Bad radio install...

ecohen2

ecohen2

True Classic
A few days have passed so I can begin to laugh about this, but it really was a bad day.

Several months ago I decided to look for a high-end 80's AM/FM/Cassette deck for my X1/9. After trolling eBay for weeks I finally found a brand new Denon deck. I debated installing the radio myself but realized I was not going to be able to do the trim piece as nice as a professional could so I started looking around for a shop to do the install. Last Thursday I had an appointment at a local shop who has been in business for decades and does all kinds of installs on both vintage and high-end cars. I dropped my car off at 10 am in the pouring rain and that was when things began to go bad.

11:30: I get a call from the shop saying my ignition key was stuck. I went to the shop and discovered that the key has jammed in the on position and would not go to the start or off position. I spent about an hour with the radio guy trying to get it out but failed.

12:30-1:30 I just happened to have a spare ignition lock/key at home, so I took an hour long Uber to retrieve it.

1:30 I get back to the shop and they have dropped my steering column and pointed out that the bolt heads were break-away so they would have to drill out the original lock.

2:30 New lock is ready to be installed but the wiring connectors are different. Thanks to Vick's website we figured out how to re-use the older connectors and get the new lock installed and working, minus the key binger...

3:30 The new stereo and ignition are installed and I head back out in the rain. I get to the edge of the parking lot and realize that neither my wipers or turn-signals work. So I turn around and head back into the shop.

5:30 After two hours of watching the guys at the shop try to figure out what is wrong, I call a friend who has a towing company to come get my car.

7pm: Car is put back together and taken to another friend of mines garage. The stereo looks and works great, unfortunately the car left in worse shape than it arrived...

I am traveling this week, but cannot wait to hear what actually happened to the wiring in my car. My guess is that the shop broke my stalk cluster when they lowered the steering column, which is why two of the three stalks don't work.

Ill update the forum as I get more news...

Ed
 
ecohen2 said:
My guess is that the shop broke my stalk cluster when they lowered the steering column, which is why two of the three stalks don't work.
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That's could be.... but I'm crossing my fingers for luck and hoping you'll find it's just one of the several electrical connectors to the stalk cluster not being connected properly.
 
Boy, I'd steer clear of that shop in the future! You don't have to drill into an ignition switch to remove those bolts, you just drill holes in the heads for an easy out. You have been driving that car for awhile now so I think they did something to get the key jammed in the ignition switch but of course they will never admit to it. Plenty of resources in the DCfiats area, next time try that route.
 
Wow - that's a sad story. Sorry to hear you had to go through that.

I long ago came to realized that regardless of my level of skill, its probably better to attempt all my own maintenance and upgrades on these cars than to ever entrust them to an outside mechanic.

Whatever I may lack in expertise and tools is more than made up for by my caring, attention to detail and desire to get it right without pooching up something else. Anyway, while there are some good mechanics out there, they likely aren't good FIAT X1/9 mechanics and as we all know, these cars are quite unique and different from almost anything else.

Granted, there are some jobs that NEED outside help like pressing a bearing, rebuilding a gearbox or shaving a head, but pretty much anything else can be done with a manual and the help of the fine folks on this Forum.

Just my $.02

Ed
 
eeeeech

bad way to end the day. was all working before the install?? might find out where they were sourcing the power from. they might have connected to a frail source. fiat is known to have a poor supply of power to working devices (shadowed by Ferrari), and might be drawing more voltage that the circuit can handle. and fuses. god knows I couldn't drive my first x at night and in the rain. it was a slo mo movie and dim to boot.
mikemo
 
ecohen2 said:
<snip>

1:30 I get back to the shop and they have dropped my steering column and pointed out that the bolt heads were break-away so they would have to drill out the original lock.

<snip>

3:30 The new stereo and ignition are installed and I head back out in the rain. I get to the edge of the parking lot and realize that neither my wipers or turn-signals work. So I turn around and head back into the shop.

<snip>
Click to expand...

If they dropped the steering column they in all likelihood had to unplug the connectors for wiper stalk (and also the turn signals and high/low beam selector). If you are lucky, they just forgot to plug it back in, or did not plug it all the way back in.
 
Actually I think they did not unplug the stalks at first and yanked the cable. Unfortunately I was not there when they dropped the column so I will wait for the good garage to tell me what went wrong..
 
Next time forget the radio and install a louder exhaust! My 124 spider with Auto Ricambi sport exhaust and dual IDFs make a better sound than any in dash sound system.
 
carl said:
Next time forget the radio and install a louder exhaust! My 124 spider with Auto Ricambi sport exhaust and dual IDFs make a better sound than any in dash sound system.
Click to expand...

True! However my wonderful :wall: Corsa body kit means I can only have an exhaust with a passenger side outlet... Kind of hard to find a good sounding system in that configuration.

Ed
 
Colltech said:
Wow - that's a sad story. Sorry to hear you had to go through that.

I long ago came to realized that regardless of my level of skill, its probably better to attempt all my own maintenance and upgrades on these cars than to ever entrust them to an outside mechanic.

Whatever I may lack in expertise and tools is more than made up for by my caring, attention to detail and desire to get it right without pooching up something else. Anyway, while there are some good mechanics out there, they likely aren't good FIAT X1/9 mechanics and as we all know, these cars are quite unique and different from almost anything else.

Granted, there are some jobs that NEED outside help like pressing a bearing, rebuilding a gearbox or shaving a head, but pretty much anything else can be done with a manual and the help of the fine folks on this Forum.

Just my $.02

Ed
Click to expand...

This is well said.:)
 
Rod Midkiff said:
Biggest problem is finding someone who cares.
And so many shop's have a bad opinion about our little car's
Click to expand...


Here is the most ironic part.. The guy who worked on my car had a 1979 when he lived in another country. He continues to reach out to me to find another X1/9! I think he just didn't know what he was doing when it came to mechanics...

I am still waiting to hear what actually went wrong...

Ed
 
Hey... I hear the BEST X1/9 mechanic in Arlington is...

"Ed Cohen's Italian Auto Repair" and he even specializes in X1/9s!

This guy is so smart he checks with international specialists on a site called XWEBFORUMS.COM and gets quick, accurate, and cost-saving suggestions BEFORE he attempts any sort of work!

What-a-guy!

For instance, if he was gonna install a CD player he would wanna also insure the power to the receiver/player was relayed via the PINK wire so that it has a FRESH and CLEAR source of battery voltage that still turns on and off with the ignition switch. He could even get sketches and maybe even a helping hand from a nearby enthusiast for a 6 pack and an X-tra Large Meatball and Sausage Pizza.

HTH...
 
Hey... I hear the BEST X1/9 mechanic in Arlington is...

"Ed Cohen's Italian Auto Repair" and he even specializes in X1/9s!

This guy is so smart he checks with international specialists on a site called XWEBFORUMS.COM and gets quick, accurate, and cost-saving suggestions BEFORE he attempts any sort of work!

What-a-guy!

For instance, if he was gonna install a CD player he would wanna also insure the power to the receiver/player was relayed via the PINK wire so that it has a FRESH and CLEAR source of battery voltage that still turns on and off with the ignition switch. He could even get sketches and maybe even a helping hand from a nearby enthusiast for a 6 pack and an X-tra Large Meatball and Sausage Pizza.

HTH... and oh, sorry for your trouble.
 
Aaaah, the sarcasm is very strong in this one (Darth Vader voice)

Black-Tooth said:
"Ed Cohen's Italian Auto Repair" and he even specializes in X1/9s!

This guy is so smart he checks with international specialists on a site called XWEBFORUMS.COM and gets quick, accurate, and cost-saving suggestions BEFORE he attempts any sort of work!

What-a-guy!

For instance, if he was gonna install a CD player he would wanna also insure the power to the receiver/player was relayed via the PINK wire so that it has a FRESH and CLEAR source of battery voltage that still turns on and off with the ignition switch. He could even get sketches and maybe even a helping hand from a nearby enthusiast for a 6 pack and an X-tra Large Meatball and Sausage Pizza.

HTH...
Click to expand...
 
Yeah yeah... The reason I took it to a shop instead of doing it myself was because the original radio install from the 80's was horrible. They had hacked up the surround on the dash and I wanted it to look nice. I just don't have access to materials or the skills to fix a dash. Otherwise installing a radio is easy... Especially one from the 80s...

The minute my ignition key failed I reached out to both members and a trusted mechanic via the phone. My mistake was having this done the day before I was leaving town and letting them do work they were not qualified to do. If I had the option, I would have just had the car towed to my house and done the ignition key myself..


Ed
 
Well Ed... as my old cribmate in Oregon always says...

"A lesson learned is ALWAYS preceded by a mistake."

There was and probably still is some Universal Installation kits that gave ya a bunch of adapters and face-plates so that installing those old radios, and even most of the current radio/CD players quite easily.

You'll be quite proud of your work.

Also, many of the newer players fit a standard DIN opening and come with their own cages that are easily fitted as well. Ya really can't go wrong. If you can fit a key in an ignition switch properly, you can install one of these. HA!

Here are some ideas and you can call around locally as well.

https://www.google.com/search?q=car...r+radio+universal+installation+kit+single+DIN

HTH...
 
I used a sound bar

I grabbed a 50 dollar TV dolby stereo sound bar from wallmart... its basically 40 inches long and 2 inches square ... poped it there on the little package tray ( my speakers were never cut) it sits perfectly behind the headrests looks almost like it really belongs there.

I had been looking awhile for one with a 11-14v (ish) plug transformer (external or internal) - this one said it was 13.1 DC 1800ma output on the transformer. SO I TOOK A SHOT! I chopped off the power cord right at the little transformer and wired it via a spade connector into the rear window defroster (watch your polarity & hot on the passenger side) I never use the dang defroster anyway as the windows/doors leak so much fresh air I never need it.

Voila - a switched power supply perfectly in the right place. I did not look at the fuse for the defroster - but I suspect its gotta be 4 Amps or so. I don't really know how many watts a rear defogger burns, but at 1800 ma peak for this speaker, I figured I would just go for It. - (shoot first, trouble shoot later)

It sounds great and it auto connects with my cell phone when I flip on the defroster switch (via blue tooth). I have Pandora, and also about 800 of my favorite jams on my phone. The speaker came with a remote control that will advance to the next track and adjust the mixer and volume etc. I also can just flip off the defroster switch to silence it as it is a tad difficult (and potentially dangerous) to fart around a lot with the cell phone or with the remote (as I keep dropping it on the floor)

I would like to find a nice place for the little remote which would solve the safety issues. - possibly Velcro it to the ceiling or somewhere - but I don't want to mess up the headliner..hrmmm

super cheap - nice an loud - sounds great - no cutting, NO WIRING !!! - installed in 10 minutes. ....and totally uninstalls in <1 min.

Looks great ! If I want to, I can listen to any internet radio station in the country, news, sports -- everything. I have found myself listening to the local police and fire scanner (yes that is also an app on android - download it!!!)

It kinda makes me feel like the bandit cruising around with the top off (sorry if that's kinda lame)

Side note - I left the cord long enough that you can grab it out and set it on the top of the car (SWEET) exterior sound system!! (it has rubber feet!) BUT I need to figure out a switched side circuit to give it power when the key is out as my car has no ACC position on the ignition circuit, and it would be bad to run the: coil - dizzy - Fuel Pump, for any length of time with the car off.

cheers.... Eric
 
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