Hi All,
I want to know how I can tell if this Delco radio I installed needs a Bose amp for it.
The radio I have, has an AM stereo button, CO switch, 4 presets (that set 7 stations), 5 equalizer levers, Cassette and the front only says Delco.
It has a ribbon connector on the back.
It is a 1992 model.
It fits perfect in the 1985 Radio space.
What do I have?
Do I need a Bose amp to make it sound right?
May I have an intelligent answer with you guys?

Atleast I was offered the schematic on how the wires in the back are labeled.

 

You might have the "Performance Bass System"

or Bose, if so you need the speakers hat go wit the system, or run an amp of your own. and power them that way.

The problem also is, the 89 and up, wire harness is different than the 88- below.

That is probably your problem now that I think about it.
If so, you would need to re-wire it...

Yuck

 

Aloha, KJ
Thanks
I've heard this mentioned.
Any idea which car line this "box radio" fit in?
I do not dread rewiring, at all.
Now that I was supplied with a schematic, it's acceptable.
Just that I already soldered and oh well.

Wish I could offer this part number to a GM dealer and find out what they say. May be my last resort.
I paid $25 for this radio, haven't gone wrong yet.

I hope this job is easier than when I install the gauge package I've got for my car.
I have to rewire/alter the dash harness, also.

 

well to find what car in came from ask the person you bought it from if you still know them, or hit the dreaded "Options List" for the sterio. But the Sterio should have the speaker wireing layout on it.(Most delcos do) and you simply wire the amp in from that. The trouble being that you then have to connect the twin wire things to a RCA connector for the sterio inputs to the amp. The "shack" Should have something for this(radio shack). What i did for the remote wires on mine was use the power attenea lead from the sterio.
It looks like a hornets nest of wires under my center console as I have the head unit plugged into a 9 band EQ, the front outputs going to the front speakers(2 4x6 2way bostons), the rear and sub outs to the rear mounted cross over, the outs of the cross over to the input of amp, then the amp outs to the speakers(2 rear alp 3 way 6x9 and 2 12" RF's)

 

Who can provide me with the "options" list from the 1992 F Bodies for radios?

Thanks, CHD, I did get this radio at a swap meet.
In this radios' instance, there is not a wiring diagram on the radio.
I went to the audio section and someone offered it.
Funny, NO power leads to an external amp.
Just the power antenna.
I'm crossing my fingers I just have the speaker wires screwed (actually soldered) wrong

 

OK well the Radio WILL NOT POWER THE AMP. You whook the remote "on" wire from the amp to the power antena wire from the radio. This will turn the amp on. If you have no clue whice wire it is heres a hint. On the factory sterio systems 2 same colors will be a speaker out. One will have a stripe. This designates which wire is +/-. You will have a red(Power) a black(ground) and another color that is different. THATS the power remote wire. so in all there should be 11 wires. 4 sets of 2=8 power=9 ground=10 and the remote =11.

The AMP is powered separetely from the battery. You need an install kit. about 20 bucks everywhere. Hope this helps.

Oh a way you can find which speaker wires go where, hook 1 speaker up with loose wires(hold them on the speaker leads) Cycle the sterio through the fade and ballance to see which one that set of wires is. Just go through all the sets and mark them appropriately. Easy to do takes maybe 10 min. Have fun.

 

HI CHD,
Actually, I did that, search out wires, mark etc.
BUT, I kept coming up wrong.
Luckily i hvave a schematic, now. That schematic makes no mention on the amp, so I'm assuming this is not head unit, but,....
Just gotta go back and rewire.
I tried install kits. Only for aftermarket radios.
Not a factory radio to a factory radio harness.

 

Ok AMP POWER KITS are universal. Your thinking of head unit wire kits. To wire an amp you run the 4 guage power wire from battery to the amp. You then run the 4 guage ground. You then take your remote power wire from the "remote" screw/plug of the amp and hook it up to the power attena ect wire of the head unit.

Are you talking about hooking up an amp like a sony, Rock, alpine ect aftermarket or what?.... Instructions above fits that type install.

Like I said before the RCA plug splices (For the input to the amp)are gonna be fun to do(NOT!)

 

If I do not have RCA plugs on the back, I have a regular radio, correct?
This radio does not have those plugs on back. I want to have the controls work correct. I do not have full sound on the correct f-r, l-r setting.
I am not into have an extranl amp.

 

If I do not have RCA plugs on the back, I have a regular radio, correct?
This radio does not have those plugs on back. I want to have the controls work correct. I do not have full sound on the correct f-r, l-r setting.
I am not into having an external amp.

 

if yo are not get full sound out of it, youwill need external amps. is the speaker volume loud or not. if not, you might have low level output ( RCA ) outs w/out the connections. these will need to be rewired to an RCA line. I belive theyare + center. use multimeter to make sure.

 

I guess somebody's never heard of a Bose system.

Karl, I don't quite remember the original harness in my girl's Camaro (all I used from the factory harness was ground, power, and memory), but I think the speakers got 3 or four wires each for a Bose powered system. I think it'd be safe to assume if you only have two wires out for each speaker, it's not the Bose powered system. The "ribbon connector" is throwing me off; I have an AC/Delco radio in my basement from my friend's old 1991 Firebird Formula, I'll check it out tonight.

Hit a junkyard for a harness; and you might even find factory harnesses in a Pep Boys.. they usually sell a ton of special harness connectors, such as the remote coil connectors, the MAF connector, oil pressure sensor connectors, etc...

 

I have a reply in the audio section, yet, I can't make a decent cut & paste to show it here.
Actually it's two block plugs, one blue & one black.
The blue one uses only 4 wires.
I think with a good response from all here, I do not have the Bose type unit.

Funny, with all the topics to choose from on the 3rd gen site, the best answers come from the V-6 section.
And the V-6 section is listed at the bottom!

What other car models, with radios like the F-bodies, come with this boxed radio design?
I know my S-10 Blazer is the same radio design.

Thanks for all the clues & such.
This week, I rewire my radio (try #4!)

 

No actually tom I HAVE heard of a Bose sytem. But when the last time you wasted your time hooking a $300 amp to a $hitty factory radio?(just to point out how $hitty the factory one was).... He has already said that its NOT the BOSE. Afterall it does say it(Bose) on the face plate right know it all?.... The factory Bose head units were ok for their time... MEARELY OK. but after 2 years they were junk, you could get a better aftermarket head unit for 150 bucks or less even that would blow the BOSE away.
Hell I had a freind GIVE me a 5 EQ Bose head unit. I never installed it. No correction I did install it(just long enough to learn that it did not compare to my Sony) and my other Sony Head Unit blew it away. BTW the Sony cost me $125.... I am looking to replace it soon with a MP3 compatable player. The CD is ok, but I have over 1300 MP3's on my comp and buring 15-22 per disk is getting old. I would rather have 150 per disk....

I have slowly but surely upgraded my sterio about with about 2 or 3 componets a year. First the Sony H/U, THEN an amp and rear speakers, then front speakers, the 1 sub, then another and finally a 9 band EQ and a crossover.

I have spent about 600 bucks on my current system and it sounds great. 2 2way Boston 4x6(75) 2 Alpine 3 way 6x9(125) Sony D-Bass H/U(120ish) Jensen 300? watt amp(115) cross over(60) 2 Rockford Fosgates at 120 for both(2 for 1 sale) The Sony 9 band EQ was 30 bucks on ebay (9 months and still works great).

 

Okay; I've seen those color plugs before. Sure there aren't three? Clear/Yellowish, Blue, & Black?

The wire colors for your '85 are as follows...

"natural plastic" color connector
+12 constant (memory) is orange
+12 switched (key on) is yellow
ground is black
power antenna wire is pink (optional)
+12 clock dim signal is brown
+12 radio dimmer is gray

"black connector"
left front + is tan
left front - is gray
right front + is light green
right front - is dark green

"blue connector" (since rear speakers were an option!)
left rear + is brown
left rear - is yellow
right rear + is dark blue
right rear - is light blue


Maybe if you can find those similar colors on the radio you have, you'll be in business!

 

Hey All,
Tom thanks for the inside colors, saves me the trip back to the rear seat to see what wire is pos/neg.
CHD, My money for sound is going to my 1967 Camaro and the effort to build it back to life.
So this radio works well for me.
I used to enjoy stereos, but that got to be a theft desired item. So I stay "Stock" for what need.
Does it suck?
As long as I keep prying theiving hands off my 1967 RS/SS Camaro Convertible, 1968 Camaro & the 1974 Corvette, I'm quite happy.

The Apple iPod can store about 1000 CD and it can transfer audio to my radio, wireless.
NOW THAT'S WORTH BUYING!!!
And I do so want XM, too!

 

Oh hell yeah; XM looks great! I'm picking up a Pioneer Premier radio, hopefully this weekend, that's XM ready. I need to dump my Pioneer tape player (with CD adapter) & Sherwood EQ combo.

The only thing I don't like about it is the stupid antenna. Talk about "high theft"!

Theif #1: "Hey bob, look at that car- it's got XM!"
Theif #2: "How can you tell?"
Theif #3: "That funny looking antenna on the roof!"

 

Karl, I just tripped over this webpage:

http://www.installdr.com/Harnesses/GM-Wiring.pdf

Does that help with the "newer" connector on that radio you bought?

 

HI Tom, I tried to access it and no luck.
My Apple didn't agree with theh program use to create it.
Is it a B & W shot with two verticle rows of wires & their meanings?

 

Yeah, except they show it as three connectors. One connector (long one) is made up of a 4-pin one next to a 6 pin one. They then show a second 4-pin connector placed above the 6-pin one, aligned with the edge of the 6-pin one. Kind of like


..........3333
1111222222

Hey, I know... lets see if I can do this in text.


"Below is as viewed from mating end of connector" - whatever that means. Do they mean harness connector or radio connector? I assume they mean harness connector. So that'd mean everything would be flipped left-to-right, I guess.

......................|.K.L.M.N.|/
/|A.B.C.D.|..|.E.F.G.H.I.J.|\

A = left front speaker (-), light gray
B = left front speaker (+), tan
C = right front speaker (-), light green
D = right front speaker (+), dark green
E = ground wire, black
F = not used
G = headlight dimmer wire, gray
H = power antenna turn-on lead, pink
I = +12volt ignition wire, yellow
J = +12volt battery wire, orange

K = right rear speaker (-), light blue
L = right rear speaker (+), dark blue
M = left rear speaker (-), yellow
N = left rear speaker (+), brown

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...1281#post52121

Yeah, Tom, you've got it correct, I believe.
I just have to get back in the radio dash. Maybe this weekend.
I found the plastic flex bumper fix kit.

 

Hah, yeah, that's the same schematic! Cool!

Side note; just picked up my new radio last night... very cool stuff. The problem is installing it in the car. I made absolutely sure that a theif would have to rip my car apart to get my old radio/eq out of the radio console- and that's not going to make things easy for me. I see the center console AND the radio console coming out... (sigh)

 

Drag part is that they'll still destroy your ride to get something.
THEFT SUCKS!!