cbpldc

I am getting a 72 Cadillac Sedan Deville that has been in the family since 1974 (great-grandfather's car). I want to keep the original Am radio in the dash, but want to replace the speakers, and have a CD player mounted in the glove box. I also want to keep the stock radio operational as well. How would I wire it up so that I can have 2 radios running out of the same speakers? I will also be performing this function in a Ford Aerostar van as well, so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Chris

FAST RS

All i can say is splice into the wires if u want to use the OLD deck...

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

The easy way is to just to send 2 sets of wires to the speakers, but you could cause big problems if both radios wind up on at once. Another way is to wire some 3 position switches in. The best way is to use a couple relays and the power antenna leads from the two radios. This will allow it to all work automatically, but requires a working knowledge of relays.

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The IROC Homepage
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View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
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Tigger84TA89BIRD

DO NOT DO THAT...splicing i mean, you would be running the output from one source into the back of the other... kills them both.
the only way you could do it would be a speaker selector switch. this swith needs to be isolated so deck one would be playing through the speakers and with selection of deck 2 it would play through the speakers AND isolate deck one.. not an easy answer if you sit down and think about it. my suggestion would be to run dask speakers off AM radio and rund 4 other speakers i.e. kick panels and rears from 2nd deck.
any other questions, email.
BTW, I am the manager at a car audio specialty store...
mike

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GO TEAM CAR TOYS!!!!

[This message has been edited by Tigger84TA89BIRD (edited May 21, 2001).]

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

Relays would work perfectly well and would be 100% hands-free after the initial installation.

Wiring them both to speakers shouldn't cause a problem unless both units were powered. With one unit turned off, it would essentially present an infinite impedance to the other power source therefore absorbing zero current. The problem would be when it was turned on and the other unit overpowered it. It could then sink current through the base of the output transistor which could prove deadly.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

cbpldc

I wish I knew anything about relays. That sounds like the best way to do it. Unfortunately, this car does not have kick panels and I don't want to put them in because it would take away from the original look of the car. I could just wire them up so that the power for them is on a 3 way switch, so that one couldn't possibly be on while the other head unit is on, and then wire up the speakers to both units.

Thank you gentlemen.

Chris

Belker

My advice would be to get a CD headunit that also has input capability. Then use the output of the AM radio as an input to the CD HU. The speakers (or any amps) would be connected to the CD HU and you'd always have the internal CD HU amps to power the speakers. You'll probably need to use a LOC (line-output-connector) to convert the AM radio output to a low level input. The only disadvantage I see is that you'd have to have the CD HU turned on when you wanted to listen to the stock AM radio.

Also, especially if you mount the CD HU in an akward location, you should consider getting a HU with a remote. This would make life both easier and safer.

Another idea, if you just want to keep the stock look of the factory am fadio, you could send it away and have the internals converted to a modern am/fm design and then get a CD changer to listen to CDs.

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

Good idea Belker.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

cbpldc

hmmm...good call Belker. Do you know of any Eclipse Head unit's with an external input?

I would like the units to operate independantly of each other though. Anyone know anything about relays?

Thanks,

Chris

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

The easiest way to use the relay system is to run the remote lead from the aftermarket head unit to the "turn on" pin for the relay, which is pin 85. Ground is pin 86. Run the positive speaker lead from the aftermarket head unit to pin 87. Run the postitive speaker lead from the stock head unit to pin 87a. Run a wire from pin 30 to the positive terminal on your speaker.

What this will do is act transparent when you're only using the stock radio. As soon as you turn on the aftermarket radio, the relays will switch and the signal from the aftermarket radio will go to the speakers and the stock radio will be blocked.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

cbpldc

Okay, so the pins that you just described (ie pin 86) are the same on all relays? Or is this in the stock wiring system? Thank you for your help, this will be fantastic.

Chris

Chris Luongo

That's not just an AM radio....it's an AM/FM stereo radio with four speakers, right? At least that's what my '68 Fleetwood Brougham came with.

The best way is to do exactly what Jim said.

On the other hand, if your factory radio really is AM only...it puts out mono sound anyway. And you don't really need high-quality speakers for AM.

You could run your aftermarket Cd deck to the four speakers as normal, and just get a very small speaker, like the ones for cell-phone speakerphones. Strap it up under the middle of the dash, and wire the AM radio to that.

Remember that in either case, you're going to need a Y-splitter for your antenna cable, or install a second antenna.

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

These pin numbers are standard on the every-day Bosch style relay that is used in countless automotive applications. This is the type of relay that comes with aftermarket fog lights and that sort of stuff.



------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

cbpldc

Chris,
Kind of weird, huh? It has every other option except for the Am/FM. Good idea BTW, for radio and speaker placement. I will also apply the relay idea as well. Thanks for your help folks. I will try to get some pictures up when I get everything going.

Thanks!

Chris

87kevroc

If I were doing it, I would not try to run both radios to the same set of speakers. Since AM is not optimum for music anyway, I'd install a single speaker up front somewhere under the dash for it. Then I'd upgrade the speakers in the stock locations and plug those in the CD head unit. You get the stock look and both are operational, which I think is what you really want.