Joe - you da man! I bought a cassette Ipod adapter today at Radio Shack, and when I first pushed it in and hooked it up to my iPod, there was no change. Couldn't control the volume thru the deck, just thru the iPod. So I ejected the cassette adapter, and all of a sudden the volume jumped on the radio. The volume control knob was now working, the radio stations were working, and the on/off switch was working, EUREKA! I hooked up the iPod, and it worked like it was supposed to. I still have another radio on the way, along with another wood center section, so I might still swap them out anyway, since I'll have them. If so, I'll keep the radio that's in there now, along with the stock wood center section, for spares.

But I'm sooooo happy to have tunes now! Makes driving the Jag all that more enjoyable!

 

I found that video, what an awesome helpful hint! Can't believe he got the radio loose in 7 minutes! And the dealer wants $325 to do the same thing?! I don't think so! Even if my radio is somewhat "fixed", I think I'm going to replace the center wood section anyway, so that video is exactly what I was looking for.

Great resource, to be sure!

 

The video is a huge help. I'm going to make a duplicate of the radio face in fiberglass, but smooth so I can cut in a new head unit. This might help get a stock look.

Might be a new product to add to the site.

 

I have a wire harness adapter for our x300s compatible for aftermarket decks. Shoot a email at mbuffington1990@yahoo.com if anyone interested.

 

Well, that didn't last long, radio is acting up just like before. No amount of inserting/ejecting the iPod cassette adapter makes any difference. In fact, I was worried a few times that it wasn't going to eject at all! Guess I'm back to the original idea of swapping it out for one that's known to be fully functional, which hopefully I'll have in a few days, along with a better matching center console wood piece.

That video was a big help, so I'm confident I can swap the radios and wood piece. With that being said, I'm anticipating that this won't go as easy as I think, and something is going to give me some issues, like a security code on the radio maybe, or a broken bezel, or who knows what. But at least having worked on my '91 Saab 900 turbo convertible has somewhat prepared me to deal with this Jag!

Again, you'd think a high-end car like this wouldn't have such annoying issues, like how Jag still hasn't figured out how to make a good, long-lasting paint job, like the Germans...

 

German cars are soulless beasts...

 

I'd agree...having owned a BMW R65LS motorcycle and Italian bikes (Moto Guzzi and Ducati), riding the Beemer was about as exciting as riding a sewing machine...now the Guzzi and Ducati let you know you were riding a motorcycle!

But the black and silver paint job on my wife's '92 MBZ 400SE is leaps and bounds better than the BRG on my '96 XJ6. Like I said, pity the Brits haven't figured out how to do a long-lasting paint job...

 

What I would love to know is does anybody know what actually goes bad on these stock alpine radios?? I've read so much about buying ones that have been "fixed" or replacing them with aftermarket units but has anyone removed one and taken to a "radio shop" and been told what the issue is? I would rather take mine out myself and take it to be repaired and then reinstall it.

 

Good point...how is it that mine can't be turned on or off, only gets one station, one volume level, can play a cassette, fussy about ejecting the tape, etc? I mean I know it's English automotive electronics and all that, but I thought under's Ford's influence, they got that all sorted out?

 

Social1200R,
Today inorder to get it to work I held my finger down on the "mode" button under the volume for a few seconds and it worked perfect. I know I'm living on borrowed time but again, worth a try!

 

I think most of the problems, other than bulb failures, come down to solder joints on the circuit board(s).

I've had several of these radios, inlcuding a couple "rebuilt" units. All have given trouble. The recommended repair station in New York had one of them 4 or 5 times and still couldn't make it work. They cheerfully refunded my $225 repair fee. Others have had good results with repairs. this particular one was just a stinker, I reckon. It happens.

Cheers
DD

 

Jaguar uses (made-in-Japan) Alpine radios, thus the model numbers "AJxxx" for "Alpine Jaguar". :-)

The "AJ" radios in my 80s vintage Jags never gave a lick of trouble. I guess nothing is a good as it used to be, eh?

Cheers
DD

 

So I got my radio/cassette unit that I bought off eBay in the mail today ($158 incl shipping). According to the auction listing, this unit worked prior to removal from the vehicle, and was tested at a Jag dealer before listing, and everything worked. The timing was perfect, because the unit in the car now wouldn't even turn on, so it was pretty much dead.

I followed the video, and had them swapped in about 15 minutes. I turned it on, set some radio stations, then pressed the Mode button and started setting some things in there. Bass and treble went up and down, left and right, front and rear, but when I actually maxed out the balance and fader, only the right rear is working, WTF, over?!

The one I replaced, when it worked, had sound out of all four sides, balance and fader worked like it should, etc. So this leads me to believe that this new unit I just got from eBay is defective? I haven't driven the car yet, just played around with the new radio in the driveway. Maybe if I drive it, a good bump or two will trip something and make it work like before, unless this new unit is truly defective.

Again, why a car this nice has a defect like this is beyond me...

 

Doug,

I understand what you're saying about the poor soldering but why would the radio go back to working perfect after ejecting a tape? If the soldering is broke, it's broke, it can't majically resolder itself. Just frustrating knowing it's so close to working right. Like Robert, I'm trying to determine whether or not to try a new unit.

 

True enough, if every faulty solder joint was outright broken.....which isn't always the case :-)

But it might not have anything to do with a circuit board/solder problem in your case. I'm no expert on radio innards but I'm sure there's some sort of switching mechanism(s)....mechanical and electrical... related to the cassette.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Cheers
DD

 

Well, I guess after listening to only the right rear speaker for the last couple of weeks, I've had about enough. I think I'm just going to have a new head unit professionally installed, and totally bypass the stock wiring harness. Run new power and ground wires to the head unit, new speaker connections to the new head unit, and that way the entire stock wiring harness can sit behind the console and rot, like the stock paint job. Might replace the speakers while I'm at it, that way I'm not leaving anything from the stock sound system in place, just to play it safe.

So besides the factory paint job being unsatisfactory, add the factory sound system to the list...

 

OK, you're gonna think I'm crazy but it was driving me crazy why my radio would work sometimes after ejecting a tape and then have one volume one station, etc. after turning the car off again. I thought maybe condensation, sooo..... I took a hair dryer and for ten minutes I ran it over the radio back and fourth about 4 inches away at high temp. The radio now works perfect as if it was new. I can turn the car off and the radio powers back up and all functions work perfectly. Can someone else having the same issue try this and report back as to whether they have the same results?

Thanks,
Joe

 

So I figured I'd spend some time today (Saturday) working on the cars. I changed the plugs, distributor cap, and rotor on my '91 Saab. I marked the wires and their placement on the cap, so when I put the new one on, I wouldn't screw it up. Also made it a point to notice which way the rotor was pointed, so I'd put the new one on the same way. Used some anti-seize on the new plugs, gapped them at .028 (ones I pulled out were at .034). After that, I put the stock airbox back on, since the cone filter I had on there would probably fail the visual smog inspection once I get it back to California. All that took me about an hour, taking my time, sweating like a slave, but she runs great.

Next I tackled the frickin radio in the Jag. I figured since the stock radio at least got sound out of all the speakers when it did work, I'd put that one back in. So I put it on the bench, used some compressed air and blew out the cassette insert area, and just about any area I could find. Blew out the wiring harness, then set about removing the radio I got off eBay. I swapped the radios, turned it on, and whaddaya know, my stock radio works like nothing was ever wrong with it! We'll see how long this lasts. But in the mean time, I adjusted the bass / treble, tested the balance / fade, programmed the presets, and now I'm just crossing my fingers that it'll work for a while now.

I'm glad it works again, because it really does look best. I can't imagine anything else looking like it belongs in there, without spending a small fortune.

 

Well, that didn't last long. Radio froze this morning, one station, one volume level, like before. Put in an iPod cassette adapter, could only adjust the volume thru the iPod. Tried to eject the cassette, took its own sweet time, and after about 20 minutes, it finally came out.

Got home, removed the stock head unit, got the eBay unit out of the trunk, took some compressed air and blew out every hole I could find, put it in, and got the same result I had before with that unit, in that the only sound came thru the right rear speaker. Took the stock unit to the bench, blew compressed air thru every hole I could find, including the cassette door, reinstalled it, and it wouldn't even turn on, like before.

So I'm throwing in the towel. This is ridiculous, that a car this expensive should have a crappy head unit like this. I traded emails with a guy on this site that has the wiring harness adapter, so I think I'm going to buy one and take it to an indy stereo installation place and have them see what they can do. Based on the symptoms with these two units, I'm pretty sure it's the head unit, not the wiring harness, that's faulty. So a new head unit should fix that (I hope).

Guess I'll find out soon enough...

 

Did you actually open it up and inspect for bad solder joints and clean all the contacts? Blowing air rarely works. Component or mechanical failure is rare, most of the time it is bad/broken solder joints or bad connections. I can't count how many Alpine units I've fixed by giving the contacts a good cleaning. This means opening the unit and using contact cleaner, Pro Gold, even using a pencil eraser or 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper to really clean the inner contacts. This holds true for the disc changer and amplifier and a lot of other electrical contacts in the Jag.