What Minuit knows about stock Jeep radios

[Minuit]

New arrival: The Korean made 8956003018, in excellent condition!

 

 

[NC Tom]

New arrival: The Korean made 8956003018, in excellent condition!

 

 

 

PM Sent!!!

[Minuit]

Completing my collection of AM-FM radios:

 

You've already seen the 3018 in the bottom left, but here I have like new examples of the 56007519 and 8936001568, which as far as I can tell is the Eagle Premier version of the 56002466, which is the AM-FM cousin of the 56002467. Only difference is it doesn't say Jeep on it.

[Minuit]

To my extreme surprise, the seller accepted my super lowball offer, so I now own the other AMC tape deck, the 8956001651:

 

 

 

Hopefully it works :dunno:

[Ataki]

Nice score!

[A-man930]

Dang dude you move quick

[Minuit]

If only I could do actual work as quickly as I spend money on radios  :dunce:

[Minuit]

Would you imagine that?

 

 

At first the VFD just shows a dot, but leave it powered on for a couple of minutes and it springs to life. I'm betting caps. Bet it's got a broken tape belt too.

[Minuit]

Here's what my life has become because of this little radio experiment...

 

Oh yeah, and I couldn't resist popping open the DNR radio to see what's inside. Here's the automatic ejection mechanism.

[Ataki]

Wow, That's fun to watch!

[Minuit]

Hey A-Man, just to prove I'm actually doing something...

 

The RCA preout voltage of the 56009004 is just under 0.6V (that's peak-peak) with a 60Hz test tone with the volume cranked all the way, higher if you turn up the bass and treble knobs. That's better than what I was expecting, but still lower than the vast majority of aftermarket headunits. Still, most amps ought to be able to cope with that I think, but you'd have to turn the gain up higher than with an aftermarket radio.

 

For those who don't follow my thread in the Vendors forum, I will have a prototype radio with RCA pre-outs quite soon. In fact, it's a clapped out 56009004 with all sorts of problems. If I get good results on my own setup, I'll be looking to build a more worthy radio for this, and possibly getting a few trusted volunteers' opinions.

 

Side note: I hate you guys for making me poke through car audio sites to do my research for this. Let's just say that we're spoiled here on CC  :rotfl2:

[NC Tom]

Minuit,

 

I was poking around the interwebs and found this, but I cannot match it to anything you have posted, Do you know what it is?

 

96 Jeep Cherokee radio part number 153406920 (no pic was included). Maybe I just missed it. Can you help?

[Minuit]

That's no radio part number I've ever seen either. A quick search of it comes back with nothing radio related. If it truly is a '96 XJ Cherokee radio, it's either a 56007519 or 56007214.

[NC Tom]

That's no radio part number I've ever seen either. A quick search of it comes back with nothing radio related. If it truly is a '96 XJ Cherokee radio, it's either a 56007519 or 56007214.

 

I guess it's just more internet weirdness. :dunno:

[Minuit]

I have successfully tested a very broken 56009004 with very crude RCA pre-outs. Initial results with my Alpine amp are promising, although I'm sure there will be bugs to work out.

 

If you are interested in helping with this project, I will be needing volunteers with amplifiers in their vehicles to test on a variety of setups. I am considering lending a prototype RCA-equipped radio to a small number of highly trusted CC members for evaluation purposes. Send me a PM for more details.

 

Last page, I mentioned that the AM-FM radios don't show up very often. Since saying that I've had 7 Chrysler AM-FMs come through my shop. I also owe you an aux input technique for them, so here goes. Thanks insomnia!

 

First off: almost all of the AM-FM decks are exactly the same inside for our purposes. The only exception I can think of are the Korean "Automatic Radio" series, distinguishable by their "early" black display, no clock, and brown buttons. These are by no means common. Our patient today is this 56007519:

 

When I do this I normally need to get behind the faceplate to do other things, so I pop the faceplate off. The wires we're interested in also connect to the board that houses the volume knob, so you can also access it there. This is the normal workflow I follow, though.

 

NOTE: To remove the faceplate properly, the top and bottom covers both need to be removed first. If you don't do this, you can break the faceplate. When putting things back together, the faceplate must go on before the top or bottom covers or it won't fit properly - it will bulge out at the middle. I have seen a few "refurbished" radios on eBay listed at exorbitant prices that have been put back together improperly in this way.

 

Removing the faceplate on one of these is pretty simple. The top and bottom covers have one screw each. Once the screws are out, pry them up at the back of the unit and lift them off. Pull the tone knobs straight off, pull the volume and fader knob straight off, and release a plastic catch on each side of the radio. The catch on the left side of the radio can be a pain. Once the faceplate is off, you'll see this (except hopefully the lights will not be on, since you shouldn't be doing this with power connected - these pics were taken after finishing work on this particular radio.)

See the connector above the treble slider? All audio signals pass through this connector before being amplified. Enhance!

 

If you're adding an aux input, the two signal wires of interest to you are pins 5 and 6, counting from the right. As I've helpfully written on the connector itself, 6 corresponds to the left channel and 5 corresponds to the right channel. These pins carry the signal to the tone controls. You need to inject your signal into these wires somehow. How you do this is up to you and your particular installation. If you so desire, these pins can be removed from the other end of the connector by lifting up on the plastic catch above each contact.

[A-man930]

Minuit I've sent you a PM.

Impressive work!

[Minuit]

I decided to drag the working part of my collection (except for the Dolby unit in my '89) out for a pic. There's actually 3 more, they just don't work.

All except the AMC decks and the 56002467 in the middle were either bought to sell or are currently the guinea pig for new ideas, but they decorate my house just fine for now. Now ask why my AC overhaul (or much of anything else) on the '91 isn't done yet!

 

Notice a new addition?

Say hello to the 8936001127. That's its AMC Eagle part number, but it is identical to the nicest non-cassette radio you could get in your new Jeep, Renault, or AMC circa 1987. This one is in almost pristine condition. I suspect it was probably removed sometime in the 90s or early 2000s and put in a box, because this isn't what a radio that gets used every day for 31 years looks like. Side note, the AMC decks store your radio presets after the battery has been disconnected! I noticed this when I came back to take this pic today. The radio had been totally unhooked from power since last night but my stored radio stations were still there. Another cool feature that makes me still think that these long forgotten AMC radios are worth looking at.

[NC Tom]

Hello 8936001127, you're very Spartan, but nice looking. I like you.

[RustyRodder]

This thread was an awesome read.  I regret tossing the 3 XJ headunits my buddy gave me in high school.

 

 

 

Now I want a stock headunit for mine...

[Minuit]

This thread was an awesome read.  I regret tossing the 3 XJ headunits my buddy gave me in high school.

 

 

 

Now I want a stock headunit for mine...

Glad you enjoyed the read. I certainly enjoyed putting it together.

 

 

Christ, not again... really?

This would be the radio from the '86 mentioned in this thread. It mostly works, as is typical of these AMC decks. The display goes into "dim" mode about 15 seconds after you turn it on (may not do this when installed in a vehicle, I'll need to check), and sometimes the left channel cuts out if you push on the faceplate just right. I have never had an AMC deck completely fail to power on, but sometimes they come with little finicky problems to keep things interesting. Part of why, until I collect some more service manuals, I don't sell them. I missed a listing for a service manual for the DNRs by about 30 minutes not long ago  :doh:

 

I've always wondered what DNR sounded like. It's kind of like Dolby, and to me it sounds kinda like Dolby on tape decks, but you can use it in radio mode too. I haven't listened to this radio for long enough to really hear it in action, but according to this it's a much more dynamic system than the "screw you, treble!" that Dolby usually gives you in my experience.

[Minuit]

Here's something new. If you wanted to put a shaft radio in your XJ back in the 80s, Metra made the kit for you! It says 84-86 but should fit any 84-96 dash. I get the impression that these are NOS from 1986ish.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMC-Jeep-Cherokee-Wagoneer-XJ-Radio-Back-Mounting-Plate-84-86-/222581992775?hash=item33d2ebad47:g:b7QAAOSwqVBZaSb7&vxp=mtr

[RustyRodder]

 

This thread was an awesome read.  I regret tossing the 3 XJ headunits my buddy gave me in high school.

 

 

 

Now I want a stock headunit for mine...

Glad you enjoyed the read. I certainly enjoyed putting it together.

 

 

Christ, not again... really?

 

:laughin:

 

 

Hey, they werent mine!!  Friend had a bunch- I took them apart for motors and whatnot. 

 

Trade you a newer Sony CD player for one :brows:   won't fit the look of my stock interior!

[Minuit]

On 7/16/2017 at 10:29 PM, RustyRodder said:

 

On 7/14/2017 at 11:03 PM, Minuit said:

 

On 7/9/2017 at 0:16 PM, RustyRodder said:

This thread was an awesome read.  I regret tossing the 3 XJ headunits my buddy gave me in high school.

 

 

 

Now I want a stock headunit for mine...

Glad you enjoyed the read. I certainly enjoyed putting it together.

 

 

Christ, not again... really?

 

:laughin:

 

 

Hey, they werent mine!!  Friend had a bunch- I took them apart for motors and whatnot. 

 

Trade you a newer Sony CD player for one won't fit the look of my stock interior!

 

Hey, that wasn't meant towards you. Still got any of the parts? 

 

No can do, aftermarket junk has no place in my house! There's a reason I got into this after all :)

 

Going way, way back I had this sweet setup:

 

It sounded awful!

[Minuit]

So, what did the upgraded "Accusound by Jensen" sound system come with? Well, most of the Jeep community knows it as the factory junk you throw away to swap in a set of Kickers, and for once they're probably right... but what is it exactly?

 

You can tell that an XJ has Accusound by the speaker grilles. Shown are Limited door panels, although the Jensen system was available on several trims, and sometimes it mandatory on certain trims - Limited for example. It was never available on the MJ.

The grilles are not interchangeable with the normal ones. Fun fact: power windows were mandatory with the Jensen system because the window cranks would hit the larger than usual speaker grilles.

 

This is a radio thread, so we have to talk about the radio. The Jensen system gave you the best radio available for the model year. There's no special radios for the Jensen system, you just got the top level radio for the year. Pictured is a 56007214, but depending on the year the equipped radio would vary. In the Chrysler years, you got whatever tape deck was sitting around that particular year. In the AMC years, I believe you got the DNR radio. There isn't an amplifier, still just the head unit. Amplifiers wouldn't come stock in XJs until the 97+ Infinity systems which are beyond the scope of this thread.

 

What do those vents on the knee panel do? Pretty common question. Well, they're the grilles for the Jensen-specific dash tweeters!

These screw in to the lower dash panel, and are side-specific. These have the plugs cut off of them - there should be a 2-pin free-hanging connector on each tweeter. In my experience these tweeters sound surprisingly good. Both of my sets appear to be 8-ohm impedance. I run a set that still have the plugs on my truck, and they sound good even when matched with modern aftermarket speakers. There are bass-blocking capacitors soldered to the backs of the tweeters to act as a passive crossover. They are simply wired in parallel with the door speakers. Nothing fancy. If you add these, be very careful to not use too long of a screw. The screws the factory used are roughly a half inch long - overly long screws will punch through the front of the knee panel. I really do think these are still viable(if not competition grade), and they have the advantage of fitting right in with no fab work required.

 

I don't believe the front door speakers are anything fancy. On the XJs I've torn apart at the junkyard, they look just like the standard factory speakers. They are paper-cone speakers and probably have little value besides being quite efficient. I can't find any information either way. It would make sense for them to be a midrange speaker with no "wizzer cone" but I can't say for sure. I can't find their impedance either. Part numbers are different for the Jensen versions, but I don't know what the difference is. I would not run them even if you found a NOS set, because the cones and surrounds have probably deteriorated anyway. They probably wouldn't live very long if you have even a modest amplifier.

 

The rear liftgate speakers are something a little different, though. In fact, you can still buy them! They are a 2-way affair with coaxial tweeters similar to what is found in the dash. Impedance probably depends on the radio they came with from the factory. Sadly, they're made of paper and are of little real value when there are so many aftermarket speakers out there. They are probably a little more efficient than a typical aftermarket speaker, though. I'm kinda curious how they would sound, but not $50 per pair curious.

 

Finally, usually but not always you got a power antenna, which are still available in the aftermarket. It's controlled by a relay mounted to the bottom of the dash, right below the cubby hole under the glove box. The wiring is very simple:

- one wire from the XJ-only ANT fuse, hot at all times

- one wire from the radio, hot when the radio is on

- ground

Here is what the antenna assembly looks like:

It mounts under the passenger side fender with a special bracket. All XJs and MJs (possibly 1987 and later? Need to confirm) have the mount under the passenger side fender, but an extra L-shaped bracket is needed. You can tell a power antenna from a standard one by looking at how the antenna is fastened to the fender. If there's a nut with four grooves at the base of the antenna, it's power. A standard antenna will just have the antenna mast screwed onto the base. Fun fact: the Jeep power antenna, p/n 56003151, is a direct replacement for some GM power antennas, notably on 1980s Camaros and Firebirds.

 

How did it sound? Hard to say, I'm not a time traveler. It sounds terrible these days on account of the paper speakers not holding up, but when new I'm sure it was better with a more clear sound than the standard system. A factory radio with decent, modern aftermarket speakers probably sounds better than the Jensen system ever did. These days, the Jensen system components are pretty much totally obsolete, except for the tweeters and maybe the power antenna if you like power antennas.

 

[HOrnbrod]

When I put in my power antenna, the "L" bracket (#9) came with the NOS unit I bought. It's an an easy install and improved reception quite a bit. One thing you have to verify if you install one is to make sure the radio you use has the ANT ground output pin - a lot of them don't. It sends a momentary ground signal to the antenna relay coil to raise and lower the mast when turning the radio on and off.