Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

I have gotten so much out of this forum, I am glad that I have a chance to give back a little.

I just had success doing a DIY repair on my radio in my 1946 deluxe clipper. I did not want to spend the $400 for a fully refurbished radio since it was really not that important to me, but since I had the radio out I decided to see if I could find someone that could just test the tubes.

Lucky for me, I found a guy Peter locally in Denver that was able to point me directly to the problem part which was the vibrator which apparently upconverts the 6V DC to the higher voltages needed in the radio and as he told me they are the most common component to fail.

Check out my youtube above video for more details including Peter's contact information.

Sorry, uploaded the wrong video. Please use this link instead.

youtube.com/watch?v=C1J0mZNwG88

Great video! Having repaired hundreds of auto radios thru the years here is a little more information on their repair: Your Packard radio was made by PHILCO for Packard. Its a 6V radio with Philco 'Locktal' tubes. Those are glass tubes with a metal base and were used by Philco for many years. The vibrator in your radio is a 6V type that converts the 6V supply from the car to an AC (alternating current) by vibrating back and forth between +6volts and -6volts. There are a couple of sets of points in a vibrator and they wear out or become pitted, and thats when they start to fail. However and most important, in an old car radio....when the vibrator fails and is replaced the buffer capacitors are almost always bad too and need to be replaced. The buffer caps are 2 capacitors that are across each sets of points, on the other side of the socket that the vibrator plugs into..... The buffer caps keep the points on the vibrator from arcing and wearing out quickly. The radio will operate with them bad, but the new vibrator will fail very quickly. Its a very easy replacement for your radio parts/repairman......The Philco radio schematic with the circuits/tube numbers/capacitor parts list/etc is usually available on the internet thru several sources (Ebay,Radio repair websites). Its always a good thing to have the actual schematic when repairing a radio.... If your vibrator fails quickly or starts to act erratically, checking and replacing the buffer caps in the vibrator circuit is a must! Hope that helps you out....

Very helpful. Thank You. Are the buffer capacitors something that can be pulled out like the Vibrator or does it require soldering?

Your explanation of the function of the vibrator is helpful. When I first powered up the radio after replacing the component, it still was not working. Out of frustration I took the handle on my screwdriver and wacked it and all of a sudden it came to life.

Unfortunately, they require soldering. I have a '55 Patrician and my buffer capacitor values/ratings are 0.47mfd @ 100volts. No idea what value yours are but they should be a similar rating. Often old caps have the ratings stamped on the tubular case and they can be easily determined and replaced with a same rating..... They are usually about 50cents apiece at radio supply websites, so they are very inexpensive to purchase. I only mention this to you because from my experience the vibrator will always burn out again prematurely and the buffer caps were always bad 100% of the time in an old car radio. Have to keep in mind these things were not made to last 50 60 70 yrs..! There are a few companies that manufacture solid state vibrators with no vibration and no points..... but then they dont give off that nice 'buzz' you get from a vintage car radio. And they are rather expensive ($100 bucks or so)......Ask your radio guy about replacing the vibrator buffer caps if your radio does give you any trouble.... you might get by with the way it is for a long long time......

This is most likely the same as your radio or very close. Radio circuits didnt change much from year to year unless it was a complete redesign of the radio....

ebay.com/itm/1947-PACKARD-PA382042-AUTO- ... _Electronics_R2&hash=item3f41ba1866

There is schematics and component info on that radio on site.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/Radio4635.pdf

Thats Great ! Didnt realize some of the schematics were on site.......but part of the download on it is missing.....tried to view it several times and it seems it was not loaded properly to the site.....one or more pages is blank.....

Here is a complete page.

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