Greetings folks, been a while hasn't it?

Anywho, I'm simply looking for some answers concerning my factory Realistic cassette player.

Recently in early May, the tape player decided that it no longer wants to close the door completely with a tape inserted... it still does play tapes fine, but something new is causing clearance issues with the door and whatever mechanism pulls the tape down I'm guessing.




Not an expert on these, but if anyone might know what it is, do let me know.

Aside that, ever since I bought the truck, the tape player is biased towards one speaker in the cab (Left or right, mostly the driver's side) but when I push on the volume knob, I can get both speakers to transmit without a problem. Is this an issue with the tape player itself or something with the wiring to the speakers? The wires for the speakers are sorta tucked under the door scuff guards so it doesn't look factory to me...

Anyways, if any of you knowledgeable folks have any input on this, would love to know! Down the line, I'll see if my A/C system hasn't been compromised from that little accident, especially the condenser and it's associated lines, and do the expansion valve combined with the radio should it need servicing since the dash will need to come out anyways, two birds with one stone!

 

That’s not factory. An aftermarket unit.
Go online and lookup the operations manual for that recorder. It sounds like a simple balance issue.

Your tape player has a “balance knob”. It’s labeled. I can see by looking at your top photo the balance knob appears to be full left. You want to center that knob at midpoint for equal balance between left and right speakers.
Your factory AM/FM radio also has this ability. On the tuning knob there is a second knurled knob directly below on the same shaft. This should also balance out your speakers.
The type of tape player you have is known as an “add on”. Not knowing how the original installer wired everything up,
I can’t give you specific troubleshooting instructions.

 

Period-correct aftermarket, My fault! looked original to the truck and what was outlined in the owner's manual That's on me for not looking it up.

As for the balance, well how the radio/soundsystem is hooked up is:
The radio only outputs to the speaker in the dashboard which is only one single speaker to my knowledge, and there are two speakers in the B-Pillars/cab corners which run off of exclusively the tape player. I can record a video of the audio and fiddling with it if that would help. I fiddled with the balance and tone to no avail unfortunately.

 

Ok. It’s good the two systems are separate. Most aftermarket tape players from that era are manufactured to power up to a total of 4 speakers.
Most likely you have a short in the wire feeding the weakest speaker. It could have rubbed against something on its way to the back. Pull the door sill plate and check those wires first.
Finally, it’s a 40 year old stereo unit. Could be something inside has just stopped working.

 

Can't believe we're talking about tape players!! Hahah those doors have a spring that ensures the door/tab to remain closed. It might have finally failed. With such a simple setup on your truck.. grab some speaker wire and plan to just replace it from the unit to speaker.. most common place of failure is in the door jam and under any leaky corner (windshield/ac coolant lines/windows) hey, maybe it's time for an upgrade!

 

Ha….. I’ve got an aftermarket 8 track tape player (NOS). Been sitting on a shelf in my shop for years. Made by “Automatic Radio”. Same setup I had when a teenager in high school.

Got to get it installed at some point.

 

Hell yea, hopefully sooner than later!! That would make a neat touch!