m1ghtymaxXx Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 I picked up a 83 280zx 2+2 a week ago today. I'm very happy with the car, only the 23 year old stereo just isn't cutting it for me. The deck is out, and i'm finishing up a home made installation kit/panel, but the wiring has left me confuzzed. I spent yesterday evening scowering every audio shop in the city for a wiring harness, and it looks like i'm not gonna get one locally. I don't feel like buying anything over the internet, so i guess i just need to hardwire it. So i need to know which wire is which. I searched the board with no luck, but if anyone can point me to a thread that has my answer, that would be awesome. I have the folowing coloured wires to deal with: 8 pin connector (2 pins are connect by 1 wire) -yellow w/ red stripe -yellow w/black stripe -turquoise w/ white stripe -solid white -blue w/ re stripe -blue w/ black stripe 5 pin connector -solid black (ground right?) -solid green -solid blue -green w/ yellow stripe -red w/ white stripe Looking at the instructions for the clarion deck i'll be installing, it takes 5 wires, so i guess that means the 5 pin connector goes to the deck, and the 8 pin is for the speakers. I don't understant why some of the wires in the 8 pin connector are "jumped" though, with only 6 wires leaving the 8 pin connector. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustorbust Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 what you could do is take out each speaker and see what color the wires are, that way you know for sure which are the speaker wires. the solid black should be ground but what you probably should do is follow every wire to its end. that way you know all wires are good and you could replace any if needed. the jumpered ones might be the power, just check with a tester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 EDIT: FSM Diagram removed by me, soas not to violate copyright laws and get myself banned for violation of posting rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ghtymaxXx Posted July 19, 2006 Author Share Posted July 19, 2006 what you could do is take out each speaker and see what color the wires are' date=' that way you know for sure which are the speaker wires.the solid black should be ground but what you probably should do is follow every wire to its end. that way you know all wires are good and you could replace any if needed. the jumpered ones might be the power, just check with a tester.[/quote'] the speaker harness doesn't concern me much. It shouldn't be to hard find those, as i will be replacing the speakers anyways. I'm left with 4 wires to figure out, assuming the black is the ground. according to the instruction to teh deck, theres a illumination lead, a memory back up lead( fused, can go right to battery), power lead, and power antenna turn on lead. thanks warren for the diagramm:icon14: only problem is, don't see no 5 pin connector in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I'm pretty sure that the 5 pin connector you're looking at there is part of the "Stereo Balance" joystick and will only be attached to the stock stereo unit, as it won't work for any other units. Not all stock stereos had that feature, some had a knob called "Stereo Wide". It should come out with the old stereo and not be used with the new one as it won't work with any others anyway. Some cars didn't have either and only had a plug cap in the hole on the right side of the ashtray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eec564 Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Be VERY careful when upgrading the stereos in these cars!!! The existing speakers use common wires! This is NOT compatible with nearly every new car stereo on the market. The real only way to do it is at the VERY least run new speaker wire to either both front speakers or both rear speakers. The switched power from the acc line is the main one you need to hook up. I would highly recomend running a new main power wire directly from the battery using a 20+ amp fuse right next to the battery. The circuit that supplies constant power to the factory stereo is fused at 10amps, and is not dedicated to the stereo, any current model stereo will blow it as they pull most of their power through the constant-on connection, and a minimal amount (few mili-amps) through the switched circuit, just for turn-on. You can completely ignore the 5-pin connector, both of them. It connects to the dial under the radio labeled "Stereo" and "Wide", and to a module under the driver's seat. Just leave it, ignore it. For the power antanna, good luck. I ended up using an aftermarket antanna and running a new wire from the back of the radio for the switched circuit and pulled a little 5 amp fused connection from my amp wiring in the back to power it. Let me know if you have any specific questions, I've been through this on my 82 280zx 2+2, with the digital radio/tape deck. Edit: P.S. Use a new ground straight to the frame of the car and you can run new speaker wires under the center console, the carpet on the driveshaft hump, and the rear seat. If you haven't taken the seat out, do it anyways to clean under it. The only existing wires you should really be using are at most wires going to two speakers (most likely the front, as they're the hardest ones to replace) and the switched power so the stereo knows when to turn on/off. You could use the antanna switch, but that's only if you're in the mood to figure out the antanna relay and switch, and remount the switch as well. Last thing: The best way to mount a new stereo is to completely take appart the old stereo and use the gray plastic frame that held it to the center piece of the dash. Using the tool of your choice, cut out the center of it and glue a solid plastic panel over it, shaped correctly. Then out of the center of that, cut out a DIN hole to put the cage for the new stereo in. You can use the rear mounting hole in the back of the new stereo to attatch it, with a small easily made custom bracket, to the hole the rear mount for the ashtray and keep the stress off your new (and most likely thin) dash face and highly detur theft as removing the stereo would then require removing entire center of the dash, not just using those two little pins next to the radio to release it from it's cage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ghtymaxXx Posted July 19, 2006 Author Share Posted July 19, 2006 Be VERY careful when upgrading the stereos in these cars!!! The existing speakers use common wires! This is NOT compatible with nearly every new car stereo on the market. The real only way to do it is at the VERY least run new speaker wire to either both front speakers or both rear speakers. The switched power from the acc line is the main one you need to hook up. I would highly recomend running a new main power wire directly from the battery using a 20+ amp fuse right next to the battery. The circuit that supplies constant power to the factory stereo is fused at 10amps' date=' and is not dedicated to the stereo, any current model stereo will blow it as they pull most of their power through the constant-on connection, and a minimal amount (few mili-amps) through the switched circuit, just for turn-on. You can completely ignore the 5-pin connector, both of them. It connects to the dial under the radio labeled "Stereo" and "Wide", and to a module under the driver's seat. Just leave it, ignore it. For the power antanna, good luck. I ended up using an aftermarket antanna and running a new wire from the back of the radio for the switched circuit and pulled a little 5 amp fused connection from my amp wiring in the back to power it. Let me know if you have any specific questions, I've been through this on my 82 280zx 2+2, with the digital radio/tape deck. Edit: P.S. Use a new ground straight to the frame of the car and you can run new speaker wires under the center console, the carpet on the driveshaft hump, and the rear seat. If you haven't taken the seat out, do it anyways to clean under it. The only existing wires you should really be using are at most wires going to two speakers (most likely the front, as they're the hardest ones to replace) and the switched power so the stereo knows when to turn on/off. You could use the antanna switch, but that's only if you're in the mood to figure out the antanna relay and switch, and remount the switch as well. Last thing: The best way to mount a new stereo is to completely take appart the old stereo and use the gray plastic frame that held it to the center piece of the dash. Using the tool of your choice, cut out the center of it and glue a solid plastic panel over it, shaped correctly. Then out of the center of that, cut out a DIN hole to put the cage for the new stereo in. You can use the rear mounting hole in the back of the new stereo to attatch it, with a small easily made custom bracket, to the hole the rear mount for the ashtray and keep the stress off your new (and most likely thin) dash face and highly detur theft as removing the stereo would then require removing entire center of the dash, not just using those two little pins next to the radio to release it from it's cage.[/quote'] thanks for the tips. How important is the power antenna lead? my antenna doesn't work anyways, so i can i completely forget about it? The "memory back up lead" or wire that can go straigh to the battery according to the instructions has a 15 amp fuse built into he harness. Is this sufficient, or should i stille fuse the wire near the battery. This wire goes to the positive terminal correct? The "power lead" attatches to an accessory wire right? Are they all color coded? would i just tap right into it? Where the hell does the "illumination lead" draw power from?? As for the filler panel, i don't want to permanently destroy any original parts, so i'm making a panel from scratch. I'm on my 4th attempt using masonight, and i think the next one should be perfect (minus a small gap at the bottom, but its just cosmetic, and i'll make a trim piece that goes around the perimeter of the panel to clean that up). The final one will either be made of sheet metal, or some sort of would painted, or covered in sheet metal. Can't wait to get this damn deck wired so i can move to the fun stuff (fiberglass sub enclosure). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eec564 Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 thanks for the tips. How important is the power antenna lead? my antenna doesn't work anyways' date=' so i can i completely forget about it? The "memory back up lead" or wire that can go straigh to the battery according to the instructions has a 15 amp fuse built into he harness. Is this sufficient, or should i stille fuse the wire near the battery. This wire goes to the positive terminal correct? The "power lead" attatches to an accessory wire right? Are they all color coded? would i just tap right into it? Where the hell does the "illumination lead" draw power from?? As for the filler panel, i don't want to permanently destroy any original parts, so i'm making a panel from scratch. I'm on my 4th attempt using masonight, and i think the next one should be perfect (minus a small gap at the bottom, but its just cosmetic, and i'll make a trim piece that goes around the perimeter of the panel to clean that up). The final one will either be made of sheet metal, or some sort of would painted, or covered in sheet metal. Can't wait to get this damn deck wired so i can move to the fun stuff (fiberglass sub enclosure).[/quote'] If your existing power antanna wire dosen't work, just replace the entire thing with an after market. The simple ones have three wires; power, switched, and ground. So you would need to run a 5-10 amp fused wire back to the antanna to power it, and a wire from the antanna wire in the back of your new stereo to the antanna as well. If you are installing an amp in the rear of the hatch as well, you can tap off the power wire for the amp, just don't forget to fuse it with something smaller then the 60-80 amp fuse next to your battery protecting the amp against shorts. If your power antanna it just stuck up, you can forget about wiring it and just plug in the antanna lead for signel, you won't be able to put it down for car washes and stuff, and it may get bent, but you'll get AM/FM reception. I don't know what aftermarket stereo you have, but the 'memory backup' lead that goes to the battery is where most modern stereos pull most of their power. You should ALWAYS fuse the connection within a couple inches of where you are attaining the power, in this case, the battery. This is so if the insulation of the wire were to rub off somewhere along the route to the stereo, it would simply blow the fuse, not start a fire. The fuse on the stereo only protects it, not all the wiring. Good luck with the custom fab of the dash, I'll post some pics of mine soon-ish once I get some free time. If you feel like it, take a few pics of your assembly process and I'd love to see them. It's kinda tricky as the mount is not flat and a strange shape, and kinda thick since it bears load. Happy Z-ing, get those tunes in there, I know I have trouble driving long distances without them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ghtymaxXx Posted July 20, 2006 Author Share Posted July 20, 2006 so the antenna, ground, and memory leads are somewhat covered, (still have to find this damn antenna lead). I'm still left clueless as to the power lead, and illumination lead. Its a clarion deck if that helps. (Actually, i noticed the original was clarion too. Neato) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eec564 Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 You can test to see which wire is for the power (stereo on/off, accessory wire) by using a multimeter (NOT a test light) and putting one lead to ground, and one to each wire in question. When the ignition is off, there will be zero volts, and when the ignition is in acc or run, but not start (disconnect the starter for this) you will see 12 volts on the wire. For the illumination wire, you'll have to tap into a wire used in some of the dash lighting. Find the one that goes to + when the parking lights/head lights are on, and shows no voltage (with the other lead of the meter to ground) otherwise. Just make sure your new stereo expects a + signal on the illumination wire. The antanna lead, for the signal, is big and fat, with a long tip sticking out of a long male connector and a heavily shielded wire, you can't miss it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ghtymaxXx Posted July 21, 2006 Author Share Posted July 21, 2006 The antanna lead' date=' for the signal, is big and fat, with a long tip sticking out of a long male connector and a heavily shielded wire, you can't miss it.[/quote'] that would be the radio signal wire. Its the antenna turn-on lead i'm concerned about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eec564 Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 The antanna turn-on wire is a major pain using the stock system. My solution was to run a new power wire and antanna-turn-on wire back to the antanna and use an aftermarket replacement power antanna unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ghtymaxXx Posted July 22, 2006 Author Share Posted July 22, 2006 well i just pulled the harness out of my corolla where it was previously installed, and the antenna turn on lead was not connected to anything (the corolla does not have a power antenna), so since the antenna is already stuck in the upright position, and i don't car to fix it, can i just ignore it all together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eec564 Posted July 22, 2006 Share Posted July 22, 2006 Yup, ignoring it will work fine, just don't go through any car washes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paz8 Posted July 22, 2006 Share Posted July 22, 2006 Be aware that your voice warning system will not work with an after market audio system, it's connected to the drivers side front speaker, has a wire going to the stock radio to mute it so you can hear the voice talking. This may not be an issue with you, just my input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eec564 Posted July 22, 2006 Share Posted July 22, 2006 Ahh yes, good point Paz8. I didn't think about it because mine had given up long before I got the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ghtymaxXx Posted July 23, 2006 Author Share Posted July 23, 2006 Aw damn, that voice is a chick magnet. However, the stereo is out, and the voice still comes on. Since i'm gonna be using all new speakers anyways, all wired straight to the deck, will it still work? Since I won't be touching the factory speaker wiring more than i already have. I've got my ground and battery wire set up, now i need to get this accessory wire taken car of. I tapped into a wire going to the foglight switch that had already spliced into a wire comming out ot the column. The deck wouldn't turn on, however the disk eject did work. what if i disconnected the main connector comming out of the culumn, and grounded the negative side of the voltmeter, and touched the pins in the connector? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eec564 Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 Don't bother tearing appart the collum, just check the various pins in the old stereo harness against ground, it's there somewhere. If you replace all the wires for the other three speakers and use the stock wires for the driver's side rear speaker, you can keep bitc*ing betty working. Why were you using any wires connected to the fog lights at all? Asside from the new wires you run, you should only need to tap in to wires in the stock radio harness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paz8 Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 Ok, my stock stereo pod is out of the car while I do my interior, I'm here looking at now. Illumination- Two pin connector red/blue and black/red, should light up your new stuff at night and still work with the light dimmer. The six pin connector Green/yellow comes from the fuse block 10A fuse marked R on with ign key. The same connector a blue wire comes from the fuse block and is hot at all times. You need to check with some type of tester to make sure, mine stuff is from an 83' ZX, don't know if they are the same. Why don't you buy a light socket and bulb at an auto supply place and attach longer wires to it and use it as a voltage tester. Get a good chassis ground on the shell part and touch the other end to the wire your working on. You need to check with the ign. key in on position or acc. position. Hope this helps some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ghtymaxXx Posted July 24, 2006 Author Share Posted July 24, 2006 Ok' date=' my stock stereo pod is out of the car while I do my interior, I'm here looking at now. Illumination- Two pin connector red/blue and black/red, should light up your new stuff at night and still work with the light dimmer.The six pin connector Green/yellow comes from the fuse block 10A fuse marked R on with ign key. The same connector a blue wire comes from the fuse block and is hot at all times. You need to check with some type of tester to make sure, mine stuff is from an 83' ZX, don't know if they are the same. Why don't you buy a light socket and bulb at an auto supply place and attach longer wires to it and use it as a voltage tester. Get a good chassis ground on the shell part and touch the other end to the wire your working on. You need to check with the ign. key in on position or acc. position. Hope this helps some.[/quote'] yeah, but my unanswered question is do you have to cut or expost a wire to test it, or could you simple unplug a connector and test the pins? As for the foglight, it turns on when the key is in the on position, so i figured thatmight be an easier way of doing things. Didn't end up working, although there has to be a short somwhere in that circute, as they blow a fuse insantaneously when you turn them on. Even with a 25amp instead of a 15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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