Smoke from the cassete player....

[Brendan19]

Hey guys ill try keep this short.
I recently bought a 91 man nsx from a different state (im from the land down under btw) i flew over once to inspect the car (very clean, owner was an enthusiast) then after agreeing upon a price i flew over 2 days ago to pay for the car and put it on a train to come back home.

Before taking it to the delivery place i got the opportunity to drive the nsx for a couple of hours. Mechanically the car seems perfect, hopefully it stays that way when i get it on a hoist. But none of the center console lights where working, the a/c was only blowing out hot air, and the radio/ stereo isnt working. After consulting the seller he assures me that the a/c was working when he used it a couple of weeks ago (he didnt drive the car much, was an old chap) but said he never really used the radio so he cannot comment on that. After searching around i found that the interior clock fuse was blown, due to having no spare fuses i removed the blown 7.5a fuse and put in the 10.0a hazards fuse, turned the ignition, and yep, you guessed it, smoke started coming out of the centre console/ casset player, so instantly i pulled the fuse out.

I have a couple of thoughts on what it could be.

1. The ex owner was a clean freak so may may have pulled the head unit out to clean behind and when reinstalling pinched a wire.
2. Some wires maybe be rubbing behind the headunit causing the smoke.
3. There is a fault with the head unit itself

Either way i believe it must all be linked as most of the center console is not working.

Please no comments on what i did or didnt check before purchase, if the seller is full of it, or anything other than helpfull comments/ ideas.

I would highly appreciate it if you guys could get back to me with your thoughts, i would preffer to fix this up myself before taking it to honda to charge hours of labour.

Thanks.

Brendan.

 

[pgilliam1]

Pull the console cover off (there are threads here on how to do this) and look for burnt spots on wires. Smoke should never happen if it's wired correctly (radio head unit problems are common on these cars). The AC is a common problem on these cars, usually it's the capacitors in the climate control unit and all of us with early model cars have had this problem (there are threads here that address how to replace them as well - and also members here that have bench setups to repair them for around $150US). Even though the car runs fine now, if the previous owner did not provide you with receipts for maintenance, DO THE REQUIRED MAINTENANCE! These cars have interference engines and poor maintenance can lead to mechanical failures at very high costs.

Just because the PO was an enthusiast, and kept the car clean, doesn't mean he kept up with the maintenance schedule.

Good Luck!

 

[EdinKali]

Just a word of advice for the future. Never replace a blown fuse with one of a higher rating. You can cause more damage that extends beyond the original problem. Tracing down and replacing yards of melted wiring is no fun and can be extremely costly.

 

[Brendan19]

pgilliam: Thanks for the advice, i will be pulling the cover off when the car arrives, to look into it properly. I have been given a CD manuel from the previous owner, so i should deffinately look into that. In regards to the receipts for maitanance, i only have the log books which do attain a full service history and i have called honda to back that up, but rest assured i will book the car in to honda for a full service, inspection, and prepare myself for whatever they deem necessary, such as a more major service.

Edin: Under most circumstances i would agree with you, but 10a is not much different for a 7.5a fuse, so just for testing purposes i just did it temporarily, but was removed with haste when the smoke started appearing.

 

[warrenw]

The head unit runs on smoke. When all the smoke escapes, it stops working :biggrin:
I would suggest you pull the head unit and the A/C control and send them to BrianK for a referb, whether they work or not.

 

[ftuhy]

One of my concerns is that the clock fuse also controls the memory in the ECU. (One common procedure is to remove the clock fuse for a few minutes then replace it to reset the ECU) If I remember correctly, for the head unit the clock fuse supplies power to the station pre-set button memory. Pull the head unit, and replace the fuse while the head unit is out. Then see if you get an MIL light - hopefully not!

 

[Brendan19]

Pull the head unit, and replace the fuse while the head unit is out. Then see if you get an MIL light - hopefully not!

Yes i agree, i think my first step when the car arrives will be to pull the headunit out, inspect the wires, and if all seems normal, replace the fuse while the head unit is out.

 

[Briank]

Most like the head unit has failed.

 

[Brendan19]

Most like the head unit has failed.

Correct me if i am wrong but i doubt the head unit on its own could cause issues with the whole center console not lighting up, and a/c not changing temp.

 

[Sumeronthechain]

One that is shorting out and smoking probably could.

 

[Briank]

Whole console not lighting up but your ccu most likely has issues to.

 

[Brendan19]

Hey guys, ok so the car arrived on friday and i got to tinker around a little today. pulled out the center console, head unit, climate control and clock, replaced the original 7.5a fuse, with another 7.5 a fuse, ignition on, no problems at all.
Put the clock back in, ignition on, no problems again, and the clock works!
Put the climate control unit in, no display can change modes, but adjusting the temperature and fan speed doesnt do anything, hot air only, and cant see the display, but still fuse is holding up and no smoke.

Removed the climate control, and plugged in the headunit, as this was what i assumed would be smoking i plugged everything in one at a time, check for a blown fuse, and smoke each time i switched the ignition on. To my surprise there was no smoke, so there may have been a pinched wire beforehand, who knows. Downside is there is no display on the headunit just like the climate control, and none of the switches work, so i still have no sound.

So i went back to the user manuel and went through the troubleshooting, basically it got me to check a few more fuses (which where all fine) and test the connections in the plugs (once again, all fine) and by the end it requests i replace the particular unit with another, which of course i dont have, is it possible that both head unit and climate control have both karked it, has anyone had something like this happen to them before?

 

[DocL]

So i went back to the user manuel and went through the troubleshooting, basically it got me to check a few more fuses (which where all fine) and test the connections in the plugs (once again, all fine) and by the end it requests i replace the particular unit with another, which of course i dont have, is it possible that both head unit and climate control have both karked it, has anyone had something like this happen to them before?

Anything is possible on a 20 yr old car. One item may have gone bad before the other and the previous owner just decided to ignore the problems. I have two suggestions. First, although it is an inconvenience for you, ship the CCU to BrianK. He just repaired mine and it is 100% perfect. Second, if the stereo is dead, replace the system with a more modern unit. It will look and sound better if done correctly.

 

[Briank]

Yes the CCU and stereo head are failure items on all NSX's

 

[coil222]

Some hot tunes jammin' on dat cassette tape

 

[Brendan19]

Hey guys, all seems to be worked out now to get shit done, i dont wanna stuff around so heres where im at.

I had a fellow nsx owner come round to my place tonight and let me use his ccu in my car, and suprise suprise, it works perfectly. So its official my unit is cactus, so i will require the details to contact this briank fellow you guys have mentioned so i can ship it off to him asap.

I didnt want to run the risk of switching around my head unit encase it effected the person who helped me out today, but I am 99% sure its gone as well, now as one of you suggested get a newer unit that will probably work better but im not interested in that i just want a standard unit from a 91 nsx, so please can anyone tell me the best place to go for this or if you know of anyone who has a spare head unit lying around that works, i really dont want to go to honda because they will want roughly a million bucks for one.

Cheers guys any help would be great. But specifically the details of briank.

 

[ftuhy]

Go three messages up in this thread and you have links to all the contact info you need about Briank from Briank himself.:wink:

 

[RedWings]

Go three messages up in this thread and you have links to all the contact info you need about Briank from Briank himself.:wink:

Yea (BrianK) , I think I heard (BrianK) somewhere (BrianK) that there is this one swell guy (BrianK ) named something like Ryan or Kryan or something like that and that he fixes the (BrianK) stuff inside your radio and climate (BrianK) button so that you can play your Iron Maiden cassette tapes while (BrianK) enjoying the comfort of the NSX climate (BrianK) system.

I hear he can retrofit an 8-track player if you want one... and as a bonus, he includes a complimentary Pablo Cruise 8-track cartridge for your listening pleasure.

*humming* "when my baby smiles at me I go to Rio..."

-

 

[Brendan19]

Hey guys, need some more help if possible.
Here's where im at, sent the ccu off to briank, his since repaired it and im waiting for it to get to me (taking longer than expected i might add)

Anyway i have bought another headunit from a fellow prime member (kookoo4nsx) which arrived today, so it was a good end to the day till i installed it............doesnt work =(
When installing the main plug the casset player makes a noise as though its doing something, which is more than my previous head unit did, i have checked all fuses twice over and they are all A Ok, as i dont have my ccu back yet, is there any chance the head unit circuit is linked to the climate control? hence why its not working, any thoughts? the head unit does not light up/ display/ nothing. But was assured it worked when removed from its previous home.

Thanks guys,
Brendan.

 

[pgilliam1]

The head unit and CCU are not interrelated. Sounds like it's time to get out the ohm meter and start checking voltages on leads into the head unit (you can check them at the fuse box as well). Good luck!

 

[Briank]

Hey guys, need some more help if possible.
Here's where im at, sent the ccu off to briank, his since repaired it and im waiting for it to get to me (taking longer than expected i might add)

Thanks guys,
Brendan.

I even sent it express mail but you never know what customs is going to do with it.

 

[Brendan19]

The head unit and CCU are not interrelated. Sounds like it's time to get out the ohm meter and start checking voltages on leads into the head unit (you can check them at the fuse box as well). Good luck!

Yeah i figured as much.