RE: When it Rains, it Pours (Or, BlackAeronaut's Automotive Woes, an Ongoing Saga)
08-08-2020, 04:09 AM
08-08-2020, 04:09 AM
News about the Burbie Restoration Project.
As we left off before, we had the front and rear speaker wiring functioning, but not the middle row. Which is really awfully specific when you stop to think about it.
A little bit about the original setup. In the deluxe sound package of the 1993 Suburban, there's a small amplifier that sits under the driver seat. It picks up the signal going to the rear speakers through a splice in the wiring, amplifies that signal, and sends it on to the middle row speakers. In essence, it's just acting as signal booster so all of the speakers in the back don't sound weak.
Possible causes of no signal in the middle row:
1) A bad connector
2) An open or short in the wiring somewhere
3) The Amp isn't getting power
4) The Amp has gone bad
I start with the easy one and test to make sure that 1) the relay that send power to the amplifier works, and 2) that the relay itself is receiving power and signal.
Relay checks out fine, so the next step is continuity checks on all the wiring going to the connector at the amplifier.
Everything except for the wiring for the middle row of speakers checks out. Which leaves only the possibility of a bad connector in the B-Pillars (not likely since both the left and right side are out), or... the previous owner did something stupid.
PIN-PON! It was the previous owner!
Rather than use the existing wiring, he cut the wires just shy of the connectors in the B-Pillars, and then ran some tacky looking wire OVER THE UPHOLSTERY and into the center console... Which had the after-market amplifier, just sitting in there with no securement, and getting its power off of the trailer brake power circuit.
Fucking hell.
So, it was a fairly simply matter to just re-splice the original wiring back together again, and now we have working middle row wiring.
Next, Speakers.
You would think that an outfit would know exactly what dimensions that such a common platform as the GMT-400 would require for the speakers. But unfortunately, it seems that some of these folks are about as bright as a 5-watt light bulb.
The speakers themselves work... but it's going to take more work on my part to get the properly mounted. Right now? They're improperly mounted. Secure, for certain, but still improper.
The biggest hassle of them all is the front-passenger side speaker well. It has an air duct running right underneath it and I have no friggin' clue how the stock speaker fit into such a small space. Although I have heard that the original speakers in these vehicles were absolute crap.
The only way I'll be able to fit the damn thing in there is by taking a heat gun to the air duct and warming the plastic just enough for me to deform it so the speaker will sit in the well properly. So that's what I'm gonna do as soon as I get my hands on a heat gun.
Another wrinkle in the saga is that there seems to be an issue with the torque converter on the transmission. Namely, the lock-up on the TC doesn't seem to be properly engaging.
I'm hoping that it's something that I goofed up in the valve body like I used the wrong spring somewhere inside the thing. But in reality? I strongly suspect that when the 3-4 clutchpack went out in the tranny, it somehow also took the lock-up clutch inside the torque converter with it.
And all torque converters are sealed units. This will mean a new torque converter, which will run us about $200-$300. It's not the most expensive single thing my folks have bought over the course of this restoration, but it's still nothing to sneer at unless you're making that kind of money every hour while you sleep.
So, the next step will be for me to bring the Burbie over to a transmission shop of good repute that I know of, have the man there give it a quick road test, and tell me for sure if it's the valve body (which means I goofed, but in a way that even a pro might do so) or the torque converter (I didn't goof, it was a cascading failure).
Let's see which one it's gonna be.
As we left off before, we had the front and rear speaker wiring functioning, but not the middle row. Which is really awfully specific when you stop to think about it.
A little bit about the original setup. In the deluxe sound package of the 1993 Suburban, there's a small amplifier that sits under the driver seat. It picks up the signal going to the rear speakers through a splice in the wiring, amplifies that signal, and sends it on to the middle row speakers. In essence, it's just acting as signal booster so all of the speakers in the back don't sound weak.
Possible causes of no signal in the middle row:
1) A bad connector
2) An open or short in the wiring somewhere
3) The Amp isn't getting power
4) The Amp has gone bad
I start with the easy one and test to make sure that 1) the relay that send power to the amplifier works, and 2) that the relay itself is receiving power and signal.
Relay checks out fine, so the next step is continuity checks on all the wiring going to the connector at the amplifier.
Everything except for the wiring for the middle row of speakers checks out. Which leaves only the possibility of a bad connector in the B-Pillars (not likely since both the left and right side are out), or... the previous owner did something stupid.
PIN-PON! It was the previous owner!
Rather than use the existing wiring, he cut the wires just shy of the connectors in the B-Pillars, and then ran some tacky looking wire OVER THE UPHOLSTERY and into the center console... Which had the after-market amplifier, just sitting in there with no securement, and getting its power off of the trailer brake power circuit.
Fucking hell.
So, it was a fairly simply matter to just re-splice the original wiring back together again, and now we have working middle row wiring.
Next, Speakers.
You would think that an outfit would know exactly what dimensions that such a common platform as the GMT-400 would require for the speakers. But unfortunately, it seems that some of these folks are about as bright as a 5-watt light bulb.
The speakers themselves work... but it's going to take more work on my part to get the properly mounted. Right now? They're improperly mounted. Secure, for certain, but still improper.
The biggest hassle of them all is the front-passenger side speaker well. It has an air duct running right underneath it and I have no friggin' clue how the stock speaker fit into such a small space. Although I have heard that the original speakers in these vehicles were absolute crap.
The only way I'll be able to fit the damn thing in there is by taking a heat gun to the air duct and warming the plastic just enough for me to deform it so the speaker will sit in the well properly. So that's what I'm gonna do as soon as I get my hands on a heat gun.
Another wrinkle in the saga is that there seems to be an issue with the torque converter on the transmission. Namely, the lock-up on the TC doesn't seem to be properly engaging.
I'm hoping that it's something that I goofed up in the valve body like I used the wrong spring somewhere inside the thing. But in reality? I strongly suspect that when the 3-4 clutchpack went out in the tranny, it somehow also took the lock-up clutch inside the torque converter with it.
And all torque converters are sealed units. This will mean a new torque converter, which will run us about $200-$300. It's not the most expensive single thing my folks have bought over the course of this restoration, but it's still nothing to sneer at unless you're making that kind of money every hour while you sleep.
So, the next step will be for me to bring the Burbie over to a transmission shop of good repute that I know of, have the man there give it a quick road test, and tell me for sure if it's the valve body (which means I goofed, but in a way that even a pro might do so) or the torque converter (I didn't goof, it was a cascading failure).
Let's see which one it's gonna be.