Few Small Problems 1978 B210

[OmahaJames]

I have this issue where sometimes the radio gets great reception, sometimes it will only pick up a few of the stronger stations, and sometimes it wont get anything and at first I thought it was the connection to the antenna, but I pulled everything apart and made sure all the connections were secure. The antenna itself looks to be in pretty good condition. I'm guessing its something wrong with the radio itself becaus the radio stations are not always in the same place on the dial, so I guess I am asking if anyone knows what wires go to what in the back?

 

The other problem is that the horns don't work, when I press the buttons I can hear something clicking under the dashboard. I checked the connections on the horns themselves and they each have a green wire connected to them, but that is it. They have a screw on the bottom that looks like a another wire could be connected, do they need to be grounded to the chassis to complete the circuit, does anyone know?

[az_rat210]

Radio reception is a function of Antenna Resistance.  Obtaining a Antenna with more resistance will increase load thus more signal.  Bear in mind that AM travels further than FM.  FM is more easily blocked than AM.

 

For the horn the good news is if you hear a click when pressing the horn button then the horn connection is good and the relay is working.  Now you just need to see if you are actually getting power out of the Horn Relay to the Horns.  I would start by ensuring the connectors at the horns are clean and that the horns have a good chassis ground (which is done through the mount, so ensuring where the horns screw in on the mount is clean or add a grounding wire).

[Dolomite]

I had the same horn problem, I ended up wiring direct to the battery to see if they worked, both were fubar. I jacked one from my Toyota pick-up to use till its ready to drive again.

[datzenmike]

Assume stock AM radio? AM is the worst way to transmit and we are so used to sattelite reception in sterio. Signal strength varies by distance and objects obscuring the reception. The frequency can also 'wander'. AM... it's a wonder it's allowed to exist. Nothing but talk, baseball games and '40s canned music.

 

If there is a single Green wire to them then they are ground return. Have someone hold the horn button down and smack with a hammer. This works.

[OmahaJames]

It looks to be a factory Hitachi AM/FM radio, 2 AM Presets and 3 FM Presets. I have not been able to get any reception on AM, but honestly I haven't spent as much time trying to get AM working, the only reason I would is the local sports stations around here are all on AM. I have mostly been testing with FM radio which oddly enough since I made this post last night hasn't stopped working since.

[dat521gatherer]

The horns are junk in these cars, B210 and 210. I have 10 horns and only 2 work. I am in the process of taking them apart and cleaning the contact and any other corosion I find. I've actually fixed a couple already. Make sure you bench test any horns you may acquire with a car battery before going through the trouble of swapping them out.

 

I've never seen a 521 horn fail.