NA Mazda Miata OEM Panasonic 1297 Stereo Repairs - Cassette Deck Repair and Inspection

This is another customer's stereo - this one needs everything repaired, plus a Bluetooth mod. Let's start out by evaluating it...

[@KaputPoppy7051]

Just wanted to say that thanks to your helpful video I was able to fix my cassette deck myself. Huge thanks!

[@i80386sx]

I provide shipping materials for a reason with battery rebuilds. I don't take chances when it comes to non replaceable equipment. It also makes me look half organized. Paper packaging will disqualify insurance claims.

[@mraaron1584]

it funny cuz fedex offers u that brown paper for packaging material in there stores. but that stuff is trash for any heavy items with plastic bezels

[@autofigure00]

Im trying to get my cassette player working again from a 1990 Miata I recently picked up. the belt seems good and stretchy with no cracks in the rubber, but my issue was the player couldnt accept a tape / it wouldnt go DOWN into the mechanism all the way so it would spit it back out. my assumption is the gears arent aligned / timed properly so the head and rollers for the tape werent retracted, so when it would try to pull the cassette in it would jam against the head and rollers and not go down all the way. I disassembled it and none of the gears are stuck, I pulled the mechanism to the downward position with a tape in it, then aligned the cam gear with the puller that retracts or extends the head, then adjsuted that so the head and rollers were extended to the tape as if it was going to read it, but when I reassembled it and put it back into the car it wouldnt do anything, the screen would just blink "TAPE" when you tried to eject it. wouldnt play any music either. one worry I had was the double cammed looking gear underneath the belt train looked like it may be problematic (the gear you moved at 1:07:49)? there were points when freespinning the belt train that that large gear would get to the point where there aren't teeth against the smaller gear to the left and trying to change direction or keep going wouldnt bite back onto that gear (but clearly its meant to disengage due to the missing teath, but Its ALSO surely supposed to re-engage at some point so it can go back to the previous position).
Another issue I have is the AM/FM button doesn't seem to work (pressing the AM/FM button doesnt make the screen update, it always just shows the time or says "TAPE" when trying to use the cassette player. pressing it doesnt turn on the radio and I can't hear anything out of the speakers. No corrosion, no physical damage, and solder joints all look amazing on all the boards and on the pushbuttons behind the front face. I tried reflowing a couple joints but didnt seem to solve anything. I guess I could put on a movie or something and just go through and reflow everything to be safe lol, but im really not sure why the AM/FM wont work, Ill probably have to check the buttons to make sure theyre working.

[@sodiumchloride2109]

Have you found a solution to the tape not going all the way down yet? My issue is identical to the one you described.

[@bbishoppcm]

Yes, I’ve repaired nearly 100 of these things so far. I can bring it back to like new again.

[@autofigure00]

@@sodiumchloride2109 I haven't unfortunately, I just bought my first house so Ive been a bit busy with that now 😅 I still want to come back to this and try to get it working / restore it, in the meantime I bought a single DIN radio with Bluetooth and have been using that for music.

[@pisstaco]

I recently got one of those cassette players for my miata, everything works fine except the lights for the buttons don’t work and the screen light barely works i was wondering how to fix them.

[@bbishoppcm]

You can start by replacing the lamps - and no, I’m not going to do a step-by-step instructional for this. 7219s for the button backlighting and two 2114s for the display.

[@ragingjojo]

Hi dude! Im 20 and recently got a miata and im in love with cassettes! My 1994 mazda miata cassette deck everytime I insert a cassette it accepts it. It says the word metal in small letters and tape in large letters. And it clicks a few times then rejects the tape and ejects it. Any ideas for repair?

[@bbishoppcm]

I fix these all the time; malfunctioning microswitches are usually the culprit. I also HIGHLY recommend replacing all the electrolytic capacitors in these units, and checking for broken solder joints. I’ve restored dozens of these, and they all have the same problems. I can restore the entire unit and add Bluetooth if you’re interested.

[@robertsitch1415]

It does make you wonder if a lot of water got in the vehicle with the top down during a few rainstorms or something with the stereo system rusted in a way that I have never seen before.

[@bbishoppcm]

Thats likely what happened

[@ricmaquilon2766]

How can i send you a Miata radio to fix? I have been unable to do it.

[@bbishoppcm]

Send me an email - [e-mail]. Describe what radio you have, what issues you want resolved, and I’ll send you an estimate

[@LieboldAmanda]

Hi, I recently got a 92 Miata. The cassette player played one whole side of a cassette and hasn’t played any cassette since. I’ll insert a cassette, it’ll tick a few times and then eject the cassette. Do you think it is a bad belt or frozen gears? Or something else?

[@bbishoppcm]

Its a belt and frozen gearing, and possibly a malfunctioning microswitch. I fix a ton of these units - it doesn’t stop at just the cassette deck, the capacitors are also trashed.

[@bbishoppcm]

I have a legitimate business restoring these if you’re interested. Www.savemyradio.com

[@LieboldAmanda]

@@bbishoppcm hi! Thanks to your videos I was able to successfully repair my cassette deck … it just needed a good cleaning and regreasing. We also replaced the 4 bulbs in front too.
But we are having a strange issue. The screen will not light up unless we wack it a few times. It’s def not the solder joints because they have all been checked and we have reflowed any messed up ones. My boyfriend (an EE) and I (an ME) are stumped and can’t seem to figure it out, especially since schematics seem to be impossible to find… Do you have any idea what may be causing this issue? Thank you so much for these amazing videos! I think I this point I can disassemble and reassemble this radio with my eyes closed.

[@JohnSmith-xq1pz]

First to spot the kitty cat zoomie

[@robertsitch1415]

I know that some high school shop classes require lead-free solder.

[@bbishoppcm]

Good thing I’m not a shop class