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1984 radio install into 1981 GL Sedan wiring help needed please


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Hello,

I have been trying to install a stock radio with the 5 pin accessory jack for AUX in from a 1984 wagon(maybe?) into my 1981 sedan and am having trouble figuring out what wires go where on the radio side and car side.

I think I have the following figured out between using the FSM and the search function and a little trial and error:

Stock 1981 Radio (verified working)
Only has 6 pins all in the same connector
L - Switched 12V
B - Ground
Y - Speaker positive
W - Speaker negative
RL - Illumination
RG - Dimmer

Stock 1984 Radio (verified working)

Has 2 6 pin connectors, but only 5 pins in one and 4 pins in the other
Plug 1 (4 pins) 
B - Ground 
RG - Dimmer
RL - Illumination 
L - Switched 12V 

 

Plug 2 (5 pins)

Gray - Left side positive speaker, assuming back 

B - Common Ground

Y - Right side positive speaker, assuming front

YB - Left side positive speaker, assuming front

YR - Right side positive speaker, assuming back


Car side plugs
Plug 1 (6 pins)
Y & YB - Speaker positive (right side) 
RG - Dimmer 
B - Ground
L - Switched 12V 
RL - Illumination 
W - Common Ground

 

Plug 2 (5 pins)

YR - Left front speaker positive

Y - Right front speaker positive

W - Common Ground

YB - Right rear speaker positive

W - Left rear speaker positive

Know one W from Plug 2 has continuity with the W on Plug 1, and would seem reasonable that the Y and YB from Plug 2 would have continuity with each other and the Y & YB from Plug 1 (Verified continuity between the Y and YB wires)

Dash Speakers
Drivers side 
W - Negative
YR- Positive

 

Passenger side (behind vent)

Y - Positive

W & L - Negative, guessing the L wire goes to the right rear speaker negative side, but haven't found the plug yet.

 

I have considered running new wires, but since I am running a stock 1984 radio I would not see any benefit that I know of because I would still be using a common ground.

My car came stock with only the passenger speaker, but has the wiring for the drivers dash speaker. If the wiring at the radio connectors is any indication I am guessing I will have rear speaker wiring too.

According to the 1981 FSM I only have one speaker, which would be the passenger dash speaker with the Y and W wires and have not found any other documentation on the radio wiring.

Sorry for the long post, but wanted to make sure I gave as detailed an explanation as possible.

I have been researching this for a couple days now, so hopefully one of you will be able to shed some light (or sound) on the subject.

The one speaker I currently have has been verified to work with the original 1981 radio and the 1984 radio.

Dave

Edited by lonbhold75
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So think I figured this out and verified that the 1984 radio does indeed work.

 

I updated my original post with my new findings.

 

Ended up taking the speaker and hooking it up to the wires from the 1984 radio assuming black was the ground and then adjusting the balance and fade to determine which location the speaker wires were designated for. The fade did not seem to make a difference, if the radio even has fade, which is why I could not determine which was front and which was rear coming from the radio.

 

For the car side, I used my meter and what I could visually see to determine wire functions based on the front wiring since I have not located the rear plugs yet.

 

If anyone notices any errors in my findings please let me know so I can update it accurately.

 

Hopefully this will be of assistance if anyone else decides to tackle this installation, but figure most would want to upgrade.

 

I like the stock look and the fact that I can still have an auxiliary input is the only reason I decided to try this.

 

Dave

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