Resolved 1g radio wiring problems

[destinynerd]

I have a 1g Plymouth Laser, me and a friend have been trying to wire a new aftermarket radio into it. It already had a cheap radio in it. We can get the new radio to turn on but no sound comes through, we installed an amp but i don't think that would stop the speakers from working. It sounds like internal the amp wont engage maybe. I'm not a sure if these cars have one tho. there's a second plug that was off the whole time so we didn't use it. There was no wire harness on the old radio so we just tried our best to match everything up.

Does anyone have any recommendations to try? I have a picture of the wiring and the diagrams we found online. We cannot find a black an white at all on the cars side of the wiring. That's the only thing that's not plugged in. Can I get a pic of someones wiring if anyone's stereo is out or accessable.

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[CKOPOCT]

Some models did come with a factory amp (located under the dash behind the center console). The 90-91 factory electrical service manual might help. The stereo system diagrams and troubleshooting begins on page 269.

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The various FSMs are located under the resources tab --> maintenance guide.

DSM Maintenance Guide

You have a factory turbocharged DSM so, of course, you want to go fast. Before you do there are several maintenance checks you will want to run through. These cars have an unfair reputation of being unreliable in other circles - much of that reputation is due to new owners throwing on a boost...

www.dsmtuners.com

 

[steve]

1G's came in various trim levels and not all had rear speakers. The FSM only shows the most involved wiring here rather than diagrams for each.

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Most cars didn't have the external amp so you won't find that wiring in them.

 

[destinynerd]

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The connector on the left with 4 pins on top and 6 on the bottom is the one that's unplugged, I'm confused if that has to be used? I'm pretty sure it does but the radio adapters online don't look like they would plug into there. We just cant get any sound and we need to figure out why.

I tried looking at everything you guys sent and it helped a bit but i still don't understand how to fix this.

 

[CKOPOCT]

If that connector and wiring match what's in the car, then you have (or had) a factory external amp. Depending on how your wiring is routed it could be that your speaker wiring is getting fed from the "out" wiring from that amp. Chase down one of your speakers' wiring to see where it connects - find its terminal, which ideally would be the speaker out wires at the head unit.

If you find that the speakers are terminating at the amp coupler, you can rewire things to have the speakers fed directly from the head unit.

(I am, of course, assuming that the volume controls on the head unit work and that all fuses are good).

If that suggestion doesn't work or doesn't fit with what's going on, I would examine the wiring diagrams and compare that to what's actually in the car. Once I'd checked the integrity of the speakers, the condition of the fuses, and isolated the wiring and knew how power flows and when, I'd check resistances (if prudent) and/or put power to the system and check for amperage to see where the electricity drops off. It can be a lengthy PITA to chase electricity that way, but it guarantees you'll find the location(s) of your problem.

Wish I had a "do this simple thing" answer for you.

 

[steve]

Even with the external amp the connections for power and speakers were using the other two plugs. All the external amp did was connect to and from the radio face since it was used on units that didn't have room inside to fit the amp, the speakers never connected directly to it.

It looks like the originals were chopped on so the first thing I'd do is find all the wires by their insulation color and stripe. Label each wire with its function and then once every one is identified connect them up.

The factory harness doesn't provide a ground wire, the factory bracket provided it for the factory radio. You have to add one for aftermarket radios.

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