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06-30-2006, 10:52 PM
#1
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Switch question
ok, i'm a new owner of a 1984 944 na. i'll post a greeting post later, lol, have some things i need to fix. first, does anyone know where i can get a wiring diagram for the car for the radio. i've searched and found nothing. some people say they have found one but no one had posted a link to it or a picture of it sadly. so i have a kenwood deck that ejects cd's and has a blinking security light and won't come on. i'm thinkin the installed of the radio didn't quiet have as firm a grasp on wiring as i had in my old car (1993 mazda protege). the only thing that will make my 944 more fun to drive; well it's a ton of fun now, but music is nice. thanks in advance.
K
K
06-30-2006, 11:55 PM
#2
Burning Brakes
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Livonia, Michigan
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On the '84, Porsche used a 2-channel radio with a seperate fader in the console (a little dial just to the right of the gearshift)
If you still have the fader installed, and it's still hooked up, then chances are that whoever installed the Kenwood just swapped out the deck. If the fader is not hooked up, then the wires have already been bastardized, so you'll need to dig around a bit.
Here's what I'd suggest. The wiring is pretty straight forward. Pull the old radio. Most aftermarket radios will have a wiring diagram on a sticker, so you should be able to trace what wire from the car connects to wires on the radio. Some of the key wires you'll need to identify are:
constant battery power: this will likely be a rather small solid red or mostly red wire from the car. It may even tap into the clock, as that's the most convenient source of unswitched power.
Switched power: If I recall correctly, this will be a heavy guage (2 mm or so) red wire.
Antenna signal: usually a yellow wire comming out of the radio. I think this was a white wire in the car harness, but I'm not 100%.
The speaker wires should be obvious - a pair of wires for right and left sides. I think they were both the same - a brown/grey stripe and a solid brown. If you only see 2 pair comming out of the radio, then they'll be leading into the fader. If you see more than 4, then the fader has been bypassed.
If I recall, there was enough slack in the fader to run those wires up directly ot the back of the radio.
One thing to remember on these cars: brown is always ground. Black is never a ground. Red or red with a stripe is usually power or switched power. grey or green wires are something else, part of a logic or sensor circuit.
If the fader has already been removed or bypassed, then you need to identify the individual speaker wires. A single AA battery works great for this - touch a set of speaker leads to the top/bottom and you should hear a pop out of the speaker. In most radios, the speaker grounds are common, meaning that they all hook up together. Once you identify the speaker signal leads, you should be able to hook up a new stereo.
For what it's worth, I have an Alpine cd unit that does about 25 watts/4 channels running 4x6's in the original locations. Alpine 406 in the door (they fit pretty well); some Pioneer 4x6 in the back where there is a little more depth, and a 6" Bazooka tube sub with it's own amp. The factory fader is bypassed, and the Alpine head unit has a sub out with slectable cutoff frequencies. This lets me send everything below a set fequency just to the sub. I'm pretty happy with that setup.
If you still have the fader installed, and it's still hooked up, then chances are that whoever installed the Kenwood just swapped out the deck. If the fader is not hooked up, then the wires have already been bastardized, so you'll need to dig around a bit.
Here's what I'd suggest. The wiring is pretty straight forward. Pull the old radio. Most aftermarket radios will have a wiring diagram on a sticker, so you should be able to trace what wire from the car connects to wires on the radio. Some of the key wires you'll need to identify are:
constant battery power: this will likely be a rather small solid red or mostly red wire from the car. It may even tap into the clock, as that's the most convenient source of unswitched power.
Switched power: If I recall correctly, this will be a heavy guage (2 mm or so) red wire.
Antenna signal: usually a yellow wire comming out of the radio. I think this was a white wire in the car harness, but I'm not 100%.
The speaker wires should be obvious - a pair of wires for right and left sides. I think they were both the same - a brown/grey stripe and a solid brown. If you only see 2 pair comming out of the radio, then they'll be leading into the fader. If you see more than 4, then the fader has been bypassed.
If I recall, there was enough slack in the fader to run those wires up directly ot the back of the radio.
One thing to remember on these cars: brown is always ground. Black is never a ground. Red or red with a stripe is usually power or switched power. grey or green wires are something else, part of a logic or sensor circuit.
If the fader has already been removed or bypassed, then you need to identify the individual speaker wires. A single AA battery works great for this - touch a set of speaker leads to the top/bottom and you should hear a pop out of the speaker. In most radios, the speaker grounds are common, meaning that they all hook up together. Once you identify the speaker signal leads, you should be able to hook up a new stereo.
For what it's worth, I have an Alpine cd unit that does about 25 watts/4 channels running 4x6's in the original locations. Alpine 406 in the door (they fit pretty well); some Pioneer 4x6 in the back where there is a little more depth, and a 6" Bazooka tube sub with it's own amp. The factory fader is bypassed, and the Alpine head unit has a sub out with slectable cutoff frequencies. This lets me send everything below a set fequency just to the sub. I'm pretty happy with that setup.
07-01-2006, 12:33 AM
#3
Intermediate
Thread Starter
thanks so much, the colors were the main thing i needed. i used to actually install car audio and video at one point so the speaker stuff is easy for me i just didn't know which colors from the car were what and what might possibly be a switch. but what you've told me has helped phenominally.
K
K
07-04-2006, 03:00 PM
#4
Intermediate
Thread Starter
cool, thanks again for the help. i ended up using what i call a "cheater wire" by running it from the cold side of the fan fuse (which is only on when ignition is on) until i have more time to find a wire in the dash.