radio wiring trouble - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

splicer · 05-23-2005, 20:34

can anyone help with this...i have a 87 crown vic...im told it has common ground to all the speakers...its the premium sound...how do i get around this to install my am/fm cd player ????....help...its driving me nuts

amo4387622 · 05-24-2005, 18:30

Sorry to say but from my knowledge with my 86 GM there is no way to get around it. I also had the premium sound too.

splicer · 05-25-2005, 03:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by amo4387622

Sorry to say but from my knowledge with my 86 GM there is no way to get around it. I also had the premium sound too.

****ok....give me the bad news...how did you wire the speakers...I did have one guy tell me i had to run all 8 speaker wires to the back amp

amo4387622 · 05-25-2005, 19:18

At the time i did not do the install my self because i had no time to do it between school and work. So i called around and Best Buy was the best place for the install. I think between my amp, cd player and both front door speakers it cost me around $350 for the install on all three items. But now i install all of my car audio for my family and friends cars. But what kind of cd player do you plan to put in? And what is the watts per channel? Also how many channels is the cd player?

splicer · 05-26-2005, 03:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by amo4387622

At the time i did not do the install my self because i had no time to do it between school and work. So i called around and Best Buy was the best place for the install. I think between my amp, cd player and both front door speakers it cost me around $350 for the install on all three items. But now i install all of my car audio for my family and friends cars. But what kind of cd player do you plan to put in? And what is the watts per channel? Also how many channels is the cd player?

...its a boss am/fm cd player,80watts per channel,4 channel,this radio has all the bells and whistles. cd changer plug,sub bass,rca jks for more speakers.but i dont want to go all out.i just want it to work with the speakers i have. i did change out the orig speakers in back and in the doors. dash would have been a pain so i left them.

amo4387622 · 05-26-2005, 18:27

From my knowledge of installs I have now I would just run all new wires from the head unit to all of the speakers and not use the factory amp, This is probally the easiest way that i can think of to hook up your cd player in the car. Also if i remeber right Best Buy told me that they could not use the factory amp because the amp is set up for the common ground so they just bypassed it.

splicer · 05-27-2005, 04:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by amo4387622

From my knowledge of installs I have now I would just run all new wires from the head unit to all of the speakers and not use the factory amp, This is probally the easiest way that i can think of to hook up your cd player in the car. Also if i remeber right Best Buy told me that they could not use the factory amp because the amp is set up for the common ground so they just bypassed it.

***ok thanks*** before i do all that im going to try circut citys advice..He didnt say to plug up to the amp..he told me to unplug it (speaker side) ..stop at bone yard and cut out amp plug with 3 or 4 inches of wire still attached then run all eight wires to the back..splice to bone yard plug and plug into what i unplugged out of the amp. I'll let you know how it turns out.

splicer · 05-28-2005, 15:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by splicer

***ok thanks*** before i do all that im going to try circut citys advice..He didnt say to plug up to the amp..he told me to unplug it (speaker side) ..stop at bone yard and cut out amp plug with 3 or 4 inches of wire still attached then run all eight wires to the back..splice to bone yard plug and plug into what i unplugged out of the amp. I'll let you know how it turns out.

****for all who need to know....I unpluged the amp(power)..no problem..the power in the dash works just fine....i then ran 8 wires marking both ends...pulled the speaker plug from the amp also..cut all 8 wires close to the amp so i could have some wire to splice to....color code in back for the speakers not the same as in the dash...so its kinda hit or miss but eventually you get the speakers working where there suppose to (15 min) then plug it in......tunes baby...rock & roll...sounds great...

CrownVic · 08-26-2005, 09:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by splicer

***ok thanks*** before i do all that im going to try circut citys advice..He didnt say to plug up to the amp..he told me to unplug it (speaker side) ..stop at bone yard and cut out amp plug with 3 or 4 inches of wire still attached then run all eight wires to the back..splice to bone yard plug and plug into what i unplugged out of the amp. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I have an 82 Crown Victoria with a standard cassette to 4 speakers. I managed to chase down under and around the dash to points where the ground went from one common to each speaker wire. The wiring has its own color coding to make it easier to chase. Just takes time and paitence and removes the task of running new wires. I find the factory wires are good enough for a cd deck.