Removing fader contol 86 Cab-installing cdr-220

49willard · 06-09-2019, 09:25 AM

I am in the process of installing a Becker cdr-220 from a later Porsche in my 86 Cab. The original Blaupunkt is long gone. I have the original fader control in the center console which I want/need to bypass so that I can connect the 4 speaker, 8 wires, directly to the Becker cdr-220. Using the Bentley 911 book section 680 is of marginal help. I have seen other threads talk about a connector for the speakers on the passengers side of the floor adjacent to the center console. I cannot feel a connector- presumably 8 pin nor can I seem to open up the console to gain access to the backside of the original fader switch. I would really appreciate suggestions on the existence of a connector or not on an 86 and how to get to the backside of the fader switch?

darrin · 06-09-2019, 09:33 AM

you might want to simply run new speaker wires directly to the speakers and bypass the fader altogether -- also, I personally find that the rear speakers don't really add anything to my aural enjoyment -- and actually detract from the imaging the front speakers provide -- food for thought

49willard · 06-09-2019, 01:50 PM

Darrin,
You may be correct. With the exception of adding a few critical fuses and now the radio my Cab is stone stock and I plan to keep it so. I could leave all the original speaker wires determ'ed but in place and run parallel speaker wires such that a future owner could readily go back to the original radio. I will need to check out the original wiring routes in the car.

Quasimoto · 06-09-2019, 02:04 PM

Not sure how your 86 is wired, but I just removed the center console fader on my 84. There was a flat connector under the carpet in the tunnel under the console.

All 4 speaker wires converged there with enough length to make a good clean splice behind the passenger footboard.

49willard · 06-11-2019, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quasimoto

Not sure how your 86 is wired, but I just removed the center console fader on my 84. There was a flat connector under the carpet in the tunnel under the console.

All 4 speaker wires converged there with enough length to make a good clean splice behind the passenger footboard.

Do you recall if the flat connector that you found was a 6 wire connector? With difficulty I located it but efforts to "ring it out" did not give me confidence that I had it. There was also two 2 wire connectors. Unfortunately my back does not want me working in the position required to spend the time needed to investigate and splice

86 911 Targa · 06-11-2019, 01:28 PM

I just ran the speaker wires directly to the radio/speaker outputs.

Gerry

Quasimoto · 06-11-2019, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 49willard

Do you recall if the flat connector that you found was a 6 wire connector? With difficulty I located it but efforts to "ring it out" did not give me confidence that I had it. There was also two 2 wire connectors. Unfortunately my back does not want me working in the position required to spend the time needed to investigate and splice

It's a 6-pin connector...4 positives to each speaker, but the grounds are combined, front pair and rear pair.

Looks like this...

49willard · 06:02 PM

Many thanks, that is it! I had noted that 2 of the 6 wires looked a bit larger, presumably the combined ground wires.

49willard · 06-15-2019, 03:44 AM

I would like to find/buy one of the 6 pin flat connectors posted in the picture above by Quasimoto to make up a plug in harness rather than doing the splices. Does anyone have one or have access to the Porsche fich to get a part #? I tried several dismantling yards and suppliers without success.

Quasimoto · 04:00 AM

6 pins isn’t enough to install a modern head unit as they do not like the grounds to be bonded. You’ll need 8 pins.

I considered doing a Deutsch connector on my install. (probably not audiophile, but certainly better than the original molex thing) On my setup there is already a connector at the back of the unit, so another connector would have been superfluous, and I decided against it.

You can find Deutsch easily on amazon et al, in either a solder pigtail or bare connector kit.

There may be another more appropriate audio grade multi-pin connector out there of course...

Quasimoto · 06-15-2019, 04:01 AM

And yes...my aging back did not like all the gymnastics required to do this either...Hahhaha!

49willard · 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quasimoto

6 pins isn’t enough to install a modern head unit as they do not like the grounds to be bonded. You’ll need 8 pins.

I considered doing a Deutsch connector on my install. (probably not audiophile, but certainly better than the original molex thing) On my setup there is already a connector at the back of the unit, so another connector would have been superfluous, and I decided against it.

You can find Deutsch easily on amazon et al, in either a solder pigtail or bare connector kit.

There may be another more appropriate audio grade multi-pin connector out there of course...

Thanks for responding and for the heads up! Do you have any idea where the speaker grounds are tied together? Is there a single spot where you can get to an eight wire location? I was trying to avoid a total rewire of the speaker system, for example adding wires into the door speakers. I also have a plug with pigtails for the Becker CDR-220.
As an aside, I got to my back working the area and am on the mend.

Quasimoto · 06-15-2019, 06:50 AM

My grounds were spliced together behind the footboard in the factory harness. All 4 pairs converge there. This is where I made my splice as well, as all tucks behind the footboard.

49willard · 06-15-2019, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quasimoto

My grounds were spliced together behind the footboard in the factory harness. All 4 pairs converge there. This is where I made my splice as well, as all tucks behind the footboard.

Thanks for the response. I was reluctant to strip away the original covering behind the footboard but that is what I will do-once my back improves!

Quasimoto · 06-15-2019, 10:20 AM

Hate posting pics like this because they always come across looking tatty, but here's where I made my splice. There are two pairs coming down from above, and two from below. The splice Y's them together up to the head unit. The wires could be put back to stock if someone chose to.

Quasimoto · 06-15-2019, 10:27 AM

You may have seen it, but here's my install... https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/1024926-yet-another-conti-radio-install-thanks.html

49willard · 06-16-2019, 05:12 AM

Very nicely done, a good clean splicing job!

Wayne S. · 05-05-2020, 03:31 PM

I am in the process of installing the new/retro Blaupunkt Bremen 46. I am totally confused by speaker grounds. I located the 6 pin connector under the center console. It has 6 brown wires. 4 are speaker leads, but how do I chase down the grounds? There are a bunch of other brown wires in wire harness. How do I sort out the ground wires?