are it is a bad power stage. You need to put the fuse back in and then pull the codes from socket B-1. The climate control unit tends to store a bunch of codes that may or may not actually be a problem now. Pull all of the codes and then clear them. Any current problem will then be displayed when you read them again. The factory manual that is pinned at the top of the page has a very good section on the climate control.

The only real consistent problem with the radio itself, other than the light bulbs burning out, is the controls tend to get dirty and they crackle when their settings are changed. Chances are that the magnets have fallen off of the tweeters in the rear speakers. Here is a picture of what happens:

...Lee

thanks for the info. The rear speakers actually will cut in and out. Does that still sound like the speaker magnets? As of late the fronts are cutting out as well. I was thinking there might be a problem with the the front and rear channels in the factory radio. As for the climate control, I'll replace the fuses, I assume they are under the hood. I'm going by what the previous owner had told me when he said the fuses were pulled, so I never actually pulled them myself.

BGPKR · Post by **BGPKR** » 18 Apr 2008, 06:23

timmyc wrote: The tutorial on the gear replacement is great! But be aware that your dash is likely to crack/break. I too have the same car and when I did this repair I cracked the dash. Although not visible, when I put it back together I noticed it didn't go back as well. What really fell apart was the black plastic strip in the very front(with the alarm light in it)that holds the dash down in front. When removing, pull the dash towards you and not straight up or you will be trying to glue it back together like me! Good luck. I would check the plug wires on the back of your stereo. I don't have sound from any of the speakers on the right in my car, but if I wiggle the wires, they all come on!

thanks for the tip, my black strip is already broken

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 18 Apr 2008, 06:57

thanks for the info. The rear speakers actually will cut in and out. Does that still sound like the speaker magnets?

If they work sometimes the magnets are likely OK. It sounds more like the radio is just messed up. If it is a AM/FM Cassette you can pick a used one up on eBay for around $30 or $35. Typically they don't come with a security code but if you take the radio to a dealer they can look the code up for you. It is the easiest radio to swap out that I've ever had.

...Lee