Hey guys, so I bought an aftermarket radio from Pioneer and wanted to know what wiring harness to use when setting it up? I also should mention that my car never came with a radio especially the original one, the only remains of a radio there was an aftermarket adapter kit for some new radio. Please let me know and send me links if you can!
Craig, It sounds to me like he is trying to do a plug-n-play like you might with a new vehicle. These cars did not come with much of anything standard regarding stereo wiring. You will be better off making your own harness because I would have a hard time trusting what someone did before you. Many of these cars just came with one dash speaker, so it would be up to the installer to mount and wire rear speakers. Many DIYers just run it under the carpet and call it done, but a better way is to get some plastic harness loom (most auto swap meets have vendors selling that) and run rear speaker wires through that in the channel under the passenger door sill plate and up behind the front kick panel, etc. Cable ties every 6 inches or so to tie wires together. Also any wire splices or connector ends that I do get soldered .... keeps you from having to mess with them later.
Agreed... My Comet has power plug that includes dial light control(dimming) and about 12" wire from SINGLE speaker in dash, that's it...
Thank You I didn't need to make my own harness because the guy before me had a similar radio before I bought the car. On the other hand I need to wire in a cable to the ignition so that the radio starts as soon as I turn the car on and turns off when the key is out! Does anyone know what color wire it is or which one to use? That's the last part I need!
Use a test light and find a fuse location or a wire that does just that. Make sure your radio has an inline fuse.
If not hacked off, there should be a plug that has white wire with purple tracer for radio power and also a blue with red tracer wire for lighting(actually two of each, at least for '71 & '72)... Same plug was used from mid '60s through the '70s...
.......Neither of which is a "ground". I have seen so many radio's installed, professionally, with the installer using the blue with red tracer wire for the ground.
And if you need a wire that is hot all the time for presets and clock, etc. , you can tap into the line for the cigarette lighter. Agreed on the ground, a screw to the metal part of the dash should suffice.
Thank you for the picture and explanation on the wiring! It really helped, I used those few selected wires and now it functions properly and don't worry I wired the ground separately from any other wires. My last question is what alternator should I use to complete my wiring. Right now it is hardly supporting the radio and the rest of the system but I intend to convert my manual fan into an electrical fan within the next few weeks! Are there any specific requirements or limitations the the Amps or connections?
Would this work in my case? Yes there are others but by the end of this summer I am hoping to finish all installations to my car! I plan on buying it later today so that is can be installed over the weekend! http://www.summitracing.com/parts/tff-7068k/overview/year/1972/make/ford/model/maverick
Should be more than enough! I run 130 amp and AC, elec fan, upgrade headlights and stero amp never had an issue even at night w/ all running...
