Im trying to troubleshoot some issues on my stereo and would like to swap components w some friends cars to figure Out what’s giving me trouble. this would also help me snag replacements from pick n pulls. My understanding is the full 1432 set up (head unit, tuner, 2xamps) was unique to all 92/93 500es. However, all 92/93 W124s, R129s, and W140s should share both the head unit and the tuner, which can be swapped provided one has the correct radio code. Is this true? What systems do 91 (and earlier) US Benz cars have? Do w201s share any of these components? A nice 91 300CE and 92 300SL landed in my local junk yards and could be worth a trip.
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1432 interchangeability?
- Thread starter dionphaneuf
- Start date
The remote tuner was used on most 124, 126, and 129 chassis. So those would be potential donors for the head unit and tuner.
EPC indicates that the only donors with the same amplifier part numbers would be 1991-1993 W124 sedans. The W201, 300CE, and R129 won't help.
It is probably worth a call to Becker to inquire about the cost to send them your components for testing and repair as needed.
EDIT: As Jlaa noted below, double-check to confirm the part numbers are identical!!
EPC indicates that the only donors with the same amplifier part numbers would be 1991-1993 W124 sedans. The W201, 300CE, and R129 won't help.
It is probably worth a call to Becker to inquire about the cost to send them your components for testing and repair as needed.
EDIT: As Jlaa noted below, double-check to confirm the part numbers are identical!!
Be careful when getting a replacement tuner that you note if it comes from a Sound System equipped car or an Aktiv Bass equipped car. The SS cars have a small line out module on the back whereas the AB cars do not. It appears you can transfer the line out module but I have never tried it.
I've played w my amps a bit and they appear fine, or at least any issues do not follow them. I'm sure they could use a refurb but that might not be worth it...I'm inclined to leave as is, and maybe refresh caps on my own time. They want about $200 for refurbishing a tuner....used on eBay is half that, PickNPull even cheaper so it's worth some time on my side before forking money over.
Thanks for the advice on the aktiv bass vs sound system. My understanding is that all 91-93 124s and 129s were Sound System cars, certainly all 129s were. I believe this is the piggyback module you are referring to.
I'll be playing musical components w my friend tonight, my understanding is that the tuner and head unit are in no means a mated pair, so I should be able to swap these separately without issue, with the caveat being that the code follows the head unit.
Thanks for the advice on the aktiv bass vs sound system. My understanding is that all 91-93 124s and 129s were Sound System cars, certainly all 129s were. I believe this is the piggyback module you are referring to.
I'll be playing musical components w my friend tonight, my understanding is that the tuner and head unit are in no means a mated pair, so I should be able to swap these separately without issue, with the caveat being that the code follows the head unit.
Not all 124's were "Sound System" cars. Only the high-end models had Sound System as standard equipment (all USA-spec 034/036 did). Diesel sedans and entry-level gassers had the cheaper Active Bass setup, and Sound System was optional at extra cost. Also, wagons never had Sound System available as an option, because there was nowhere to mount the large rear speakers required. I'm not sure about the coupe/cabrio setups but it appears these may have had Sound System as standard equipment in USA.
Confirmed that the 400E and the 92 R129 (300 SL manual!) tuners both worked in my car.
As for me, my issues remain
As for me, my issues remain
- No sound from drivers door speaker, regardless of input or tuner.
- Solution: Pull off door card, try to measure signal with a multimeter to ensure wiring and speaker are intact, replace speaker. Note that swapping the amps did nothing for this.
- Drivers dash speaker doesn't work with my tuner
- Solution: Replace/refurb my tuner
- Crackly radio at times with any tuner
- Solution: check my antenna.
You might already know this and be OK with it --- just recognize that if you have the Becker guys in NJ add bluetooth to your 1432, you will lose tape deck functionality.
Yep, I'm fine w it. I had tapes for a while and found them a bit frustrating to use. The CD changer is nice, but I mostly just listen to the radio, and then podcasts and music off my phone which I cannot do well now.
3. You will need to repair the "antenna amplifier" to fix your radio issue most likely. It is the small, shiny silver metal box that is mounted on the electric antenna. Can't miss it! INSIDE of the antenna amplifier box, there is normally a 4.7uF axial-leaded electrolytic capacitor that fails. Replacing this almost always solves the "poor radio reception" problem in my experience!
Also, the SAME issue seems to occur even on the newer systems up until around 1997-ish, depending on model. Really not sure why this isn't exactly a widely known failure, and not a lot of info about it online, but hopefully this post will change that as it is really common from what I can tell.
Nice! Can’t wait to try that when I get home, that’s got to be my issue. Can’t wait to hear Steve Inskeep at full blast!
Wow, welcome to the board and thanks for this excellent info @Johnathan1 ! I trust you’ll stay a while? The S/N ratio here is far superior to that of Banzworld.
likely wherever they used Frako capacitors, they failed 25 years later — LH modules, stereos, antennae, etc. Still great info for those who want to keep the vintage stereos working.
Cheers,
maw
You are correct on all counts of course. However, the 4.7uF one in the antenna amp is usually a blue "Philips" branded part. That particular brand and style (either BLUE or orange) is almost guaranteed faulty at this point, in my experience.
I've been "lurking" on this forum for quite some time just reading all it has to offer, and I agree its a really good one. NOT just for 500E's either. I figured it was time to give back some valuable info from my own experience.
Would one of these work?
4.7uF 100V, Axial Electrolytic Capacitor, Polarized, Tolerance ±20% - Walmart.com
Buy 4.7uF 100V, Axial Electrolytic Capacitor, Polarized, Tolerance ±20% at Walmart.com
www.walmart.com
I....think that link worked? Anyway, this guy. Is there a minimum volt I need?
the persistent problem I’ve had w my radio is poor quality and just scratchiness, in fm mode. The front L channel also will drop out frequently. Changing out of FM and then back solves this. Other times, the fm radio sound will drop out; changing to an am station and then back will solve it. I wonder if this is said cap or some other wiring issue. I’ve been through a few tuners to no avail so I suspect it’s not that.
the persistent problem I’ve had w my radio is poor quality and just scratchiness, in fm mode. The front L channel also will drop out frequently. Changing out of FM and then back solves this. Other times, the fm radio sound will drop out; changing to an am station and then back will solve it. I wonder if this is said cap or some other wiring issue. I’ve been through a few tuners to no avail so I suspect it’s not that.
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Pulled this out of the car, new cap on order. We’ll see what this change solves…
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That Walmart cap arrived one days after ordering with free shipping. Pretty good! Soldered it in and the performance of the radio generally seems better, as it finds stations better and they seem more crisp …except the passenger side speakers don’t work on FM. They work in every other head unit mode (AM, tape/BT, CD). I wonder if this is the tuner, or the head unit. In any case, annoying.
@Johnathan1 any ideas?
@Johnathan1 any ideas?
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Just send the unit into Becker. They will completely refurbish all aspects of it, and it will sound 100% better when they're done. I just did this with the Becker unit (immediate predecessor to 1432) and had them add Bloot at the same time. Transformed the radio.
@dionphaneuf, if you want to take things incrementally (instead of shipping everything to Becker) My next step would be to swap in a known good tuner module and see if that makes a difference. You might be in luck @Johnathan1 just refurbbed/recapped a tuner module (he's down in SoCal I believe) and he wanted someone with a complete 1432 system to test it out to see how it is. You might contact him. PS I think he responds more quickly on banzworld.
Also I know this sounds stupid, but I assume you fussed with the balance controls right? IIRC, a different balance setting is stored for each input. (AM/FM/Cassette/CD)
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@gerryvz I sent them the HU back in late 2020. They added BT and refurbed the unit (lights look way better now), so I would have hoped something like this would have been addressed. My understanding was that an issue like this ought to be in the FM circuit or the tuner, not the HU, so to @Jlaa 's point I should just swap a known good tuner in to see what that does - a friend has a 93 S124 and a 92 R129, both of which use the same tuner if memory serves. Presumably I could also swap in another antenna to see if the issue is there too. If it's the tuner I'll pay the $$$ for Becker to fix, just for the peace of mind to know I'm starting from a clean slate. But I'll also ping @Johnathan1 on BW to see what other nuggets of info he has.
I totally forgot about the balance on each setting; I just checked that and it didn't fix it though
I totally forgot about the balance on each setting; I just checked that and it didn't fix it though
@dionphaneuf - just FYI --- it might possibly be just the FM decoder card inside the tuner module, not the whole module itself. See this pdf I archived from peachparts --- inside there is an AM decoder, FM decoder, CPU/Rom card, and an audio processor card. All the cards are removable (like an old 80x86 PC w/ expansion slots)@gerryvz I sent them the HU back in late 2020. They added BT and refurbed the unit (lights look way better now), so I would have hoped something like this would have been addressed. My understanding was that an issue like this ought to be in the FM circuit or the tuner, not the HU, so to @Jlaa 's point I should just swap a known good tuner in to see what that does - a friend has a 93 S124 and a 92 R129, both of which use the same tuner if memory serves. Presumably I could also swap in another antenna to see if the issue is there too. If it's the tuner I'll pay the $$$ for Becker to fix, just for the peace of mind to know I'm starting from a clean slate. But I'll also ping @Johnathan1 on BW to see what other nuggets of info he has.
I totally forgot about the balance on each setting; I just checked that and it didn't fix it though
Definitely - will be doing that if I can confirm it's the HU causing the issue and not the tuner/antenna. Only the HU was sent in 2020, not the tuner.
Thanks for that tip @Jlaa! I swapped over the FM module from another box I had and the issue followed the FM module - that one was all statically. I'm going to try a known good one from a friend to confirm that there are no other issues, then I might swap over all the caps in that module to see what it does. Becker charges $235 for the tuner R&R which is pretty spendy just for that! Worth a try on a scrap one.
Is that right? When I had bluetooth added to my 1492, the tape functionality remains. You just need to turn off the bluetooth on the connected device, and the tape functionality returns.
Edit: derp, on the 1492, the bluetooth when paired mutes the FM functionality. With the remote tuner on the 1432, i would guess that would NOT be an option.
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I can still play tapes. I just can't be paired and played tapes - I just need to turn off the BT on my phone.
