How to restore Aiwa aiwa csd-xl25z?

[Antoinette]

I bought this Aiwa boombox in Germany in November 1989 when I was 18 years old. I live in South Africa and a local technician refused to fix my boombox. It fell (kids). I would do anything to get it going again and plan to get the parts somehow. Any support/tips welcomed. I am a woman, ex journalist, but believe one can fix anything if motivated enough. The tech guy carried on about belts and "that it is not worth it" etc. Of course it is not worth it if it is about the money.....he just does not understand the sentiment.

 

[T-STER]

What is currently not working? If the cassette is non functioning but you can hear the motor when you press play it may well be that the cassette needs new rubber belts as these perish over time. If the cd is not functioning it is likely that the fall damaged the laser allignment. Give us some details of what is mnot working and we can try to help.

 

[Antoinette]

I am at work and will test this evening (8:13am in South Africa now) and get back to you. I think even the radio won't tune (manual knob) as that band broke. So it probably needs a few things. Thanks for hearing me, that is a start at least in this consumer-driven world that only discards....Would have been nice if there were South Africans on this forum who might have tips about service providers and/or parts shops here. Are there any? I suspect I will have to import everything.
Antoinette

 

[Antoinette]

So the cassette deck turns and the CD spins, but no sound. Radio can't tune. No sound. So I opened it and discovered that all of the wires to the speakers were disconnected.
Probably disconnected when dropped and missed/ignored by the last technician who recommended against fixing it after charging me more than $30 to open and close the box. Idiot.
Can't believe that he gave it back to me like that without telling me. I am going to reconnect those wires and test it again, but have to wait for my husband to get the soldering kit from the shed. Holding all my thumbs that that is all that is wrong with regards to the cassette and cd function.
The string that runs on tiny white cables attached to knob that tunes the radio has snapped however, so I am unsure how one can fix that and might need help. Are those strings a standard type? It looks difficult to get it in there.

 

[baddboybill]

Hope fully none of those speaker wires touched the boards joints because then you might have bigger issue. But what was reason you took unit to tech in first place ? These newer black units are pretty cheap on eBay and you might be better off finding a working one because of all the issues. Don't get me wrong they can most likely be repaired but to restring tuner you need patience and to know exactly how it was strung in first place. The speaker wires did not just come off from fall. Your tech probably took them off for what ever reason. Maybe to get the chassis out.


Bad Boy Bill

 

[Antoinette]

Sentiment I suppose, bought it when I was backpacking as an 18-year-old in Europe in 1989 and I am now 44, it accompanied me to university, several communes, my first jobs....then I played music on it to soothe the babies, then they became toddlers...one child is special needs and she got hold of it dropping it.....so it sort of represents a lifetime...
With regards to music I am actually sorted with a whole wireless Apple set-up throughout the house, all the music on the cloud (husband in IT).
This is all about sentiment, so I probably won't buy another.

...the wires were tucked away nicely so I think you are right about the technician disconnecting. I took the unit to him, because I was a journalist, know nothing of these units and simply wanted to get it fixed.

 

[baddboybill]

Sentiment I suppose, bought it when I was backpacking as an 18-year-old in Europe in 1989 and I am now 44, it accompanied me to university, several communes, my first jobs....then I played music on it to soothe the babies, then they became toddlers...one child is special needs and she got hold of it dropping it.....so it sort of represents a lifetime...
With regards to music I am actually sorted with a whole wireless Apple set-up throughout the house, all the music on the cloud (husband in IT).
This is all about sentiment, so I probably won't buy another.

...the wires were tucked away nicely so I think you are right about the technician disconnecting. I took the unit to him, because I was a journalist, know nothing of these units and simply wanted to get it fixed.


Trust me I understand sentimental value 👌But what was wrong with it when you took it in?


Bad Boy Bill

 

[T-STER]

Well it seems you are correct, first to get the wires reconnected and secondly to restring the tuner. The tuning wire is easy enough to find but just requires a little patience to route. Best bet if it is still on there is to take some close up pictures to aid in the restringing.

 

[Antoinette]

Thanks, that is a good tip about the photographs for the stringing. I took it in about 3 years ago and I think it was mainly about the tuning not working, but it also looks as if at least two of the speaker wires had been snapped off rather than carefully disconnected. Since then it was standing. I simply did not have the time to deal with it.
Just for context: It is pretty hard to get a workshop that works on these things in South Africa and there are many losers who try to make a quick buck (just like some car mechanics, fitters of home alarm systems too....I get so fed-up with it).
There might be some collectors, but I think they do their own restoration and there are just too few economically active people in South Africa to support a business that fixes these old items - economy of scale issue I think. People are consumers, they simply replace. The technician's words were that it was impossible to restring the radio .... now almost everyone - also one local guy (an Austrian guy) about an hour's drive from me - says it is not, just requires some patience.
Will the service manual give guidance on the restringing and how easy are those to find?

 

[jimmyjimmy19702010]

A service manual is usually required to show the route for the string including the number of turns around the tuner knob shaft.

Being a 90s box, it would pretty easy to work on with modern, plug and play connections. Trust me, the late 70s boxes are 100 times more difficult to work on than your Aiwa.

I understand your techs' attitude though as most customers would just walk away from the Aiwa when presented with a huge repair bill.

I understand your sentimental attachment to this box, we've all got a special box from our past!

Many members could get that Aiwa up and running in no time but since you'd have to ship OS back and forth, the cost wouldn't make it a viable proposition.

Good luck and welcome to the forum,

James....

 

[MyOhMy]

If all else fails, Have you thought of acquiring a second box? Not only would this be a spares/donor box for your existing one but it could be somewhat essential in being a tutorial model to help maintain your current box. I did this on my first box and found it a great help as I had absolutely no experience at that time (and I've still have so much to learn!).

 

[Antoinette]

I think if I lived in Europe or the US, I could buy another box - I actually saw a couple of them on ebay, but mine is most probably the only one in South Africa. I bought it in Germany and carried it back on the plane! When I came home at the end of 1989 the whole family gathered to see my CD player. People were still playing LPs and tapes and some music stores had one cd shelf - mostly as a novelty. The following year, I was the only one (that I know of) in my university residence with a cd player! That soon changed.
My friend who back-packed with me, bought a slightly bigger model (she had more money). She might still have hers, also in South Africa, but I recall that she said it stopped working (at least partly) at some stage. I remember we listened to the sound of all the models (October/November 1989) in a shop in Germany and compared the sound and prices. The Aiwas were top - a deep round sound, compared to the other brands.
To me it was a lot of money then.

 

[Antoinette]

So I reconnected the speaker wires and the CD player is working perfectly! The radio needs that dial chord replaced before final verdict. The cassette deck turns, but there is a silent rush on the speakers instead of music. I suspect a part might need to be replaced?

 

[Antoinette]

I got this! There are some really nice people out there! (dial cord stringing schematic)

 

[nikonfoo]

I feel for you
I have spent some time searching for the repair manual
sorry no luck
but you really seem to be getting somewhere
I think you may just do it
There are a lot of people here who can help
Just try and give as much information as posable
each time the smallest thing can help to diagnose the problems
Is the tape turning even though there is no sound
try head phones as well
Keep at it its worth doing
And I have a feeling its not going to cost a lot of money
You have all the physical parts which is what can be difficult to find
and the cd is working which is the hardest part to fix

look forward to seeing your progress

 

[T-STER]

The rush of noise on the tape maybe a dirty record bar, cleaning it out is best but just try putting in a blank tape and pushing record and play a few times repeatedly, you may find the clears it up. This is exactly what i have just done on my Crown box.

 

[MyOhMy]

Go girl, Antionette! You're getting there one step at time - you'll soon be collecting and fixing BB's before breakfast!!!!

 

[Antoinette]

Thanks people! I love the fact that everyone is so passionate about their boomboxes. Everybody should have an interest of some sorts, whether it is car mechanics, antique furniture or boombox restoration. We can't just consume and trash everything like parasites. I have great respect for people who restore, though I realise it is probably not making anyone rich!

 

[T-STER]

Thanks people! I love the fact that everyone is so passionate about their boomboxes. Everybody should have an interest of some sorts, whether it is car mechanics, antique furniture or boombox restoration. We can't just consume and trash everything like parasites. I have great respect for people who restore, though I realise it is probably not making anyone rich!

Your right there Antoinette, it might not make any of us rich in money (i think we probably all spend a good amount on these boxes) but it makes us rich in memories i'm sure all will agree.

I have a box my son and i "rescued and gave a new home" as he puts it, its a basic Sayo but he loves it, contributed to its repair and uses all the time. I would not sell it if I was offerred big bucks as its just to sentimental. It was an absolute wreck when we got it and i beleive would never have been used ever again if we did not acquire it. I have lots of stories like these so I really related to your attachment to your box.

 

[caution]

Thanks people! I love the fact that everyone is so passionate about their boomboxes. Everybody should have an interest of some sorts, whether it is car mechanics, antique furniture or boombox restoration. We can't just consume and trash everything like parasites. I have great respect for people who restore, though I realise it is probably not making anyone rich!

Exactly! Restoring is a labor of love, it has to be, nobody will service them anymore as you've discovered. Getting replacement parts falls on finding another model or reverse engineering the part yourself, which gets into a whole other realm - we mold, 3D print, paint, de-yellow, bathe, add lights, bluetooth, the list goes on!