88 sportswagon new radio/cd player dilemma

gavin123 · Post by **gavin123** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 2:33 pm

Help,

I've been in the process of setting up a new radio/cd player in my old sportswagon 1988 5 door.

We've taken the old cassette and radio out and are trying to use the old wiring harness. We are having trouble finding a constant power to the area. we have been using a test light but could only find the ignition power.

What steps do i need to take to get a constant power cable to the radio?

Can we wire it from the fuse box, or maybe disconnect the cigar lighter? But we found that to not have any power either? same with the glove box light. could we have a bigger problem.

Has anyone done a mod like this before on their old 88 sportswagon.

anything will help.

Post by **Alex** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 2:39 pm

of course its been done before. Find a wiring diagram for the car.

Ensure you havent blown the fuse.

If all else fails its easy to run a new wire from the battery to the dash area.

you will also find you need a new facia as the hole isnt deep enough for 99.9% of aftermarket stereos.

alex

gavin123 · Post by **gavin123** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 2:57 pm

I've checked all associated fuses in the car under the steering wheel and all are ok. I think it might be easier to run a new cable from the battery, do i need to put a fuse on that.

Are there more fuses on the outside of the car?

I'm also having trouble finding a wiring diagram for the 88 sportswagon, does it fall under a different name when i'm searching around for it?

Do you know if there is a stock constant power cable running to the radio?

Post by **Alex** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 3:17 pm

there is a stock constant power cable. I cant remember what colour it is.

there are some fusible links in the engine bay, but they would cause alot more trouble than youre having if they were dead.

you can fuse the new wire if you want, although not 100% needed, most decks have a built in fuse in the main power cable anyway.

search for l-series rather than sportswagon.

there is a manual on this website somewhere

gavin123 · Post by **gavin123** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 3:21 pm

I've checked all associated fuses in the car under the steering wheel and all are ok. I think it might be easier to run a new cable from the battery, do i need to put a fuse on that.

Are there more fuses on the outside of the car?

I'm also having trouble finding a wiring diagram for the 88 sportswagon, does it fall under a different name when i'm searching around for it?

Do you know if there is a stock constant power cable running to the radio?

sven '2' · Post by **sven '2'** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 11:03 am

You do know you need a facia kit as suggested?

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 11:32 am

Alex wrote:you can fuse the new wire if you want, although not 100% needed, most decks have a built in fuse in the main power cable anyway.

If you're running a new wire from the battery I would definitely be fusing it! If it shorts out somewhere between the battery and the head unit without a fuse you could have a fire to deal with - this could occur when you're not with the vehicle which, depending on how you look at it, could be a good thing.

I remember on my first install I soldered in another wire to a permanent power wire in the fuse box after the fuse. Very fiddly but with some time and patience not hard to do. Accessories I think I took from the cig lighter - its pretty much just a reference.

I'm trying to dig up a pic of my spacer - also known as a block of wood... It's "temporary" and has been for the last 5 and a bit years!

I wouldn't really be using the factory radio loom for anything other than finding power etc - the speaker wiring I'm pretty sure uses a common earth wire for the left and right speakers = no good with new head unit and speakers for the best normal performance (before you start tweaking things with coils and amps etc).

Ok, not the greatest pic, but you get the idea:

^ Ignore the dash being removed, I was tracing wires for another upgrade

Cheers

Bennie

Post by **Alex** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 2:39 pm

yes but its an inline fuse built into the main power cable for the deck. They all have them.

alex

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 5:12 pm

Not all L series had constant power for the tape player.

I got constant power to mine by joining into the constant power supply for the clock.

Grab a multimeter before you go any further, they can be bought for as little as $10 in places like Super cheap auto, Repco etc. Sometimes you will even find them in 2 dollar shops like Crazy clarks or the Reject shop.

Now set it to the 20Vdc setting.

Attach the black probe to the metal frame behind the radio, a peg or a bulldog clip will help hold it against the metal.

Now use the red probe to test every wire.

At a guess the Accessories will be blue/yellow or blue/red, Constant will be white and Ground will black. If your CD player has auto dimming, you can use the Red illumination wire for this.

These colours are a guess and it was common for the colours to change from year to year.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 5:20 pm

Alex wrote:yes but its an inline fuse built into the main power cable for the deck. They all have them.

Yes I agree - BUT IF you're running a new permanent (or accessories) power wire it is always best practise to place a fuse at the battery end to avoid the possibility of a short occurring BEFORE the head unit's inline fuse.

Something like this:

Headunit---built in fuse-----------------------------------------------battery
................................^anywhere in here a fire can occur ^

If you have this setup:

Headunit---built in fuse----------------------------------------fuse---battery
................................................................................... ^ a fire causing short can only occur in here. If there's a short between the fuse at the battery and the fuse at the headunit the battery fuse will blow thus not allowing power to the short in the wiring = protection from a fire.

I'm not trying to cause an argument alex, simply trying to explain it as best I can. Little white ute, Suparoo or Subarino would most likely agree with what I have said above. Its common sense to put a fuse in line with any new wiring that comes from the positive terminal of the battery!

Then again, it seems that common sense is dead in general

If you don't run a fuse at the battery for the new permanent power wire it's at your own risk!

Cheers

Bennie

gavin123 · Post by **gavin123** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 8:01 pm

Do you recommend me wring a new constant power cable from the battery, or splicing a wire after the fuse box.

We had such a hard time finding the constant power, we could only find it in the under dash fuse box. I was thinking of splicing it and sending it to the deck.

I've also acquired the wiring diagrams for the stock clarion deck and the speakers if anyone needs them.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 10:56 am

You can do either - which ever you're happy to do. Just that if you're running a wire from the battery you must fuse it to be safe - and where it passes through the firewall make sure there's a rubber grommet protecting the wire from the metal edge.

I think I too took my permanent power from the clock as well as the headlight's trace wire for the illumination feature. Just gently pull out your clock, pull the plug up and probe each wire until you find the permanent power, then you can do the same with the light's trace wire, just make sure its the lights and not the accessories wire

Also if your clock doesn't work it would be a good time to pop the back off it and re-solder the larger joints in there - that's all they need to work again

Cheers

Bennie

tony · Post by **tony** » Sat Jun 18, 2011 12:03 am

I find the quickest and cheapest and easiest way to check for live wires is a probe you can buy them for about $4 at your local big w or parts place no scales to read if it lights up you have power if not you don't.
it doesn't give resistance or amps or volts but will only work on 12v anyway.
I usually sharpen the end to a point so it penetrates cables easily.