Radio wiring

[rmcdonnell]

Hi Folks,

I have a 1989 944 2.7L NA, and the PO removed the radio the messy way by chopping off leads left right and centre. Looking at what I have left in there, in daylight, I can see an aerial, with the black wire attached that I think powers the windscreen aerial amplifier, a red wire I hope to find +12V on, possibly all the time, or maybe just with ignition on.

A green wire is looped back and still connected within the loom.
Various other colours, all chopped off, that I'm hoping will prove to be speaker leads.
Somewhere I expect I can find a large brown lead that has 0V on it, but it's not obvious where this is.


Anyway, does anyone know which colours are likely to go to which speakers?
Or can anyone point me at a diagram?
The car is european, RHD. I saw something I could hardly read that mentioned an equalizer, but unless that's hiding away somewhere else entirely, I don't think I have one of those either. Many thanks for any info.

cheers
Russell

[88BlueTSiQuest]

Originally Posted by rmcdonnell

Hi Folks,

I have a 1989 944 2.7L NA, and the PO removed the radio the messy way by chopping off leads left right and centre. Looking at what I have left in there, in daylight, I can see an aerial, with the black wire attached that I think powers the windscreen aerial amplifier, a red wire I hope to find +12V on, possibly all the time, or maybe just with ignition on.

A green wire is looped back and still connected within the loom.
Various other colours, all chopped off, that I'm hoping will prove to be speaker leads.
Somewhere I expect I can find a large brown lead that has 0V on it, but it's not obvious where this is.


Anyway, does anyone know which colours are likely to go to which speakers?
Or can anyone point me at a diagram?
The car is european, RHD. I saw something I could hardly read that mentioned an equalizer, but unless that's hiding away somewhere else entirely, I don't think I have one of those either. Many thanks for any info.

cheers
Russell

You should know if you have an EQ, it would be there under the factory radio.

Do a search on this, I seem to remember a similar thread with wire colors popping up a few months back.

[rmcdonnell]

Anyone know if the 89 944 uses similar wire colours to earlier models.
The attached pic (can't tell if it uploaded properly until I send this) is the mess in mine..!

I found this info from earlier posts, but is was for an 83 model.
The tech faq is for 83 models


Left front - white
right front - black
left rear - yellow
right rear - red

Typically there is a six pin connector:

Brown - Common color in Europe for ground
Large Red - 12V
Small whitish wire operates the antenna
A large red wire sharing a large white connector - 12V ignition

[rmcdonnell]

try again for the photo
cheers
R.

[Todd157k]

[88BlueTSiQuest]

Originally Posted by rmcdonnell

Anyone know if the 89 944 uses similar wire colours to earlier models.
The attached pic (can't tell if it uploaded properly until I send this) is the mess in mine..!

Manufacturers don't change wire colors often, so it should be pretty close.

Use the battery trick for checking speakers.

Get you a double A or triple A battery, and take the 2 speaker wires in question, hold one bare end of the wire to the bottom of the battery and tap the other bare end to the top of the battery, this will give you a 'pop' sound. Do it a few times to verify the location the pop is coming from.

[rmcdonnell]

Hi,

Left front - white
right front - black
left rear - yellow
right rear - red

Ok this makes sense. It's a separate loom with 8 wires.
Each colour also has a brown stripe variant which should be the -ve return for that speaker.
So I can confirm on later 944's (mines an 89) the wire colours are the same as earlier versions.

I also found

red was +12V always on.
blue/white was ignition +12V
brown was system 0V

black attached to aerial is antenna power I think.

Anyway, I've wired it in, and it's working.
FM reception isn't very good, but I don't know yet whether
a) I'm wrong about the antenna amplifier
b) or I haven't tuned the unit in properly yet

I've got a spare orange wire connection from the radio marked lamp, helpfully marked in the instructions as lamp connection.

Any ideas where I should connect this?!
The unit lights up when on anyway...!

cheers
Russell

[88BlueTSiQuest]

Originally Posted by rmcdonnell

Any ideas where I should connect this?!
The unit lights up when on anyway...!

cheers
Russell

That wire is merely for dimming the radio display when the car's parking lights are switched on. I wouldn't worry about it unless it really bugs you. If that's the case, tap it into the ashtray light's hot wire. I can't remember actually finding an illumination wire for the factory stereo(Blau radio may not of had one from the factory).