355 Thank you for posting the Youtube Radio No Power video.

I can't find the thread and I don't recall who posted the YouTube video on how to fix the no power problem common to the Sony radio, but a big thank you.

When I bought my car, 10+ years ago, it was advertised with an OEM radio even though it was a 95 and would not have had a radio installed. When the car arrived it had a JVC radio installed. I contacted the dealer and told him I wanted the Ferrari radio it was advertised with. He said he though he was doing me a favor by installing the JVC as the Ferrari radio did not work, wouldn't power up, but he would sent it to me. At the time they weren't worth much.

I contemplated having it fixed. AT the time it would have cost about $200. I procrastinated. Check it out a while ago and the prices was now $400. Plus, I wasn;t comfortable sending off a now $3000+ radio and not getting it back. UPS/FedX has lost stuff for me before.

Then a few days ago someone posted the YouTube video and I took a shot..... You can see the result. Fully functional. So thanks again to whoever posted that video. You made my day.

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FYI, this is where the broken trace was in my case. It can be fix without removing any components. The circled area is on the top of the main board, left front corner. The short red line is where the break was.

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The guy who posted the video must be genius.

 

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/difference-between-sony-xr-f20-and-xr-f21rds.625607/

 

Should have remembered. Thank you @ShineKen for posting that video. Now my radio is worth $5000.

 

I actually knew you were going to attempt to fix the radio after I posted the video and also knew my chances of bamboozling you into selling it to me cheap was gone.

 

I had looked at it several times over the years but I didn't know what to look for. Where that trace is broken is hard to see w/o removing the components, but know where it is makes it simple. Unlike JazP's case, there was no leaking from the super cap, so no clues as to where to look. Plus, most of those traces are to small to see clearly with my old eyes. Thanks again.

 

A bit of a back story for ****s and giggles if anyone cares. Johnk has had this broken headunit for a decade. I knew about it because every now and then he would randomly mention it. During the last year I decided I wanted one as well, so John knows I've been randomly pressing him for his broken unit. I wasn't sure what was broken about it (initially), but I was sure I could get it fixed. I was hoping John would fold and sell it to me cheaper than what working units were going for. Figured $1000 bucks would entice him. Or make a stupid wager with him over 355 valuations or something to pry it off his hands.

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/148477359/

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/148486145/


I finally acquired a working unit for myself a few months back, so I was less interested in bugging John about it, but if he was still willing to sell it to me cheap, I would jump on it, fix it, sell it (for$3-4k), and rub it in after . Someone recently revived an old thread on the Sony radio. I recall watching a video on Youtube on how to fix one while I was searching for one, just in case someone sold me a broken unit. Figured I'd give John a little easter egg by posting the video and see if he would pick up on it (he did), which I knew would solve his power issue . I knew he was gonna give it a go.

I was just laughing and smiling this morning -- the irony of John not realizing who he was thanking when he made this post .

 

I feel like $1000 would be enough for me to part with mine. That would buy me the Blaupunkt referenced in the thread and I’d still have enough leftover to pay for the install.

My GTS is high mileage. I’m not precious about having an OEM stereo, just one that’s aesthetically pleasing with Bluetooth to stream my audio.

 

Send me pics. If it’s good, I’ll take it.

 

Let me add a little to make this more humorous. Back in 2017 @308GTB posted a link to the shop that created that video. At the time they were repairing the problem.

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/145507592/

I had also found another repair shop as well.

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/145507604/

The shop @308GTB referenced was the one who, at the time, quoted $200, and then, more recently $400. When they were quoting $400 I contacted them from their site but did not receive a reply. The DIY video was not posted at the time, but they did have a video on trouble shooting which lead me nowhere. I never checked back. I don't know when they stopped doing the repairs and posted the video, but I have their site bookmarked and if I just checked back one more time, which I'm sure I would have, I would have found the video they posted.

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John,

They still do repairs on the Ferrari/SONY XR-F20 unit. The Factory Car Stereo Repair website is very old school and a bit hard to navigate. But he links to another page of his website: Car Stereo Removal, Replacement and Repair

He generously posted his DIY video to help those owners who feel comfortable doing the no power repair, but he'll gladly do the repair in his shop for those who prefer that route. The only thing he can't repair is the tape mechanism as some parts are no longer available.

I don't have a radio in my F355 Challenge...


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Those are the mandated shielded master ignition switch and left and right fan switches.

But my 550 has the Ferrari/SONY XR-F20 unit...


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When I bought the car in 2007, the tape mechanism wouldn't retract the cassette into the unit. I sent the radio to the SONY Repair Facility in Laredo Texas for repair. As my radio was just a few years out of production at the time, they accepted the unit for repair. Their advice was to use the cassette mechanism frequently to keep the lubricants viable. That's why I have a cassette in there.

In 2014 I had a No Power problem and called the SONY Laredo facility. They told me they no longer repaired the unit and referred me to Factory Car Stereo and Repair who fixed the problem and also cleaned and lubricated the tape mechanism.

Barry

 

Good to know. Thanks for posting the correction. Wonder why they never got back to me,but it did save me the money and the paranoia of shipping.

One other point about the cassette is that you can buy a blue tooth adapter to plug to it and then connect your blue tooth devices to the radio.

 

I called him when I got the referral from SONY. He's easily reached that way.

I use the radio and CD changer primarily. I use the cassette player every so often to keep it operational as I was advised to do.

I wonder about the longevity of the battery on the circuit board. Mine was replaced when he serviced it in 2014.

 

I am pretty sure that yours was leaking anway. Mine appeared to be in good shape from the outside, too. However, the trace right below was corroded, which indicates that there must have been some kind of acid. It was obviously supplied by the big round acid container - or supercap, as you'll call it

Leakage is a very common problem with these supercaps (or electrolytic capacitors in general) when they get old. I hope you did not re-install the old one after fixing the trace, did you?

 

Yes I did reinstall it. I assure you it was not leaking. I've been around circuit design and audio since the 70's. Tested the cap and it was within spec. In my case there was no corrosion on the trace or leakage. The trace appeared to just flake off, perhaps from heat. I replaced with a short piece of copper wire. Anyway, if the problem should reoccur I'll replace it. It's a $4 part. Not to worry .

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/eaton---electronics-division/KR-5R5V224-R/1556241?utm_adgroup=&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMax%20Product_Medium%20ROAS%20Categories&utm_term=&utm_content=

 

We need installed pics John.

 

I have no intentions of installing the radio in my car as it was not OEM in 1995. Just going to keep it until it's worth more than carbon sports seats.

 

Are you running plate delete?

 

Dealer put a JVC in it before I bought it. That's in it now. Will put a plate in it if I ever sell it. Maybe offer the radio as enticement.

 

JVC isn’t exactly OEM in 1995 is it?

 

Like I said, he though he was doing me a favor since the Sony didn't work. Only time I turn it on is when working in the garage. Radio is useless in a 355, especially a spider with the engine running.

 

Do you have a plate delete? These are even harder to find than the Sony Radio these days.

 

No but easy to make. No problem getting leather. Have a fiend who had his dash redone. Still has old leather.

But I was thinking about this the other day. Why are radios and tool kits so hard to find? Think of all the wrecked 355s. Most had radios. All had tool kits.

 

I’m not seeing wrecks occurring often in the U.S as they do in Europe/UK… at least in the last few years. Sony’s were primarily in 98-99 cars and that’s assuming the previous owners didn’t try to update them to more modern ones, which I think occurred at a 50% rate.

Euro 355’s are getting scavenged before U.S buyers are aware. I do see plenty of tool boxes for sale though, although I haven’t tried hunting them down.