Cd Player

Topic: Cd Player (Read 2251 times) previous topic - next topic

Cd Player

April 07, 2006, 02:42:18 PM

Anybody who has my year birdy(88) might of gone through the same thing. I tried to install a CD player head unit last year, i got it in, it had power but no sound.and i tried doing this w/o taking out the graphic equalizer. But nothing. any suggestions? i've gone 4 years with out a CD player in my car, it's time lol.

Cd Player

Reply #1 – April 07, 2006, 05:34:23 PM

on the aftermarket harness connect the blue and the blue w/ white tracer together to the power antenna wire of the head unit. this will power on the factory amplifier. beware it might sound like . too much power.. but if you fish around behind the head unit along the black taped wires you will find another speaker harness in their and if you use that then you will not be able to use the factory amp but you wont have to remove it.. if you need to know more just ask.. ive done it a thousand times!!!!

Cd Player

Reply #2 – April 07, 2006, 09:34:54 PM

You can't use the factory premium sound amplifier with an aftermarket head unit's speaker level outputs because the premium sound harness uses a common speaker ground (only one ground for all four speakers) while the aftermarket stereo will want a "floating" ground (a separate ground for each speaker). You can very easily destroy your new head unit by connecting it to this harness, but most head units will simply shut themselves down or disable their internal amps before committing suicide.

You have a few options - the easiest is the way 87badbird2613 says - locate the non-premium harness and connect to that.YOu MUST disconnect the factory amp to do this properly, though, or you could damage your head unit (and will certainly damage the factory amp) by backfeeding high audio power into the factory amp's outputs. Connecting the head unit to the non-premium harness will bypass the factory amp and EQ, rendering them useless.

Another thing you can do, which is a bit more complicated but will result in a better installation with functioning EQ, is to use your head unit's line level (RCA) outputs, make up a simple wiring adapter, and connect it to the factory premium sound wiring. This will bypass your head unit's internal amp and use the factory premium sound stuff, making your EQ functional but may result in downgraded sound output compared to what the head unit alone is capable of. A lot has happened in amplifier technology in 17+ years...

The third (and better, though more complicated) scenario is to use the RCA outputs and premium sound wiring as above, but replace the amp in the trunk with a more modern, more powerful 4-channel unit. This gives you functional EQ, and high power levels with cleaner sound than the 1980's premium amp is capable of.

The fourth choice would be similar to the third, except you run an RCA pair to the trunk in addition to the ones in the dash, add a second amp, and toss a subwoofer into the mix. This is especially beneficial if your head unit has a subwoofer output.

Note that all of these options allow you to use the factory rewiring, saving tons of time and work, but for best results you should replace ALL of your factory speakers with some aftermarket units. Even a cheap set will sound far better than your old ones, and if you add an amp (or even use the head unit's internal amp) the stock speakers will not be up to the task.

For more info on installing stereos check out these threads:

http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=7390&highlight=factory+eq
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=6085&highlight=factory+eq

And these pages:
http://www.foxthundercats.com/tech/wiringdiagrams.htm (this page has wiring diagrams)

http://www.foxthundercats.com/tech/samsstereo.htm (this page highlights my own stereo installation - may be out of date, I haven't read it in awhile)

Cd Player

Reply #3 – April 07, 2006, 10:23:44 PM

Would that blue Scosche box I used on my Mark's stereo work for this application, as another option? I believe it took the speaker outputs (not the RCAs) and lowered their output level to where I could hook them up to the line running to the Mark's amp. You can adjust each line with a little screwdriver. Sure, I dropped $40-60 on adapter harnesses and that box, after all was said and done.. but I managed to get my Pioneer hooked up without running any wires any further than the dash. The sound probably wouldn't do it for the average audiophile, but it gets loud enough for my use without being too sloppy. I could probably up the screws on the box a little, even.

Unfortunately, I still don't know how the EQ changes the whole thing. Since I don't have any T-birds or Marks with a separate EQ like that, I never really bothered to put too much thought into how that system was set up.. so if this is totally invalid with the EQ version, please disregard all of the above in my post. :p

Cd Player

Reply #4 – April 07, 2006, 11:42:08 PM

im sorry if i was unspecific !!! i meant that if you use the other harness you cannot leave the blue and blue w/ white connected together. sorry if i mixed anyone up

Cd Player

Reply #5 – April 17, 2006, 08:42:51 PM

I cannot find the second harness in my 86 for the life of me....Any clue as to where it is hidden? I don't have an eq btw.

Cd Player

Reply #6 – April 17, 2006, 11:52:49 PM

Try opening the glove box door, then press the tabs that allow the door to open fully - you should then be able to see the heater box and the wiring harness. Of course, your car might not have it - most did, but some didn't (my old '87 Sport didn't)

Cd Player

Reply #7 – April 18, 2006, 06:31:53 PM

Well I found the harness' wayyyy up in there but the grey one is connected to another gray plug. What do I do about that? Disconnect it and roll?

Cd Player

Reply #8 – April 18, 2006, 08:40:30 PM

Nevermind that previous statement.