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Wiring '98 HU into '96 harness

Hmm this is getting interesting now lol.. Looking at that image, I can tell you which wires are which, by me looking at the 97 harness I have and how it would connect.. It's like Ford wanted to make this as difficult and confusing as possible for anyone wanting to modify anything

On the top row, the 1st 2 wires are not used.. 3rd (black = amp ground), 4th (green = LF+), 5th (white/orange = LF-), 6th (ltblue/black = LR+), 7th (yellow = LR-), 8th = not used

Bottom row, the 1st 3 wires are not used lol.. 4th (white/orange = RF+), 5th (brown = RF-), 6th (purple/white = RR+), 7th (ltblue = RR-), 8th = not used
 



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Hmm this is getting interesting now lol.. Looking at that image, I can tell you which wires are which, by me looking at the 97 harness I have and how it would connect.. It's like Ford wanted to make this as difficult and confusing as possible for anyone wanting to modify anything

On the top row, the 1st 2 wires are not used.. 3rd (black = amp ground), 4th (green = LF+), 5th (white/orange = LF-), 6th (ltblue/black = LR+), 7th (yellow = LR-), 8th = not used

Bottom row, the 1st 3 wires are not used lol.. 4th (white/orange = RF+), 5th (brown = RF-), 6th (purple/white = RR+), 7th (ltblue = RR-), 8th = not used

Then the original radio was powered by the 8-pin plug for 12v constant, switched and ground, likely the amp too?

Does the '98 HU have an internal amp powering the radio, cassette & CD? What powers those? There is no "amp power" wire on the '98 pigtail I have, only an "amp ground".

If the '98 HU has no amp, then I would have to use the existing amp in the LR 1/4 area. Which means I need to provide power to the 2 + wires on the old 8-pin plug plus a ground wire? I think at this stage I'm ready for some good meds... mebbe a little Scotch to wash them down too.
 






Then the original radio was powered by the 8-pin plug for 12v constant, switched and ground, likely the amp too?

Does the '98 HU have an internal amp powering the radio, cassette & CD? What powers those? There is no "amp power" wire on the '98 pigtail I have, only an "amp ground".

If the '98 HU has no amp, then I would have to use the existing amp in the LR 1/4 area. Which means I need to provide power to the 2 + wires on the old 8-pin plug plus a ground wire? I think at this stage I'm ready for some good meds... mebbe a little Scotch to wash them down too.

I don't think we're completely on the same page here Brooksie.. Yes all the power for the original or ANY deck will come from the wires on that 8-pin plug - that 16-pin plug is ONLY for speakers.. You gotta show me where you're at again, cuz I have no idea at this point.
 






I don't think we're completely on the same page here Brooksie.. Yes all the power for the original or ANY deck will come from the wires on that 8-pin plug - that 16-pin plug is ONLY for speakers.. You gotta show me where you're at again, cuz I have no idea at this point.

Ahhhh good! Someone for commiseration - shall I pour you some of that single malt?

At this stage I am about to head outside with the speaker connections you provided... I don't know if the '98 HU has an internal amp or not - if it does then I don't need to wire anything from it back to the original 8-pin plug. Surely there must be an internal amp, otherwise why have an "amp ground" wire in the '98 pigtail? Unless of course Ford wanted to muddy the waters yet again...

Does that tell you what page I'm on... as in the same page the folks on "Lost" are inhabiting? haha

I'll go out and try those speaker lead connections and then come back inside without cursing and growling if it doesn't power up the speakers, then check this page again to see if you've joined the cast & crew as well...
 






I wanna get this solved!! haha.

Yes I believe the 98 HU has an internal amp, but that's besides the point.. Whether or not it does has no bearing on what I'm explaining.. But the thing is, you need ALL those wires that are on the 8-pin plug - those are your power, ground, and amp turn on wires.. Have you seen the deck power up yet with lights??
 






I wanna get this solved!! haha.

Yes I believe the 98 HU has an internal amp, but that's besides the point.. Whether or not it does has no bearing on what I'm explaining.. But the thing is, you need ALL those wires that are on the 8-pin plug - those are your power, ground, and amp turn on wires.. Have you seen the deck power up yet with lights??

I only cut 3 wires out of the 8-pin plug - constant 12v, switched 12v and ground. The 98 HU pigtail had 3 connections for those functions.

Without even connecting the speaker leads the display on the HU is lit up and all the switches work to select AM/FM, volume, tone, balance & fade etc.

The other wires are still attached to the 8-pin plug and there is port for it to be plugged into the 98 HU at all. I assume the remaining wires attached to the 8-pin plug went to the external 6-CD deck and/or the external amp. If there is an internal amp to the 98 HU, why do I need the external amp to be powered?

My apologies if I seem more than a little obtuse here...
 






NOW we're getting somewhere brooksie.. OK remember when we were talking about the amp turn on wire?? It's the blue wire at the end of the 8-pin plug.. That's the most important one!! I thought you had already cut that and tried connecting it..

OK I would 1st make sure ALL the speaker connections are right.. And then make sure you've grounded the black "amp ground" wire that's WITH the speaker wires.. I imagine you can connect it to the "amp ground" wire you have on the 98 harness, or you could also just connect it to your main stereo/chassis ground wires, 3 together like I was explaining before..

But again, the most important wire is that blue amp turn on wire!! Remember the 1 you said you were gonna connect to the 12v switched wires?? lol.. You can try and do it that way, connecting it to the other 2 12v switched wires (3 together again)... Like I was saying before tho, you should double check that 98 harness again to see if there's a 'Power Antenna' wire, cuz I'd use that 1st.. Have you 100% ruled out no antenna wire on the 98 harness?

EDIT: I was just looking on ebay at 98 harnesses http://tinyurl.com/ya3qko7 like you have, and I'm indeed seeing a power antenna wire listed in the description.. See if you have one on yours, cuz you're very close to finishing this...
 






NOW we're getting somewhere brooksie.. OK remember when we were talking about the amp turn on wire?? It's the blue wire at the end of the 8-pin plug.. That's the most important one!! I thought you had already cut that and tried connecting it..

OK I would 1st make sure ALL the speaker connections are right.. And then make sure you've grounded the black "amp ground" wire that's WITH the speaker wires.. I imagine you can connect it to the "amp ground" wire you have on the 98 harness, or you could also just connect it to your main stereo/chassis ground wires, 3 together like I was explaining before..

But again, the most important wire is that blue amp turn on wire!! Remember the 1 you said you were gonna connect to the 12v switched wires?? lol.. You can try and do it that way, connecting it to the other 2 12v switched wires (3 together again)... Like I was saying before tho, you should double check that 98 harness again to see if there's a 'Power Antenna' wire, cuz I'd use that 1st.. Have you 100% ruled out no antenna wire on the 98 harness?

EDIT: I was just looking on ebay at 98 harnesses http://tinyurl.com/ya3qko7 like you have, and I'm indeed seeing a power antenna wire listed in the description.. See if you have one on yours, cuz you're very close to finishing this...

OK, I followed the wiring hookup you gave me but nothing worked except the display & functions. So then I thought ok Brooks, maybe you have to use the external amp... but how? So I took a circuit tester, clamped the one end to the switched power that I had run to the 98 HU and then touched that medium blue wire contact in the 8-pin plug. Voila! I have sound but only on the left side front & rear doors. There is no sound coming from the RR door speaker and the RF door speaker is crackling like there was ignition interference.

From your description there are supposed to be 7 "not used" wires coming from the harness. I have 7 of those but are they the CORRECT 7 wires?

Do I need to apply power to the other 2 hot wires I cut off the 8-pin plug (a G/Bl and a Y/Bk) and ground the wire from that plug?

I have the "amp ground" of the 98 pigtail tied into the ground wire I had cut from the 8-pin plug. Should I tie the black ground in the speaker bundle to the ground in the 8-pin so all those wires are grounded?

There is definitely NO power antenna wire in the 98 pigtail. The only 2 wires in that pigtail that I have not connected to anything are the "ground dimmer" and the "illumination +". There are two wire sockets not in use in the 16-pin plug. The other 14 wires are:

8 speaker wires +/- for LF, LR, RF and RR
12v Constant power
12v Switched power
Ground
Amp Ground
Illumination +
Ground Dimmer

I've checked the balance & fade on the radio and both show in the center so I know the right side speakers should be putting out sound. I can feel the RF speaker reverberating but that crackle overshadows any sound that might be there. Same goes for the RR speaker. I may have those 2 White/Orange stripe wires hooked up wrong but the LF speaker works with no ignition noise. Are you sure that the RF+ is the White/Orange wire and the RF- is Brown? What about the RR speaker wires too?
 






NOW we're getting somewhere brooksie.. OK remember when we were talking about the amp turn on wire?? It's the blue wire at the end of the 8-pin plug.. That's the most important one!! I thought you had already cut that and tried connecting it..

OK I would 1st make sure ALL the speaker connections are right.. And then make sure you've grounded the black "amp ground" wire that's WITH the speaker wires.. I imagine you can connect it to the "amp ground" wire you have on the 98 harness, or you could also just connect it to your main stereo/chassis ground wires, 3 together like I was explaining before..

But again, the most important wire is that blue amp turn on wire!! Remember the 1 you said you were gonna connect to the 12v switched wires?? lol.. You can try and do it that way, connecting it to the other 2 12v switched wires (3 together again)... Like I was saying before tho, you should double check that 98 harness again to see if there's a 'Power Antenna' wire, cuz I'd use that 1st.. Have you 100% ruled out no antenna wire on the 98 harness?

EDIT: I was just looking on ebay at 98 harnesses http://tinyurl.com/ya3qko7 like you have, and I'm indeed seeing a power antenna wire listed in the description.. See if you have one on yours, cuz you're very close to finishing this...

BTW, I checked the eBay item - that has male pins inside the plug. The 98 pigtail is a female fitting and the pins are in the rear port of the HU, not inside the plug.
 






I don't have anythign to add at this point, ricky has it under control. The only thing I wanted to say was that this is an incredible example of why this forum is so great- where else would you find a member taking a solution to someone's problem so personally?

Awesome! :thumbsup:
 






I don't have anythign to add at this point, ricky has it under control. The only thing I wanted to say was that this is an incredible example of why this forum is so great- where else would you find a member taking a solution to someone's problem so personally?

Awesome! :thumbsup:

True dude... this kind of help is invaluable. In the Avanti newsgroup I subscribe to, the same kind of help is an email away as well as archived and constantly available. The camaraderie is unbelievable... just as this has proven to be!!

:)
 






So then I thought ok Brooks, maybe you have to use the external amp... but how?

haha this is why we haven't been on the same page.. I thought you KNEW that you had to use the external amp.. There's no way around it, you either connect those 2 wires for it, or you bypass it.. Blue wire on the 8-pin and the Black wire on the 16-pin are absolutely essential - yes tie in that ground wire with your other 2.. Now when you say you have sound coming from the left, is it actual music? If that's the case then it looks like you just gotta figure out what's wrong with your wiring on the right.. I'm pretty much positive that all the info I gave you is correct about the speaker wires.. Those other 2 wires on the 8-pin don't come into play I don't think, they're just dimmer/illumination wires..
 






haha this is why we haven't been on the same page.. I thought you KNEW that you had to use the external amp.. There's no way around it, you either connect those 2 wires for it, or you bypass it.. Blue wire on the 8-pin and the Black wire on the 16-pin are absolutely essential - yes tie in that ground wire with your other 2.. Now when you say you have sound coming from the left, is it actual music? If that's the case then it looks like you just gotta figure out what's wrong with your wiring on the right.. I'm pretty much positive that all the info I gave you is correct about the speaker wires.. Those other 2 wires on the 8-pin don't come into play I don't think, they're just dimmer/illumination wires..

Yes, the sound is music - any AM or FM station I tune is playing beautifully. I am thinking that a White/Orange wire to the RF should be negative while a solid colour would be for the positive wire? I'll try that and see if it corrects the problem. Otherwise, there are the 2 White/Orange wires and I can't tell them apart in the dash harness so I could have that mixed up. I'll switch them and see if the problem is solved.
 






Well you're almost there... I just looked at the 97 harness again and your pic, and i'm 99% positive that it's white/orange=RF+ and brown=RF- and purple/white=RR+ and ltblue=RR-
 






I don't have anythign to add at this point, ricky has it under control. The only thing I wanted to say was that this is an incredible example of why this forum is so great- where else would you find a member taking a solution to someone's problem so personally?

Awesome! :thumbsup:

haha when I see someone have problems with our model X, I gotta at least try to help.. I had basically the same exact problem - no sound, and had no idea what to do.. Thankfully I found this site, but everyone was saying the stock amp HAD to be bypassed.. There was 1 guy tho who explained how to just hook up the wires for it to get it going, and although it is ideal to bypass the amp and what I eventually did, it can still sound decent using it.
 






Well you're almost there... I just looked at the 97 harness again and your pic, and i'm 99% positive that it's white/orange=RF+ and brown=RF- and purple/white=RR+ and ltblue=RR-

I'm done for tonight... all I accomplished was to get sound out of all 4 speakers, less on the right side. When I adjusted balance & fade to the RF speaker all sound disappeared other than the crackling could still be heard, albeit less. I found that if I pulled the connection for the RF- and it touched the radio chassis, the crackling went away entirely.

Then the crimp unions started pulling out and the whole thing collapsed like a cheap blowup doll...

I will try again in the morning but can't help but feel something is just a tad off and causing all my problems. If you think of anything at all that might point me in the right direction, I'll be here again tomorrow! Betcha didn't want to hear that huh?
 






Can you describe exactly what you're doing with the 4 ground wires, which are chassis, stereo, 96 amp ground, 98 amp ground? You're really close at this point, but if the crimp unions were just falling apart like that, it's not surprising you were having problems on the right side beforehand, you gotta admit! It's probably bad advice, but I've never personally used crimpers when I've installed stereos.. I just make sure a nice chunk of actual wire is exposed, twist them up really tight, and then neatly duct tape them making sure I have contact on the plastic insulation as well.. I've never had one fall apart, and any time I've had to disconnect one, it's been a pain in the ass with scissors lol.
 






Can you describe exactly what you're doing with the 4 ground wires, which are chassis, stereo, 96 amp ground, 98 amp ground? You're really close at this point, but if the crimp unions were just falling apart like that, it's not surprising you were having problems on the right side beforehand, you gotta admit! It's probably bad advice, but I've never personally used crimpers when I've installed stereos.. I just make sure a nice chunk of actual wire is exposed, twist them up really tight, and then neatly duct tape them making sure I have contact on the plastic insulation as well.. I've never had one fall apart, and any time I've had to disconnect one, it's been a pain in the ass with scissors lol.

Darn wires are small gauge so the crimps are tenuous at the best of times. I have the radio & amp grounds attached to the ground wire that used to run to the 8-pin plug. I also grounded the black wire that previously ran to the 96's 16-pin plug.

I used crimps because holding the radio pod up with one hand and trying to twist wires together with the other wasn't working for me... haha. Made it easier to change out connections if they weren't right.

I looked under the back seat and have found a number of errant wires all over the floor space. Don't know where they go but clearly the previous owner had done some amp or sub installs when he owned it. Could be I've got myself into a rat's nest. An aftermarket unit might not have worked terribly well either. A stick of TNT might improve matters... or some more Scotch. It's 5pm somewhere, right?
 






ricky-

Just a thought here- if brooksie can post pics of his connections, would that help?
 



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ricky-

Just a thought here- if brooksie can post pics of his connections, would that help?

Joe... I did post photos to Photobucket and left the links in my posts. I can't tell you how much I have appreciated the patient help I have enjoyed in this forum!
 






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