Becker Radio Question

[psmith]

I bought a nice Becker stereo from Tosh to replace my mono Blaupunkt.  I finally got around to putting it in and it seems to be working because when I turn the power on I hear a blip and the red station indicator comes on when I turn the dial.  However I get no sound from the speakers.  The speakers are modern 5 1/4" Blaupunkt's.  I had a modern hidden stereo that I removed, so I know the speakers work.  I am wondering if it is an impedence problem.  Any thoughts?  I'll check the speaker impedence tomorrow.

Thanks in Advance!

UPDATE!  Remind me to check the Tech Manual first!!!  Of course the answer is right there.  Becker's were designed for 5 ohms.

[dixy2k]

You should get sound out of the speakers even if the impedance is mixed up between the headunit and speakers.
See if the positive and negative wires are properly hooked up.
Maybe this Becker requires an amp. What model is it?

[psmith]

I tried it again in a quiet garage and there is a very tiny sound, so now I know it's working.  The radio is a Becker Europa II. but the speakers are newer Blaupunkt's.  They are 4 ohm but have a nominal rating of 40 watts so I think the radio just doesn't have enough ummph to drive the speakers.  I think I am going to try an amp with speaker level inputs and see if that works.  Also, this is a picture on the right side showing off my drain line.  Is the yellow wire the power wire for the radio?   


Thanks

[Khurram Darugar]

Couple of things could be wrong with the unit. 
Your volume control could be stuck at zero or muted
Amplifier section of your unit not functioning correctly.  In which case the very faint sound would be the unamplified source.
Your 5ohm unit should be able to run 4ohm speakers without to much hassle.
 

[JamesL]

:feels guilty for some reason:
 


Hope you find an answer. It DID work in my car when it came out - albeit through a modern amp which I hated....

[psmith]

No worries James, I am very happy with the radio.  It looks great in the dash and I got an amp I am going to hook up this weekend.  All I need are a couple of subs and some rap music and I'll be kickin' it old skool 

[dixy2k]

Maybe the unit requires an amp.

The best thing to find out what the yellow wire is, is to look inside the engine compartment and see where it goes.

[JamesL]

Follow the yellow thick wire
Follow the yellow thick wire...

[Paddy_Crow]

8 ohm is typical impedance. If an amplifier is designed to run an 8 ohm load and you connect a 4 ohm speaker, it will probably sound a little louder at the same volume level. Depends a lot on the speaker's efficiency, though.

Sounds to me like you've hooked up the output of the preamplifier to the speakers. I'm not familiar with the Europa II, but my Mexico has a separate amp mounted under the dash.

[Ron]

Hmmm.  I just finished working on a Becker Mexico, with bad tape deck and scan tuner.  The radio worked fine when I started.  During my trials with the thing, I forgot to connect the DIN jumper in the back, and it had a "tiny" volume issue.  Once I put the jumper back in, the volume came back to normal.  Is that jumper there, and pushed in?  (and I did finally get the tape deck working and the tuner to scan)

The radio should drive speakers from 4 to 8 ohms, with maximum volume for the speaker impedance stated on rear. 

If the radio is "two box" the small box is the final amp.  Speaker connections would be on that box.  The Europa units I have are one box except the Europa TR, which is older and has two boxes.

Ron

[psmith]

Bingo Ron!  When I put the DIN plug in the sound returned to normal.  Thank you very much.

[Peter van Es]

"Sounds" like excellent material for the Technical Manual... who is going to write this up?

Peter

[psmith]

Will do.  I'm not sure it applies to all of the Becker range, how should I handle that?  Just mention only the models mentioned in this post, or say something like "these models and possibly others"  I still have some engine noise and have found some good info on how to fix it.  Once I digest it I'll add that too.  The Troubleshooting page in the Electrical section is outstanding!

[JamesL]

Phew....

[Ron]

'Glad this helped Pete.  It was very upsetting for me to have the radio quit when I took it all apart - I figured I had fried something in the RF section.  I thought about the DIN connector while trying to go to sleep, and plugged it in the next day to have the radio come on loudly.  Very happy moment.

As to adding to the technical manual, I'd be glad to help you with it.  Being new, I'm not sure as to how, but I'll be happy to work with you to learn the ropes.

BTW, do any of you folks have the schematics that came with the cars' radios?  M-B included the Becker stuff with the car owner's manual, and Becker usually included a small schematic.  I'm interested in late '60's early 70's units, like the Mexico, Europa, Europa II, and Europa TR. I'll gladly pay copy expenses, or buy them.

I want to figure out a nice way of connecting some of this old stuff to a hidden CD or iPod via that DIN.

Thanks,

Ron

[JamesL]

Ron

Do a search on here - various people have asked for and have received - the digrams you're asking for in the form of pictures on the site

Rainer Konigs (Konigs Radio) does a DIN - 3.5mm cable to play your iPod through an FM modulator. Again, search on that!

[psmith]

Hi Ron,

Here's a link to the radio section in the Tech Manual http://www.sl113.org/wiki/pmwiki.php?n=Electrical.Radio  If you scroll all the way down there's a link to the Becker site with instructions and wiring diagrams.  Also, I think Becker North America sells the DIN-miniplug adapter to connect an mp3 player.

[JamesL]

They do

Last I spoke to Becker NA, they told me they get them from Rainer Konigs and as I am in Europe, it would be cheaper for me to buy there. Which was very fair of them!!

[Ron]

OK, I think we have difference in terms here.  A schematic for me is a plan of the radio's circuit.  I've attached two photos, one of the Becker new owner's package, that I think came with the car, and the other is a close up of the schematic.  (I have none of these, my car came with no paper.)  You can see the DIN connector in the little bit of that schematic that is visible.

Many members seem to have all the paper work for their cars, so I was trying to get the schematics.  I cannot find them otherwise.  I do find wiring diagrams for connecting the radios, but that does not help with repairs for the circuits inside.

BTW, I've been reading posts on radio help, and Becker seems to be better than Blaupunkt.  My only experience with Becker so far has been very good.  They provided two parts for my Mexico.  The solenoid and reverse switch for the radio scan drive were both available, used, less than $20 for the two.  Very reasonable.

They will not provide schematics, however.

Ron

[psmith]

Sorry Ron,  not a difference in terms, just sloppy posting on my part.  I didn't actually go to their site and check.  Now I see that that they provide only wiring diagrams and not circuit diagrams.