So the radio was working perfectly! Then stupid me decided to put in one of those cassette adapters to make my ipod work, was working great for 20 seconds, then the radio powered off (no lights, no sounds, nothing). and next I smelled this weird electrical smell and a small amount of smoke came from the cigarette ashtray. Is this a sign that this radio is now toast? Or can I be hopeful that maybe a ground burned or harness kicked the bucket?

check the fuse and the wiring.

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1980 240D, 197580 miles - "The Stuttgart Stomper"

There should be a fuse on the back of the radio. In the older radios. a black plastic holder, on the newer ones a clear plastic holder and a small fuse that you'll need to make a trip to radio shack for.

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2000 C230 Kompressor "Frosty"

2007 PT Cruiser
2001 VW TDI Beetle
1999 Landrover Discovery II
1971 Corvette

Gone: 97 Cabrio, 83 240D, 93 VW Eurovan, 95 Volvo 850, 93 Chevy Astro Van, 77 VW Bus, 99 VW Jetta, 74 VW Bus

you guys rock... i love this forum!!!! Took out the radio, changed that fuse (looked like a bunch of powder in it) and voila... the radio worked! Only thing is when I try to put a regular cassette in the radio automatically blows the fuse, so I changed the fuse again and am more than happy to live with it in the current radio only situation. I am of the old school mentality and did not want to put a newer cd player in there, I like things to be original

So, is there something about the ipod/cassette adapter that causes the fuse to blow? I can't imagine how that could hurt anything.

Did the same thing happen after you put in a regular cassette tape?

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

He did mention that a cassette will yield the same result.

I would suspect a problem with the transport mechanism...most likely a gnarled up belt. The capstan motor tries to spool up the mechanism, encounters resistance...current (amps) increase with load, and the fuse ultimately blows.

I have the (recently defunct) Becker Grand Prix, and the tape transport was easily accessible with the front plate removed. Is this the case with the Europa?

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Sadly, no -- not with MY Europa, anyway. Both belts are rotted in mine and I can't for the life of me figure out how to get in there to replace them. Anyone got any tips? Below is a pic of the type of Europa that I have.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)

Since you want to keep the old unit you have 2 choices.
Send it to becker for repair $$$ or use an FM adapter for you ipod.
If you go for the FM adapter make sure you can return it.
Some people have problems finding a clear station and get a lot
of interferance when traveling. I use the cassette adapter for this reason.

another way to use the FM modulator is to use the type that connects between the antenna wire and your head unit. yields better reception of ipod through FM modulation. given the fact that u're using an ipod shows that u're up for technology just not up for changing the original look of the car. in that case why not simply put a new cd player under ur seat or something and use that. leave the original in place for looks only. atleast listen to good music when you can and not suffer just to retain the vintage looks of the europa. just a thought

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Whether you think you can or cannot, Either way you're right!. by Henry Ford.

I have repaired quite few of those. Here is briefly how to replace the belts.
Remove radio from car. Take the knobs out by pulling them. Remove the face plate. Grab between the holes and squize inward gently. Unscrew the locking brackets and remove. Now pull the radio out. Using a flat tip pry the covers out. Looking behind the face plate there are 4 small screws remove them (some of them are hard to reach). Now grab the cassete module and after disconnecting the couplings (2 of them) to the motherboard (main board) lift the cassette module out. There are two hinges where the cassete modules is attached. Remove the module from the hinges and it is out. Replace belts (about $6 and hard to find) and assemble in reverse order.
Good luck to you.

I forgot about this thread... indeed, I did finally get my Europa sorted out. The fellow from whom I sourced the belts was kind enough to send printouts of pics of how to swing the cassette mechanism up and out to access the belts. I need to try and find a scanner so I can share these excellent printouts!

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1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)