Radio woes

[LqDFx]

I just went to get my wiring preped for my new stereo that is coming in on wednesday. I thought that one of the previos owners had cut the stock wiring, but I can not find any trace of it! No speaker wiring in the front, no speaker wiring in the rear, and nothing in the dash to support a radio! Not sure if this stang was one that had no radio from the factory. Even if it was, there would still be a harness for it right?

[LqDFx]

I found the orgnial window sticker for the car! It is in really good shape.
I now know that the car orginally came with the premium stereo in it, but
I still have no idea where the stock wiring went! No trace of it at all from
what I can find!

Anyone have a picture of the amp that is installed with the premium stereo
and the wiring harness that should be there? Where does the wiring
harness origniate?

[1hot86gt]

maybe the factory plug or wires are under the front of the cosole.that is the only thing i could thnk of . later josh

[BetterDays]

I picked up my Stang last weekend (through snow and ice). Tonight, I decided to tackle the radio situation (does not turn on - aftermarket radio). Let's see, the aftermarket amp was wired direct to the battery, along with the radio and something else (to be determined). All of the factory wires are cut (does Chilton's have this infformation about factory colored wires?) To top it off, there were no connectors on it.. simply twisted and taped...

One question I have, before I look at the guide, what is the box in the uppermost corner of the engine bay on the passenger, between the fender and the hinge? Seems that the radio was wired into that (or something is, at least).

Any help, advice, talks of sanity are appreciated.

Good news - getting better tires this weekend (Kelly Charger's - used) since the ones mounted on it are bald.. Should be getting a set of pony's next month.

Thanks all!
Kevin

[telco]

If you have an aftermarket radio and an AMP you probably should just run new wires. I know it's a pain to run speaker wires but the stock wires will degrade the sound if you are pushing any kind of power. As far as power to the radio, you can get adapters that plug into the fuse box and have a wire lead to cable to from the bigger auto parts stores (PepBoys here in AZ).

As far as that box on the friewall goes I'm not sure. My 83 came with a factory amp but it was installed in t he dash where the "football" speaker used to be.

[BetterDays]

Here is a tip from another Stang site:
POWER PLUG
pin# wire color application
1 yellow 12 volt constant - memory, clock, battery
2 not used
3 red 12 volt ignition (switched)
4 orange dash lights (illumination)
5 not used
6 black radio chassis ground
7 blue power antenna
8 not used

SPEAKER PLUG
1 white left front positive
2 white/black left front negative
3 green left rear positive
4 green/black left rear negative
5 gray right front positive
6 gray/black right front negative
7 violet right rear positive
8 violet/black right rear negative


Does this sound right?

I am not going to run the amp, but I do want to run the head unit. I may have to break down and purchase speakers for it, but I do not know what has been replaced.

Will need to find speaker sizes for dash.

Kevin

PS - If you are going to do any wiring, WIRE IT RIGHT!!!!

[telco]

See the stickey post at the top of the forum. Stanger 86 says he can provide you with radio diagrams. I still say don't use the stock stuff but if you gotta....

[BetterDays]

For new speakers, 3.5" in the dash and 6x8 in the rear?
I am not going to run an amp, just the aftermarket head unit.

There is an amp in the dash, but I still do not know what that thing is in the engine compartment, or what some of the wiring is that is behind the radio. Unfortunately, I need to trace these wires to see.

Hopefully, Best Buy (or similar) will assist me with the wiring guide for that head unit (power, ground, ignition power, remote, speakers, etc.)

If I was going to run a system, I have more than enough experience with that. Unfortunately, I hate routing wires in something that I do not have experience with (for the time being).

First system - 86 Escort - 700 watts (no rattles)
Second System - 89 Escort - 800 watts (no rattles)
Third System - 90 Temp - 1300 Watts (shooked off the bumper, but had to rattles!)

All factory appearing (or stealth) , excluding the subs and head unit.
I like stereos (clean, high power), but am getting more into music for enjoyment instead of rattling everything for at least 1/8 mile.

Later all!
Kevin

[BetterDays]

Well, that time has come.

I am going to rewire the radio and run everything new. I fixed what was done and the head unit does not work. So, new radio and speakers will be arriving soon... I am going to need to find an accessory on power, but with everything hacked, I may need to go to the fuse box. Since I normally used harnesses, is there a "better" way to wire directly into the fuse box? I thought I saw an adapter somewhere, but can't recall. If not, it will be hardwired to the battery with the 12V constant. As far as the ground, I may run that into the engine bay as well.

Regarding the amp, is this wired into anything else? The clock worked when I bought the car, but since I disconected the stereo, it has not worked... make sense to anyone? I may decide to remove the clock and "car gauge" if it is not molded into the console. This may be an area for gauges (fuel, something else), allowing me to put different gauges in the cluster when the time comes. But, that is only one of the harnesses that was wacked.

My new stereo set up is going to run about $210 from Crutchfield. Circuit City and Best Buy don't carry any 3.5" fronts and the 6x9's aren't that great either... Also, both places have told me that I need an amp to run the speakers,since the head unit is not nearly enough power. For me, it is fine...

Oh yeah, the box in the engine compartment..... NEON TRANSFORMER. Yes, I found the pimp-d-licious neon tube under the dash. Probably purple to match the engine compartment...

Later all! Any help with information about the amp wiring is greatly appreciated!

Kevin

[PNY XPRS]

Amp wiring is fairly easy and straight forward.

Wires in:
Power direct from battery (needs to be fused)
"Turn on" signal from radio.
RCA inputs from radio.

Wires out:
Speaker wires.


Tips:
Run the power wire down one side of the car and the RCA cables down the other. Keep those separated as much as possible. This will help cut down on engine whine.
Good grounds are crucial.

[Ricky C]

ANother thing you can do is get an adapter harness for your radio that will hook it up to your original harness. This way you don't need to cut anything

[BetterDays]

Well, I am not planning to run the factory amp, I intend to remove it from the car. Also, there are no wiring harnesses left in the car, so everything is from scratch.. I have installed close to 50 systems, and this one will be the most fun!

Kevin