Wondebar Noob

[Michael L.]

OK, new to Wonderbars, just installed a '56 model in my car. I can hand tune in a few stations. When I press the Wonderbar, it just scans and makes a pulsing sound, won't find a station. I have to turn the radio off to get it to stop scanning??? The push buttons won't pre-set, I push the buttons and they don't move. What do I need to do to get them to work? How to set or is this thing busted??? I did have it modified to take an Aux jack, so I can plug in an MP3, CD or satellite, that works, but boy is the sound poor. Audio is one thing that time does improve... Thanks in advance, it filled the hole in the dash and does get sound!

Mike

[Jerry R.]

Re: Wondebar Knob

Several comments but it sounds like you may need to send it back to the service facility that put in the MP3 jack if you still have a warranty and if they went through the whole thing.

Brief answers to what you wrote follow:
1. The pulsing sound is a solenoid which is cocking a spring which is used to make the tuner move from left to right. That's normal.
2. It's not stopping on stations because the circuit that detects a signal isn't working. If you lift the top cover, you will find that one tube is labelled 12AU7 and is a "little fatter" than the others. You can wiggle it around a bit and, if you are lucky, it will begin to stop on stations. Corrosion is the big enemy to those radios and the tube pins and socket pins might be at fault. There is a 100 picofarad capacitor connected to pin 2 of that tube that regularly fails also causing the same result.
3. The push buttons are a part of this circuit so the presets won't work either.
4. Pushing the buttons should cause them to go in. If they don't then something is jamming them. Removing the four screws holding the chrome escutcheon and lifting it off may show you what's wrong as you work a button. It's not a complex mechanism (unless you have to tear it apart totally for the first time).
5. Turning the radio off to stop it is (of course) not normal. There is a relay inside which allows a little paddle wheel (governor) to turn which lets the spring tune the dial mechanism. The relay is not releasing (again, not detecting a signal) and removing power forces it to disengage.
6. The sound should be great from the MP3 and radio itself. That could be a dozen different problems.
7. You can wiggle the two "really" fat tubes (labeled 12V6) and the small one next to them (labeled 12AV6) and see if corrosion on those pins is affecting your sound quality. Those 3 tubes comprise the audio output section that drives the speaker.

How long ago was it worked on Mike?

OK, new to Wonderbars, just installed a '56 model in my car. I can hand tune in a few stations. When I press the Wonderbar, it just scans and makes a pulsing sound, won't find a station. I have to turn the radio off to get it to stop scanning??? The push buttons won't pre-set, I push the buttons and they don't move. What do I need to do to get them to work? How to set or is this thing busted??? I did have it modified to take an Aux jack, so I can plug in an MP3, CD or satellite, that works, but boy is the sound poor. Audio is one thing that time does improve... Thanks in advance, it filled the hole in the dash and does get sound!

Mike

[Michael L.]

Re: Wondebar Noob

Jerry, thanks for all the things to look for, I'll start goofing with it this weekend. I just got the radio last week. A shop had it and sold it to me at a very good price. They stated they had gone over it for a customer who never picked it up ( he wrecked his '56 and never claimed the radio after the loss of the car...) I'll start fiddling with it soon, I'm just glad to have the hole in the dash filled at this point. AM is little interest to me, one far right talk channel. one far left talk channel and several Spanish stations... The MP3 comes through well enough. I have a year warranty, the shop is a Driveline advertiser and they seem to be good folks. So I'm not going to lose my mind over the poor AM reception...

[Jerry R.]

Re: Wondebar Noob

One more thing you can do to possibly perk it up a bit:

Locate the spot on the side where the antenna wire enters the radio. Then, on the bottom of the case and a little to the rear of that antenna connection, you will see a recessed screw with a single slot (not phillips). If you are lucky it will have a label saying something like antenna trimmer. Tune the radio near 1600 and turn the screw back and forth. Leave it at the spot that yields the loudest noise level (with the engine off). That does the same thing as adjusting a carb to a new engine.

You may get more stations and louder stations BUT the far left and far right ones will sound just as bad - sorry for that news.

Drop me a note if you have questions this weekend and I'll try to help. Also, you shouldn't ignore any warranty you have if you can't get it working correctly yourself. Paying later could be painful as repair/restoration of a Wonderbar is not particularly inexpensive.

Good luck Mike!

[Jerry G.]

Re: Wondebar Noob

Mike: There is a local/distance on the right side tuning knob that might help bring in the stations. Yours may be turned too far one way or the other. Also, the 56 bar at the top is smooth. It does not say WONDERBAR like later radios. Hope that helps.