Radio Wiring - Probably an Obvious Answer

I'm looking to restore the original wiring to my factory radio (well, using the existing connectors on the back of the radio).

I've run new wire to the doors and have the speakers installed.  I am looking to find new pins to crimp or solder to my speaker wires and insert those pins into the stock connector (the wires were removed from the connector, argh!)


My question is this - for the negative wire coming from each speaker, I need to splice them together to put them into the new pin and into the stock connector, correct?  I imagine it would be best to splice them together a few inches before the connector, and have the piece of wire "post-splice" go onto the new pin and into the connector, correct?

I just want to make sure there isn't a way of doing this I'm not thinking of.



I have 16 gauge wire running to the doors now, is anyone aware of what pins I should use?  My radio is off getting repaired so I don't have it in front of me, but I'd like to have what I need by the time it arrives.

Thanks!

You are right on all counts: You need to merge the two blacks together and then get them wired to the one pin.  But the easiest way is to either put, for instance, the left onto the right a few inches out and then put the right into the pin, or in some other way make the two become one.

However, if you are soldering and are good at it you might be able to put the two together and solder them in one go into the pin.  But that is tedious and even then could cause stress on the connector, so it is probably better to do it upstream a few inches.

Gotcha, thanks Gary!

You have an original radio?  Must see a pic!

I'll post a pic when I get it back, I have the guts being swapped out with modern electronics.  The tape deck will still work, and it will work and look like the original radio but also have Bluetooth audio and hands free calling as well as USB charging. (https://sierraclassiccaraudio.com/)

It's not cheap to get it converted, but audio is one of those things I'm picky about so I'm willing to pay more.  I really want to keep the original look and be able to play cassettes for nostalgia, so I feel this is a pretty good compromise!

ckuske wrote

I have the guts being swapped out with modern electronics (https://sierraclassiccaraudio.com/)

I went that way for Big Brother's radio.
Bluetooth, hands free phone, nice sound, even sub woofer possibility.
Not cheap, but I am fully satisfied.

Very nice!  That's the same radio I have, but with a cassette deck as well.

It was fun (and humbling) explaining to my 13 and 16 year olds how a cassette worked...

Would using a Wago connector be another way of doing it?

Here is the picture, I didn't forget!

The radio came back, and it is nice.   Very easy to set up and good sound.  I wired everything up in 30 minutes.

I now have Bluetooth with Hands Free, AM/FM work as before, and charging for my cell phone.  The tape deck still works as well, but that's more for the novelty at this point.  One tape I have works fairly well, the other gets kicked out by the radio if you try to rewind it...

BigBrother-84 wrote

I went that way for Big Brother's radio.
Bluetooth, hands free phone, nice sound, even sub woofer possibility.
Not cheap, but I am fully satisfied.

Same here!

ckuske wrote

I now have Bluetooth with Hands Free, AM/FM work as before, and charging for my cell phone.  The tape deck still works as well, but that's more for the novelty at this point.

For the tape, when the cassette gets stiffer, the deck thinks it arrived at the end and forces the ejection.
I remember couple of times in the "old days" when I switched good music tape in new blank cassette (throwing away the blank new tape), to fix a "force-eject" issue.

Hey, this was before the doubling tape machines were available...