Electrical: Radio power source

[paul310]

Hello!

For the stock radio in a 1954 Commander, how can I test the power to the radio? The cable running to it looks a bit worn. The previous owner removed the radio in (supposedly) working condition to look at the faulty ignition switch. I have since fixed the ignition switch. While installing the radio, I tried to turn it on before I put it in place, and I got nothing - not even static.

If the radio itself is the fault, where is the best place to get them rebuilt? I am in Lansing, MI but I'd be willing to ship it. Thank you in advance!

[tim333]

Contact Radio Roy here on the forum.

[StudeRich]

If the Power wire is cloth covered it very well could be a bit bare. Six Volt wires are thicker Gauge than 12 Volt, so the wire should be 16 or even 14 Ga. and solid enough to use for test if it is BARE, tape it up with Electrical Tape so that it does not touch the Case or any Metal.
When you get it rebuilt, a New plastic coated wire will be soldered on at it's final destination inside anyway.

It will not work without a Grounded to the same Ground or Car as the Radio is, ANTENNA, they also require a good operational Speaker properly connected to operate without damage.

A '53 to '55 Studebaker/Philco Radio should have a built-in Speaker, so if the connections to it and it's condition are good you Should hear something. The usual often Fails Part in a Tube Type Radio, is the Vibrator, if there is no hum when properly powering it up with a good Ground that could be the problem.

Do remember that this is a 6 Volt, POSITIVE Ground Radio.

A Forum Member here whose Handle is "Bud" does repair and rebuild some Radios, you would have to talk to him about yours.
Also, "Radio Roy: here on the Forum may be able to help.

UPDATE: Oh, the Power Source! That should be the"ACC. Terminal on the Ignition Switch so that it works in "ACC" or "ON" (Run) Position. Of course it should be a fused wire.

[RadioRoy]

85% chance the the vibrator is stuck. 10% chance that the on/off switch is bad.

[Bud]

If the radio has not been rebuilt by a qualified repair man, then like Roy says, the vibrator is bad and I will quarantee that the capacitors are bad and even if the radio may work for now, it won't be long before it doesn't. If you are trying to bench test the radio, you will need a good ground to the radio chassis and an antenna connected for the radio to have a chance of working. Bud

[paul310]

Thank you to everyone for the great information! I'll be getting in touch with the experts and will let you guys now what it turned out to be.

[RadioRoy]

You can test the power to the radio with a voltmeter. Remember that you must have power to the radio and a ground from the chassis of the radio to the frame of the car, if you are testing the radio in the car. You need an antenna connection also.

The 1954 deluxe push button radio has a speaker switch behind the manual tuning knob. That switch has three positions; front speaker, rear speaker, and both speakers - not necessarily in that order. If that switch is set on rear speaker, you will not hear anything if the rear speaker is not connected. You can activate that switch by putting the tone control knob on the shaft behind the manual tuning knob.

Your radio is six volts. Do not test it with 12 volts.

As we all have said, it's highly likely that the vibrator is bad as they tend to stick when not used regularly. The vibrator has points in it, similar to the distributor. The radio also has a high voltage buffer capacitor in it to suppress arcing at the points, similar to the condenser in the distributor. Condenser is the old term for capacitor, BTW.

When replacing the vibrator, you must replace the buffer capacitor as well, or the replacement vibrator will go bad. This includes the new transistorized vibrators.

If you hear the vibrator hum/buzz, you have power to the radio and the vibrator is most likely working.

[Mike Sal]

What year did they get away from the vibrators?

[Bud]

The last year for vibrators was 1958 in the manual tune radios only. The deluxe push button radios in 1958 used a hybrid circuit with tubes and one transistor for the audio output. Starting in 1962, the manual tune radios used a hybrid circuit while the push button radios went all solid state. From 1963 on to 1966 the radios both manual and push button were all solid state. Bud