Hi, Experts out there
My son's Kenwood head unit with flip face plate only works at
certain angle. Looks like flex ribbon cable between face plate
and main body of the unit is breaking up.
Is this common fault with this type of face plate? Repairable?
Or time for new replacement?
TIA,
Tony

It happens a lot. I fix them regularly, it's not too expensive.
Ribbon cable is about $15.00 or so, available from www.kenwoodparts.com and
it's not too difficult to do, you just have to be careful. On the units that
have detachable faces you'll need the radio side of the faceplate connector
also, and it's a pain in the a$$ to solder to the ribbon cable, I'd
recommend letting a shop do those unless you can solder surface mount
components very well. On the units with non-detachable faces, you need to
remove the top, then take out the CD mechanism being careful not to damage
the CD mech ribbon, make sure to unlock the connector before pulling the
ribbon. You then unlock & disconnect the face motor ribbon cable from the
main PCB, then you can use A 12VDC power supply to rotate the face partially
open by applying power to the face motor, this allows access to the two (2)
screws holding the face. (With the face open they are at the top) I then
stretch out the ribbon cable, and then lock the ribbon cable reel (it has a
tab on the end which will lock in place when it is slid left underneath the
catch). Then you can disconnect the ribbon from the main PCB. The blank
side of the face has a stuck-on cover that must be carefully removed, if you
do it right the overlay can be saved and re-used, if you damage it you will
need a new overlay. Then you remove the screws securing the back of the face
and carefully remove the face back. At this point you can unplug and discard
the old ribbon, replace with the new one. Assembly is reverse of
disassembly. Make sure you orient the new ribbon correctly, the end with the
part number goes to the main PCB, and make sure the connectors are facing
the same way as when it came out it will go in upside down but the face
won't be connected. Also make sure to route the new ribbon through the take
up reel correctly and unlock the take-up reel. If you do not feel
comfortable doing it yourself, then I would suggest sending it to a shop. If
you have no one you trust locally you are welcome to send it to us, the
repair cost just to replace the ribbon would be $35.00 labor plus parts and
UPS shipping.

--
Jammy Harbin
J & J Electronics, Inc.
227 S. 4th St.
Selmer, TN 38375
731-645-3311
"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news:%0s6c.104383$Up2.72077@pd7tw1no...
Hi, Experts out there
My son's Kenwood head unit with flip face plate only works at
certain angle. Looks like flex ribbon cable between face plate
and main body of the unit is breaking up.
Is this common fault with this type of face plate? Repairable?
Or time for new replacement?
TIA,
Tony