Testing a stock radio ?

[340GTSport]

What’s a good way to bench test a factory radio . Not wanting to fry it. if it’s not already that way .
Thanks

 

[toolmanmike]

They operate off of 12 volts. Hook it to a battery and to speakers

 

[RustyRatRod]

What’s a good way to bench test a factory radio . Not wanting to fry it. if it’s not already that way .
Thanks

In what? A Chevy truck?

 

[70SwingerGuy]

They operate off of 12 volts. Hook it to a battery and to speakers

Im sending my radio away for repair, and they told me that the radio can be damaged if its hooked directly to a battery for testing, even told me not to test it that way when I get it back before putting it back in the car.
Im not an electrical guru by any means, anyone else hear of this? Can a full unfused 12v from a battery cause damage to the circuits?

 

[harrisonm]

I am absolutely not doubting you, but I have tested radios by hooking them directly to a battery before. Maybe I was lucky.

 

[Mattax]

I don't see how that's different than how a stock radio was wired other than fuse protection in case there is a short.

A group of the guys at my first engineering company used a car radio hooked to a power supply for the lab stereo.

 

[Speedy Pedi]

Make sure the speaker is 8 ohms, if you use wrong speaker it will damage radio's output transistors. modern radio's can't be damaged in the same way, as they use an ic output on chip into 2-4 ohms.

 

[toolmanmike]

Im sending my radio away for repair, and they told me that the radio can be damaged if its hooked directly to a battery for testing, even told me not to test it that way when I get it back before putting it back in the car.
Im not an electrical guru by any means, anyone else hear of this? Can a full unfused 12v from a battery cause damage to the circuits?

They can be damaged if you hook them up wrong. You need to do your homework and know what wires are the power, speakers, and light. If you don't know and don't care to find out, don't try testing it yourself. The radio power and the light power wire are 12 volts in and cannot cause any damage if hooked up correctly. Period.

 

[RedFish]

Current seeks any ground.Chassis ground is a must/first. I don't know that the current could find a ground path through the antenna or speaker connection but you would not want that.

 

[Murray]

Bench tested many radios. You need 12v, a ground, a speaker, a antenna.

 

[cudamark]

I've tested car radios for over 50 years by using a 12V battery without an issue. Just make sure you use a proper ground on the radio case, the correct speaker, and a good antenna that is plugged in and also properly grounded.

 

[340GTSport]

What’s a good way to bench test a factory radio . Not wanting to fry it. if it’s not already that way .
Thanks

Thank you everyone for your replies I now have the information to do what I need to do.