Car Stereo fault - Beat 485 repair

Well, marvelous isnt it? The Marconi 2955B goes on the blink, but before I can fix it the oscilloscope requires an overhaul. Get the 'scope dismantled for cleaning, lubricating and repair, and the flipping 2955B decides to start working again, leaving me with no idea whether something ive done, like reseating the cards, has fixed it, or whether the fault is indeed temperature dependent and likely to be a real twat to narrow down,

And while all this is going on, to really piss me off, the volume control on my car stereo fails! It randomly decides whether to go up or down whichever way I turn the knob!

I have a cheap after market DAB stereo, a Beat 485. This does DAB and DAB+ (why I bought it!) plus CD, USB etc. The volume control is not a traditional potentiometer, but a rotary encoder.

No photos for this fix im afraid! But it really doesnt need any, if your capable of doing this repair then you dont need a pictorial guide!

Opening the head fascia unit up is fairly simple - four screws and case clips, easily separated using a finger nail or similar thin object. The encoder turns out to be a mechanical type. This was to be expected as optical units are far more expensive. It also is a type with a central push button action (which I didnt know about its function on the stereo - turns out it selects the tone and balance options).

Once inside the head unit, the next job was to remove the encoder. This isnt particularly easy - there is a sizeable metal casing to it soldered down at either side, plus the five switch contacts (three one side, two the other). Ideally use a good hot iron here with plenty of heat capacity! I just plodded on with the 18W Antex, but the 45W iron would have been more sensible! Once desoldered, there are four folded tags on the underside that have to be lifted to dismantle the device.

Inside, the main encoder track could be seen, with two sliding contacts either side of the shaft. The pattern of the track could barely be seen it was so dirty! A blast with Servisol and a good scrub with a brush had it clean and shiny again. A gentle push with the end of a terminal driver reset the sliding contacts.

Reassembly was just the reverse of the above, ensuring of course that everything stayed in alignment, and then giving the securing tabs a good push down. After cleaning up the terminals, resoldering the encoder to the board was simple, as was rebuilding the head unit. I removed any other muck and dust at the same time.

A quick test back in the car shows that I now have a properly functioning volume control again!